The Girl From Paradise Alley (ARC)

by Sandy Taylor

  ‘God, I hope I never get that old and sour-faced,’ said Molly.

  ‘Don’t be mean, Molly,’ said Ellis. ‘How would you feel if they got knocked down by a bus?’

  ‘I thank God every day that I have you as my conscience, Ellis,’ said Molly, smiling at her. ‘Now let’s get to this den of iniquity, before Father Patrick turns up and hauls us home.’

  As we got close to the club, I could see a long line of people queuing to get in.

  ‘There’s an eejit on the door called Paddy Byrne, who delights in keeping us standing outside in the cold for as long as he can,’ said Josie. ‘May a plague of wasps fly up his nose when he’s asleep.’

  I laughed as we tagged onto the end of the queue. We were eventually let in and we followed the crowd to the desk, where we paid our entrance fee.

  ‘You and Ellis, find the seats,’ said Molly, gesturing at us, ‘and we’ll get the orange juice. See if there’s any room up in the balcony.’

  Ellis caught hold of my hand and I followed her up the stairs. ‘There’s one,’ she said, heading towards an empty table. I sat down and leaned over the balcony. The band had started to play and a woman moved up to the microphone. Everything about her was oversized, from her mass of black hair to her large bosom. Her dress was a deep red, cut low on the shoulders to reveal plump white flesh that spilled over the top of the dress and glistened under the bright lights. She swayed back and forth with a lightness that belied her ample size. Her eyes were closed, as if the music had transported her to her own special place. I thought she was magnificent and when she opened her mouth, the sweetest, richest sound filled the room, drawing the dancers onto the floor. I had been nervous about coming here but now I was excited. The music, the people, the smells, had my head and my heart spinning. I took off my coat and in my blue dress I didn’t feel out of place – I felt I belonged as much as the next girl and I couldn’t stop smiling.

  ‘Glad you came?’ said Ellis, grinning at me.

  ‘Oh yes,’ I said. ‘I’m really glad.’

  ‘Four oranges,’ said Josie, putting the drinks down on the table.

  ‘Have you spotted anyone worthy of our attention?’ said Molly.

  ‘We’ve only just sat down,’ said Ellis. ‘We’ve hardly settled ourselves in.’

  ‘It will just be the usual lads,’ said Josie. ‘I didn’t spot any strangers at the bar.’

  ‘We should try another dance hall,’ said Molly. ‘We’ve been coming here for months and not one date between us.’

  Just then, a young boy came up to the table. He was nice-looking, with fair hair and lovely blue eyes. I became aware that I was staring at him and quickly lowered my eyes – I didn’t want him to think that I was on the lookout for a feller. ‘Good evening, girls,’ he said, smiling.

  ‘Hi Joe,’ said Molly. ‘How are ya?’

  ‘I’m grand, Molly, and yerself?’

  ‘Oh, you know, Joe, nothing out of the usual.’

  ‘And who’s this lovely girl?’ said the boy, smiling at me.

  ‘This is Nora Doyle, up from the country,’ said Josie.

  ‘Would you care to dance?’ he said to me.

  ‘Oh, I don’t think so,’ I said, feeling myself going red in the face. ‘But thank you for asking,’ I added quickly.

  ‘How about you, Molly? Fancy a spin round the floor?’

  ‘Why not, Joe?’ said Molly, standing up.

  I watched the pair of them walk away and took a sip of my orange.

  ‘Have you ever been to a dance before?’ said Ellis.

  I shook my head. ‘Never.’

  ‘It’s just that if a lad asks you to dance, it’s a kind of an unwritten rule that you accept. You see, they might look full of swagger but it takes a lot of courage to ask a girl out onto the floor.’

  ‘I didn’t know that,’ I said, feeling silly. ‘He must have thought me very rude.’

  ‘He’ll get over it. I’m sure it’s not the first time that Joe Lynch has been turned down and sure, you weren’t to know.’

  Ellis and Josie were soon asked up to dance and I was left on my own, feeling very foolish and wishing I hadn’t turned Joe down. I looked over the balcony at the dance floor, trying to see them, but it was so crowded that I couldn’t spot them amongst the swirling bodies that circled the room. There was a glitter ball hanging from the ceiling, casting prisms of light over the heads of the dancers like so many stars. It was all wonderful and I thought again of Kitty and how she would have loved this. I would write and tell her all about it.

  I was aware of someone standing next to the table. ‘What’s a lovely girl like you doing on your own?’ said a large man, grinning down at me. I didn’t know what to say to him. He was unsteady on his feet and holding onto the edge of the table for support. ‘How about the two of us step outside for some air?’

  ‘No, thank you,’ I said.

  I had no intention of going outside with him. There was a bit of dribble coming from the side of his mouth, the man was four sheets to the wind and he scared me.

  ‘Think you’re too good for me, do you?’ he slurred.

  I was saved by Joe and Molly coming back. ‘I think the lady has made her wishes clear,’ said Joe. ‘Now be a good chap and move along.’

  ‘And who are you to be telling me to be moving on?’ said the man, narrowing his eyes.

  ‘I’m her friend, now move along, or do you want to finish this outside?’

  ‘Sod off,’ said the man, and lurched away from us.

  I shuddered. ‘Thank you,’ I said.

  ‘You’re very welcome. I can’t have you getting the wrong idea about us Dublin folk – we’re not all eejits.’ Joe sat down beside me. ‘Where are you from, Nora?’

  ‘I’m from a small town called Ballybun in County Cork,’ I said.

  ‘A long way from home then. You must miss your folks.’

  ‘I do, but it’s getting easier.’

  ‘I’m Dublin born and bred. I work in my family’s bakery, it’s all I’ve ever done.’

  I smiled. ‘I love making bread,’ I said.

  ‘And where in God’s name did you learn to do that?’

  ‘I worked in a little café after I left school and the owner taught me. I found it very relaxing.’

  ‘Then we have something in common already, Nora,’ he said.

  ‘We do,’ I said.

  I thought again how good-looking he was. His hair flopped over his eyes and as he spoke, he kept pushing it back. When he smiled, his eyes crinkled up at the edges and when he laughed, I could see he had a fine set of teeth. I suddenly wanted to laugh – I felt as if I was describing a horse.

  ‘Will you share the joke?’ said Joe.

  ‘Oh, it’s not that funny,’ I said, going red.

  I was regretting turning him down, for there was nothing to fear here.

  ‘Feeling braver now?’ he said, standing up and reaching for my hand.

  I looked across at Josie, who nodded and smiled. ‘I am,’ I said, putting my hand in his.

  This was the first time I’d danced with a boy, but it didn’t feel strange when Joe put his arm around my waist and guided me onto the floor. We moved slowly to the music and I felt as if I was in another world. As we danced under the glittering lights, I was aware of his hand lightly touching my back and his soft breath on my cheek. I put my head on his shoulder and it felt as natural as if I’d always known him, which was pretty strange, as we’d only just met.

  We danced the night away, occasionally joining the others upstairs to chat and drink orange juice. As the evening came to an end, Joe asked if he could see me again the next week. I hardly knew the boy but I liked him and I’d felt comfortable dancing with his arms around me under the twinkling lights. ‘I’d like that,’ I said.

  ‘That’s grand, then,’ he said. ‘It was lovely meeting you, Nora Doyle.’

  ‘It was lovely meeting you too, Joe Lynch.’

  Twenty-Nine

  I could put Ballyb
un out of my mind during the day, for I had little time to think about anything else than the bookshop. I didn’t mind about the endless dusting that had me sneezing my head off every five minutes. I gradually learned where the different genres of books were located. I was often asked to guide a customer to the right shelf and I could see that Miss Berry was pleased with me when I was able to smile and say, ‘Of course, sir, if you would like to follow me.’ I loved being surrounded by books and I knew how lucky I was to have landed this job. There was a second-hand section that we were allowed to borrow from. I had started to read books by Henry James. Miss Berry noticed that I was bringing the books back to the shop the day after I’d taken them home.

  ‘Either Mr James is not to your taste, Nora, or you are up all night reading,’ she said.

  ‘His sentences are so desperate long, Miss Berry, that by the time I get to the end, I can’t remember how they began. I’ve no mind to be reading another one of his stories.’

  ‘Ah well, Mr James is not to everyone’s taste. Have you read anything by Jane Austen?’

  ‘No, I’ve only read the books we have at home.’

  Miss Berry went over to the shelf. ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ she said, handing me a book. ‘I think this might be more to your taste. I have a feeling that there is more than a bit of Elizabeth Bennet in you.’

  ‘I’ll give it a go, Miss Berry,’ I said.

  I devoured the book and read it every spare minute I could. I fell in love with the dashing Mr Darcy and I laughed out loud at Mrs Bennet’s urgency to get all her girls married off to men of good fortune. But I failed to see anything of myself in Elizabeth Bennet, and I wondered what comparison Miss Berry could see.

  Yes, I could forget about Ballybun during the day. It was at night, when I fell into an exhausted sleep, that Eddie and the garden found its way into my dreams. I could smell the flowers and the wet earth; I could feel the roughness of Eddie’s jacket as he comforted me on the day I thought I had killed my baby brother. In my dreams the garden was always bathed in sunshine, the little robin hopped around us as we worked and the tall trees swayed above our heads. When I woke, it felt like a kind of bereavement and I carried the loss of Eddie and the garden with me all day.

  I wrote to Kitty and told her all about Dublin and Finnigan’s and the dance. A week later, I got a letter.

  Dear Nora,

  It was so good to hear from you. I’ve read your letter over and over. I carry it around with me and Minnie had me read every word out to her. It all sounds lovely, the bookshop, the digs and your new friends. They sound nice and I’m trying not to feel jealous. Oh, I wish I could have seen you in that dress, I’m sure you looked beautiful and had all the boys falling at your feet. Talking about boys, I’m walking out with Tommy Nolan – he started coming into the café and we got to talking. Minnie said he only started coming in since I began working there. He’s a nice lad, Nora, and we’ve got close. The whole family has taken to him – even Breda comes out from under the table when he visits the house. The pair of us really have left childish things behind us, haven’t we? It seems a long time ago that we sat on the graveyard wall watching funerals. I miss you, Nora, nothing is the same. I understand why you had to go but it’s been very hard without you.

  Write to me again, for I love hearing about your grand new life in Dublin.

  I gave Eddie your letter.

  Love always,

  Your friend,

  Kitty xxx

  I was happy that Kitty had met someone – I knew how lost I would have been if she had been the one to leave Ballybun. Kitty was my true soulmate, just as Diana Barry had been to Anne of Green Gables, and I loved her.

  I was looking forward to seeing Joe again. I’d taken to him right away – he seemed like a nice gentle lad and it helped that he was also nice to look at.

  ‘You won’t go far wrong with Joe Lynch,’ said Josie. ‘He’s a catch alright, but none of us has ever stood a chance with him.’

  ‘Why not?’ I said.

  ‘He was doing a line with a girl called Maeve Flynn for years – childhood sweethearts, they were. We were all shocked when they went their separate ways about a year ago.’

  ‘Do you know why they separated?’

  ‘Maeve said that they had just drifted apart and that’s all we could get out of her. As far as I know, neither of them is seeing anyone else. Until now, that is,’ she said, winking at me.

  ‘I’m not exactly seeing him, am I?’

  ‘Not yet, but he looked mighty keen,’ said Josie, grinning.

  ‘It must have been the dress,’ I said, blushing.

  ‘Or it might just have been you, Nora,’ said Josie. ‘Stranger things have happened.’

  ‘Oh, you!’ I said, laughing.

  Saturday came around again and Molly was standing, looking into the wardrobe.

  ‘You can’t wear the blue one again,’ she said.

  ‘How about the green?’ said Ellis.

  ‘I’ve already bagged the green one,’ said Josie. ‘It shows off my magnificent red hair and I have a feeling that I’m going to cop off with a rich feller tonight.’

  ‘Well, I hope it stays fine fer ya,’ said Molly, laughing.

  ‘How about red?’ said Josie.

  Ellis made a face. ‘Definitely not, do you want her to look like a scarlet woman?’

  ‘I wouldn’t mind looking like a scarlet woman,’ sighed Josie. ‘The only thing scarlet about me is my head.’

  ‘Will you stop going on about your bloody hair, Josie. I’ll be lucky if I have any left by the time I’m forty,’ said Molly dramatically.

  ‘What are you on about, girl?’ said Josie.

  ‘My mother has barely a hair left on her head and she’s only fifty.’

  ‘I’m desperate sorry about that,’ said Josie, looking mortified. ‘I won’t mention my hair again.’

  ‘If you believe that, you’ll believe anything, Josie. Our mother has as fine a head as you will ever see,’ said Ellis, laughing.

  ‘You!’ said Josie, throwing a pillow at Molly.

  I loved all the silliness and banter. I smiled at these new friends of mine and felt blessed.

  ‘I’m wearing the blue dress,’ I said, making my mind up.

  ‘Sure, he’ll think you have nothing else to wear,’ said Molly.

  ‘I don’t,’ I said. ‘And it’s not even mine.’

  ‘We’ll be sure to bequeath it to you in our will,’ said Ellis.

  ‘That’s mighty decent of you,’ I said.

  We sat upstairs at the club again and I looked over the balcony. I felt bubbles of excitement in my stomach as I scanned the crowds on the dance floor, looking for Joe. But as the evening wore on, I knew that he wasn’t going to come.

  ‘Something must have come up,’ said Ellis, gently.

  ‘Or maybe I put him off,’ I said.

  ‘And why in Heaven’s name would you think that?’

  ‘I might have been a bit forward, Ellis,’ I said. ‘For I leaned my head on his shoulder.’

  ‘If you’d eaten the face off him in the middle of the dance floor, I might have agreed with you,’ said Molly. ‘But sure, there’s nothing forward in that.’

  During the evening the four of us were all asked to dance and the lads were nice enough, but my heart wasn’t in it. The music seemed too loud and it hurt my head and worst of all, I felt like a fool. Josie hadn’t met her rich feller and I’d been well and truly stood up. On top of all that, when we got outside, it was pouring with rain. It was a sorry little bunch indeed that tramped home to our digs.

  Thirty

  I was more put out by Joe Lynch than I cared to admit. I felt like an eejit, thinking I was grand in my blue dress and that people would only die for hair like mine. I’d got carried away by the excitement in the bedroom and the others oohing and aahing and telling me how lovely I looked. I’d believed them and gone into the Irish club thinking I was God’s gift to mankind. When all I was, was a little country gir
l from Paradise Alley, in a borrowed dress.

  It would have helped if the girls had said ‘Well, you got off lightly there, Nora’ or ‘Joe Lynch is full of the old blarney and not to be taken seriously’. But none of them had a bad word to say about him. I was therefore left with only one explanation: that I had somehow put him off and that he was too polite to tell me in person. Well, I wouldn’t give the boy another thought. From now on I would stick to Jane Austen and get my fill of romance within the pages of a book, where I could be sure of a happy ending. Mr Darcy had not been the nicest of men when Elizabeth Bennet had first met him but then he turned out to be the most chivalrous feller in the world. It had been the other way around with Joe – he started off lovely and turned out to be a coward.

  I felt like getting the next train back to Ballybun and licking my wounds in my bedroom at the Grey House. I could pretend that I was sick again and in need of care and comfort, I could go back to work at Minnie’s and forget Finnigan’s and Dublin. Then I remembered I couldn’t go back to Minnie’s, could I? For Kitty was working there now. I wouldn’t even have Kitty to turn to, because she was walking out with Tommy Nolan. On top of all that, it had been bucketing down with rain for days and my hair now resembled a burst mattress.

  By the end of the week I was getting on everyone’s nerves with my long face and sour demeanour. Even Miss Berry had noticed. ‘Could you please be less energetic with the dusting, Nora,’ she said. ‘You are in danger of choking any perspective customers out of the shop.’

  ‘She can’t help it, Miss Berry,’ said Josie, who was stacking shelves next to me. ‘She’s been let down by a boy.’

  ‘Well, I’m sorry for your loss, Nora, but a bit less enthusiasm would be greatly appreciated.’

  ‘Why did you tell her that, Josie?’ I demanded as Miss Berry walked away.

  ‘I thought I was helping.’

  ‘Well, you’re not. Perhaps you’d like to take a walk down to the newspaper office – they might be glad of a story for tomorrow’s headlines.’