Sarah Love

by Geraldine O'Neill

  She went downstairs and made tea and toast, then brought it back upstairs. When she was exhausted with thinking she put a radio programme on and eventually the music seemed to relax her. She went back to the pattern and several hours passed as she worked out the exact measurements and then cut out each piece and started work tacking together the basic seams. She heard Jane coming out of her room around seven o’clock and went out to meet her in the hallway. Then they went downstairs together to have supper.

  Sarah went over and switched on the gas fire. “You’ve been on your feet all night, so sit there and I’ll do us beans on toast.”

  She busied herself sorting the food and then came back to eat at the table. Jane told her all about how Christmas had gone back home and Sarah told her all about the lovely time she had with Lucy.

  “I’d like your advice,” Sarah said, putting her fork on the barely touched beans. “I’ve upset a friend and I don’t know what to do about it.” She went on to explain the situation about Harriet.

  Jane sat in silence for a few minutes, eating her supper and contemplating the facts. “I can see how she feels,” she said, digging into her beans, “but at the end of the day, you were actually trying to do her a favour. You were trying to set her up with a fellow she really likes. It wasn’t your fault that it didn’t work. It wasn’t your fault that his grandmother said all those things about the poetry book – it was stuff you didn’t know anything about.” She shrugged and put the forkful of beans in her mouth.

  “But she heard his grandmother saying that she wasn’t so slow and that she knew David would make a fine husband.”

  Jane swallowed. “Well, the fact is he already knew she liked him, and I know it’s uncomfortable for her to know that he doesn’t fancy her the same way, but we’ve all had to put up with rejection. I hear things like that in the hospital day in day out – people always fancy other people who don’t fancy them. It’s not the end of the world, and she just has to get over it.” She raised her eyebrows. “You didn’t do anything nasty and she can’t blame you for what his grandmother said. End of story.”

  Sarah was washing up the dishes when Jane left to have a bath.

  The nurse stopped at the doorway. “Your friend will get over it, Sarah. Look at the big row you and Vivienne had. Even though it was pure ignorance and nastiness on her part, you still managed to forgive and forget, and you’re both getting on fine now. You did nothing deliberately and Harriet will eventually realise that.”

  Sarah felt much better after that and went back upstairs and put her mind on the dress. She worked until midnight and fell asleep exhausted. Then she woke again around three o’clock and lay awake for hours wondering how she had made such a monumental mistake.

  Now and then she allowed herself to wonder why Harriet had set her cap so firmly on a lad who had made it plain he had no interest in her. It was easy enough to know when someone liked you, she thought. Most males were so obvious when they did fancy someone. Surely Harriet should have taken the hint long ago and moved her attentions elsewhere?

  Be that as it may, Sarah felt guilty for being part of poor Harriet’s humiliation and she went over the whole situation again and again, blaming herself.

  By the time she had eventually fallen asleep, she had convinced herself that neither Harriet nor Lucy would ever speak to her again.

  * * *

  The following morning she decided to take one of the bulls by the horns and went out to the phone box to ring Lucy. She repeated the same story she had told Jane the previous night and then listened to the response. It was the exact same as the nurse’s.

  “Harriet will just have to get over it,” Lucy said. “It’s not your fault that David only sees her as a friend.” She paused. “Although I must say I agree with his grandmother.”

  “About what?” Sarah asked.

  “About your passing up the chance of a nice fellow like David McGuire. I told you that the other night. You can’t let him go to London without giving things a chance with him. You wouldn’t do that just because of what happened to you back in Ireland, would you?”

  “But I’ve no feelings for him,” Sarah said. “And after what has happened with Harriet, I’ll be giving all lads a wide berth.”

  “Well, let’s hope that’s not something you might live to regret.”

  Sarah walked back from the phone box with a lightness in her step. She felt much better having got the same response from both women. She would give Harriet the time she needed to come around, and she would put the incident out of her mind now and get on with making her dress.

  Chapter 27

  The house in Victoria Street buzzed with activity on New Year’s Eve as the girls prepared for the dance. The two nurses, Jane and Elizabeth, were working the late shift on the ward until eight o’clock, and had taken their outfits to the hospital with them to change into when they finished. They had a taxi booked to take them down to the Palace Hotel where they would meet the others.

  Sarah, Anna and Vivienne took turns bathing and drying their hair. Sarah had toyed with the idea of going to the hairdresser’s to have her hair put up, but the other girls talked her out of it.

  “If I had lovely long blonde hair like yours,” Anna said, as they all sat in the kitchen in their dressing-gowns drinking tea, “I would wear it loose all the time. You always have it tied up or plaited, and we only get to see it out when you’re letting it dry.”

  “I have to tie it up for work,” Sarah sighed. “It’s such a nuisance if I don’t – it gets in the way of everything. And it’s so heavy when it’s in a bun that sometimes I get headaches from the weight of it.”

  “Then leave it loose,” Anna said. “It’s absolutely striking. Have you decided what you’re wearing tonight?”

  “I’ve made a new dress. I saw one I loved in Fenwick’s with a nice beaded neck and I made a copy of it.”

  “What colour is it?”

  “It’s quite unusual – a dark grey taffeta with a navy sheen to it.”

  Vivienne’s eyebrows shot up. “Wow!” she said. “It sounds amazing. Can we come up and have a look?”

  “Yes, if you want to.” Sarah hid her surprise, as Vivienne had never shown much interest in her work before. The other girls had asked her to do the odd alteration for them, and Sarah had made cushions for the sofa downstairs and a nice pair of lined curtains for the bathroom.

  All three went upstairs and, when Sarah opened the door, they had a full view of the dress and matching stole hanging on the wardrobe door.

  “You actually made that?” Vivienne gasped. She went over to the wardrobe and carefully examined the dress. “It looks like something you would buy in Harrods!”

  “Harrods often sell the same designs as Fenwick’s,” Sarah told her. “And it’s a Vogue pattern.”

  Vivienne raised her eyebrows. “You can tell.”

  “It’s gorgeous,” Anna said. “Did it cost you a fortune to make?”

  “The material is expensive,” Sarah admitted. “I had to order it in, but Lucy was good enough to let me have it at cost price.”

  “Can I hold it up and look at it in the mirror?” Vivienne asked. “I’ll be really careful.”

  “Of course you can,” Sarah said. “It’s tough material.”

  The student doctor lifted the dress down and then moved back to get a good view in the mirror, holding the dress in front of her. “That is truly beautiful,” she said. “It’s a work of art. Did it take you long to make it?”

  “Three days.”

  Vivienne gave a low whistle. She hung it back on the wardrobe then studied it for a few moments longer. “You should be selling dresses like this,” she told her. “They’re as good as anything you see in the high-class shops and probably better made. You would make a lot more money than you earn from working in a shop.”

  “I enjoy working in the shop,” Sarah said, a note of defence in her voice. Even when Vivienne was giving her a compliment, she suspected superior, critical
thoughts behind her words. Since the row all those months ago, the medical student had given her no reason to feel like this, but Sarah reckoned that leopards didn’t change their spots that easily.

  Anna went over to feel the dress now and examined the beading at the neck. “She’s right, Sarah. You could be working at dress-designing full time. You could have a simpler dress than this made in the same time it takes you to make curtains or fancy cushion-covers.”

  “If you made that dress in white,” Vivienne said now, “it would be a fabulous wedding dress. Have you ever thought of making wedding dresses?”

  Sarah’s throat tightened. It was only a matter of months ago when she was stitching her own white satin and lace creation. But the girls didn’t know that. “I’m happy doing this sort of thing for now.”

  * * *

  As she gathered her taffeta dress up to step out of the black hackney car, Sarah felt a tinge of excitement run through her. After a pleasant but quiet Christmas with Lucy Harrison, it was nice to be mixing socially with people her own age again. She hadn’t been to a dance since she left Ireland, and it was the first time she’d felt light and easy in all those months. It was the first time she’d felt good about anything outside of work, and she had never imagined herself wearing a dress as glamorous as this. There had never been the occasion. The girls back in Tullamore wore nice dresses and suits for special dances, but the Parochial Halls and the local ballrooms were not the sort of places for very glamorous evening wear.

  Her confidence had been boosted by all the compliments she had got on her dress from the girls in the house and from Lucy and Lisha and her mother. And although she had never been particularly heavy, Sarah could see the stone or so she had lost since coming to Newcastle had made a definite difference to the way the dress looked.

  There were two sparkling Christmas trees on either side of the hotel door and, as they stepped inside to the busy foyer, Bing Crosby’s voice greeted them crooning “White Christmas”. It was a big, luxurious hotel and Sarah could immediately see the difference in standard between it and the hotel she had worked in back in Tullamore. She caught her breath as she looked around at the beautiful decorations and the huge indoor tree with the silver and gold decorations.

  “It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?” Anna said. “It’s the last time we’ll enjoy the Christmas stuff, so we might as well make the most of it.”

  Vivienne pointed to the double doors on the right. “We’ll head over to the bar first for a drink,” she said. “Jane and Elizabeth won’t be here for another twenty minutes. If you two grab seats, I’ll get us all a drink. Is a medium sherry all right?”

  Anna grinned. “Anything for me!”

  Vivienne looked at Sarah.

  She nodded in agreement. “Sherry is fine.” Whatever two medical students from refined families thought was okay, would be fine by her.

  They walked into the busy bar full of men in tuxedos and women of all ages dressed in their finery. Immediately, the groups of men turned to look towards them. From the corner of her eye, Sarah saw one of a group of younger men nudge another and motion towards them. Instinctively she lowered her head and kept her gaze straight ahead.

  “There’s a table over there by the window,” Anna said, propelling her by the arm. “Let’s grab it.”

  As they made their way through the people, Sarah could also see some of the women looking at her and she suddenly felt self-conscious. She heard someone say something about her hair and she instantly regretted not having it put up to look the same as the others. They arrived at the table and four chairs the same time as the two young men who had been discussing them – one tall with dark hair and the other slightly shorter with fair hair.

  “Sorry . . .” Anna said, raising her eyebrows and smiling, “but I think we got here first.” She quickly claimed one of the chairs by sitting down in it.

  Sarah lifted the hem of her long dress and sat in the chair beside her.

  The dark-haired boy looked at Sarah and then laughed. “Oh, well,” he said. “I suppose we’ll just have to be gentlemen . . .”

  “Or perhaps we could join you?” his friend said.

  Sarah put her hand on the back of the chair next to her. “I’m sorry,” she said, “but that chair’s taken. Our friend will be here in a minute.”

  The fair-haired chap sat down in it. “I’ll keep it warm for her,” he said, smiling. He put his hand out. “Ben Livingstone and my friend is James Ryder.”

  Sarah felt slightly flustered. They were obviously not going to be put off easily. She had no option but to shake his hand. “I’m Sarah.” She indicated to her house-mate, “And this is Anna.”

  Ben leaned forward to shake Anna’s hand. “I know you,” he said. “You were on the women’s surgical ward last week, weren’t you? I’m sure I saw you when I was doing the rounds.”

  Anna’s face lit up, pleased that he had recognised her. “Yes, I’m a third-year medical student.”

  “Good for you. I think most people here tonight work in the hospital in some shape or form.” He smiled. “Although it’s hard to recognise some people in all their finery when we’re used to seeing them in uniforms or theatre scrubs.”

  Sarah felt her throat tighten. This was a world she felt totally out of.

  James Ryder came around the back of the chairs to crouch down beside Sarah. “What a lovely Irish accent you have. Do you mind me asking which county you’re from?”

  “Offaly. You probably won’t know it – it’s a very small county.”

  “I have heard of it,” he told her, “but I’ve never been there. We often go over to Ireland for the racing – Kildare and Galway. My father’s friends are big horsey people – they have a stud farm in Naas. Have you heard of Naas?”

  “Yes, I’ve heard of it – but it’s not somewhere I know well.” She thought she was very unlikely to know the people either as most of the farms around her area were modest dairy farms.

  Just then Vivienne arrived at the table with a young waiter who was carrying a silver tray with three large sherry glasses on it. “Dr Ryder and Dr Livingstone, I presume!” she said, laughing.

  Ben Livingstone closed his eyes and shook his head. “I’ve heard that Dr Livingstone quote so many times it’s got a beard on it.”

  “An oldie but a goldie!” Vivienne said, moving into the spare seat.

  The waiter handed round the drinks and all three girls clinked glasses. Sarah took a bigger gulp than she intended to and had to hold her breath as the sweet but strong liquid went down.

  “I didn’t know these two lovely ladies were friends of yours,” Ben said.

  “We share a house together,” Vivienne replied, taking a mouthful of her sherry. “And there’s another two to come.”

  “All medical students?” James Ryder asked.

  “No, no,” Vivienne said quickly. “The other two are nurses and Sarah here is a . . .” She gestured with her glass towards in Sarah’s direction, then moved her glass around as she thought.

  Sarah looked at her, waiting for some kind of put-down.

  “Sarah is a wonderful dress-designer,” Vivienne said effusively. “She can make absolutely anything. She actually made that amazing creation she is wearing tonight.”

  “Really?” Both men said at exactly the same time.

  “I did make it,” Sarah said, laughing. She looked at her lodging partner now. “And thank you for the compliment about the dress, Vivienne.”

  A loud bang on a gong silenced everyone, and then an announcement was made regarding the time that dinner would be served, and advising people to check for their table number on a list inside the dining-room.

  Ben checked his watch. “We have half an hour,” he said. “Plenty of time for another drink. Same again, girls?”

  “That would be lovely,” Anna said, draining her drink.

  Vivienne gave the two doctors a beaming smile. “Maybe a Martini this time?”

  “I’m grand . . .” Sarah said, indic
ating her half-filled glass, but no one took any notice.

  When the two men left for the bar, Vivienne turned to Anna. “How did you do it?”

  Anna wrinkled her brow. “What?”

  “Bag the two best-looking doctors in the hospital! I didn’t know you knew them so well?”

  “I don’t,” Anna said. “They just parked themselves down beside us. I’ve a feeling that it was Sarah who caught their eye.”

  “I’m sure I didn’t –” Sarah started.

  “Don’t be so modest,” Anna told her. “Surely you could tell by the way they looked at you?”

  Sarah started to blush. “I didn’t notice anyone looking at me.” She felt false saying it, because of course she had noticed people looking at her, but it would sound vain to admit it.

  “Well, I don’t care how they ended up sitting with us,” Vivienne said, throwing back the last of her sherry. “Let’s just all try to make a good impression on them when they come back.”

  They sat chatting for a while, watching people and looking at all the lovely outfits as more guests arrived. Then, when a couple of chairs became vacant at a nearby table, Vivienne rushed over and pulled one of them up next to her own chair.

  “That’s a chair for both of them now,” she said laughing. “We’ll just have to find something interesting topics of conversation to keep them occupied, so they don’t wander off to sit with some other girls.”

  “You two can do all the talking,” Sarah said. “You have far more in common with them. I don’t know the first thing about medical matters.”

  Vivienne raised one eyebrow. “My experience of doctors has taught me that the last thing they want to discuss on a night out are medical matters.”

  Anna laughed. “Unless it’s to do with physiology and biology – especially the female form.”

  “They needn’t bother studying my form,” Sarah said. “Men are the last thing I’m interested in.”

  Vivienne’s eyebrows shot up. “Are you joking? Surely you wouldn’t turn down the chance of an amorous encounter with Dr Ryder or Dr Livingston? They’re really good, eligible catches.”