Let's Dance by Amanda Paull

Author:Amanda Paull
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: short story, laugh-out-loud, humorous, family life, love, gentle love story, humorous romantic fiction, farcical fiction, friendship, funny, enjoyable easy read, coffee-break story, read by the pool, comedic family mix up, comedy fiction, charming fiction, humour and satire, shenanegans and laughter, hilarious situations
Publisher: Amanda Paull
Published: 2018-07-25T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

Laura was just about to leave the office when her mobile trilled. Her mother.

‘I couldn’t believe my eyes. And to find out from that Brenda Bamford, of all people.’

Laura slipped her arm back out of her coat sleeve and slumped down onto the chair. ‘What’s happened?’

‘It’ll be all around Thursday morning prayer group.’ Her mother let out a loud, pantomime-type sigh. ‘Oh, what will people say?’

‘Mam, I don’t know what you’re on about.’

‘You... A divorced woman,’ she whispered.

‘What have I done?’

‘Drunken shenanigans. All over that internet.’

‘I don’t think so, Mother. Whatever you think you’ve seen, you’re sorely mistaken.’ Laura did a quick mental recce of her most recent nights out with Shona and the girls from work. Nothing shenanigany sprang to mind. There was the night the previous month when they’d gone to Crocs, and that drunken young lad had staggered past and vomited on her shawl, but nothing worthy of broadcast.

‘Brenda Bamford shared the photo.’

‘What photo? What do you mean shared?’ Anyway, she reasoned with herself, she would have done nothing in public that couldn’t be shared, would she? Besides, she couldn’t even recall the last time she’d been drunk – a couple of vodka and Cokes was about her limit. Who on earth had taken photographs of her?

‘On Facebook. You, cavorting. With that man.’ Her mother recouped. ‘All over the web.’

‘You’re on Facebook?’ Laura felt her privacy being snatched away. A childhood argument about knocking on her bedroom door flashed through her mind. ‘Privacy? Don’t be silly, children don’t need privacy.’ She slouched further into the chair.

‘Our Colin set up my Face-line thingy.’

Idiot. What on earth had he been thinking – giving their mother such a weapon? With a heart-sinking realisation, it dawned on Laura that another student must have shared photographs of the mock lesson. As her hopes to keep her involvement secret were obviously unrealistic, she felt obliged to explain.

‘... and so,’ she finished off, ‘it’s going to be on the News on TV.’

‘Oooh,’ said her mother, an air of intrigue in her tone. ‘Which channel? When?’

She could imagine the cogs turning in her mother’s brain – planning what she’d tell her cronies at church and the caravan club about her famous daughter and her delightful dancing partner.

‘Bob...’ she shouted down the line. ‘Bob, our Laura’s going to be on the telly.’

Laura chuckled as she imagined the next conversation between Colin and their mother. ‘See what Ben does for his mother... He’s even learning to dance. Such a dutiful son. Lovely boy. Colin, tuck your shirt in. You aren’t from the rough estate down the lane.’ Served Colin right.

‘Laura, why don’t you invite Ben to Colin’s birthday tea?’

‘Nooo. Mam, no.’ Laura jumped up from her seat, banging her thigh on the edge of the desk. ‘Ben’s just a friend. Not even a friend. A dance partner – sort of. Nothing more. No.’ She must quash any romantic notions her mother may invent.

‘You should be grateful you have such a lovely man interested in you.’

Laura rubbed her leg.

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