Finishing Touches

by Patricia Scanlan

  Cassie knew that she’d feel so guilty it wouldn’t be worth it. She’d never be able to look Nora in the face again. Nora was terribly strict about matters like that. Religion, mothers – nothing like that would put a halt to Aileen’s gallop once she made up her mind about something. Aileen always had the courage of her convictions and Cassie and Laura admired her greatly. Unfortunately, Aileen’s soldier wouldn’t be at the party tonight but Donie Kiely would, and Cassie was determined that for once she was going to do exactly what she wanted to do. And that was go to that party. Nora, Barbara and Aunt Elsie could just take a back seat for once. Cassie had only one life to lead and if she didn’t take her chances, she had only herself to blame.

  As unobtrusively as possible she took her new jumper and trousers from the cupboard while Barbara was tidying out her wardrobe, giving deep dramatic sighs in the process. Casually, Cassie gathered up her make-up and brought it into the bathroom for when she would need it later. She had a quick five-minute shower and got into her dressing-gown, making a great show about creaming her face. She hoped to God that Barbara would go to sleep early. After all, it was Friday night and she might decide to read all night. One of their rules about sharing the bedroom concerned what time the lights were switched out. After years of listening to their arguing, Nora had decreed that on weekdays the bedside lights were to be switched off at midnight, but on Friday and Saturday nights they could leave their individual lights on as long as they wished. Sometimes Barbara could be real mean about it. Knowing that Cassie had to get up to work in the shop on Saturday, she might read until three in the morning, leaving Cassie silently cursing under the bedclothes, waiting for the blessed darkness.

  If Barbara decided to have one of her marathon read-ins, Cassie could forget about going to the party. She decided to do her homework to take her mind off her problem. Sitting on her bed, she tried to engross herself in the joys of Orwell’s Animal Farm, one of the books on her exam course, and one which she loathed. She was sorely tempted to take out a romantic novel she had just started, called Sullivan’s Reef, where the heroine had just been kissed by a devastatingly handsome older man, a deep bruising kiss that left her breathless. Her first French kiss! It was so romantic. Cassie couldn’t wait to get back to it. She had had a lucky escape up in the library earlier on when Mother Perpetua had nearly caught her reading it instead of conjugating her French verbs. That would have been a disaster: Perpetua was forever confiscating romantic novels from the class and they never got them back, and Cassie had to find out what happened next in Sullivan’s Reef. It was a treat she would look forward to tomorrow night, she decided, getting stuck into an appraisal of Napoleon’s character. At least if she had some of her homework done, she’d enjoy the party even better and it would take her mind off the waiting.

  For once, the gods were with her. Barbara, still giving heartfelt sighs, decided to put out her light and have an early night, worn out by the traumas of the evening. Cassie waited a little while, finished her Irish poetry question and then slid into bed and put out her light. Shortly afterwards she could hear Nora and Jack going to bed themselves. Across the room, Barbara breathed deeply and evenly. As quietly as she could, Cassie slipped her nightdress over Big Teddy’s head, arranged him in the middle of the bed, placed the pillow over his head and softly padded out the door with her clothes under her arm. Looking back she could see that he made a nice satisfying mound. Swiftly she dressed, applied her make-up and, carrying her shoes in her hand, slipped into John’s room. Her brother, heavy-eyed but still awake, was waiting for her. ‘I thought you were never coming! Come on,’ he whispered dramatically, ‘the coast is clear. Have you got your coat? It’s getting a bit windy outside.’

  ‘Yeah, I’ve got everything,’ Cassie whispered back.

  ‘I’ve put my bike just under the windowsill. You can go on that if you like. It will save you having to walk in those high-heeled things.’ He opened the window and she climbed up on the sill.

  ‘Thanks, John, you’re a brick,’ Cassie said, planting a kiss on the side of his cheek, much to his disgust.

  ‘Aw, Cassie, I bet I’m covered in lipstick. Now listen carefully. The plan is: I’ll leave the window open a little bit and when you get back, stick your head in and wake me up and I’ll help to haul you in. OK?’

  ‘OK,’ agreed Cassie as she swung her legs over the window-ledge and slid to the ground. ‘See you later.’

  ‘Have a good time,’ John whispered, giving a mighty yawn. Cassie carried the bike over the grass, although she wasn’t too worried about her parents hearing, as their room was at the other side of the house. A bark that came from behind her made her nearly jump out of her skin. Drat! Mr Spock, the family collie, so named because of his rather pointed ears, came galloping out of his kennel to investigate. Recognizing Cassie, he gave a howl of excitement. Adventure beckoned. His nose quivered, his tail wagged and he barked excitedly. ‘Shut up, Spock!’ Cassie hissed. ‘Back inside.’ She pointed a stern finger. Spock’s ears drooped. Big brown eyes gazed at her appealingly. A dog and a bike! What kind of a way was that to go to a party? Still, it was better than not going. ‘Come on,’ she said, laughing in the breeze. Mounting the bike she sallied forth along the coast road with the moon shining silver on the waves that crashed against the shore and Spock loping along beside her.

  Six

  ‘Where were you?’ shrieked Aileen, catching sight of Cassie. The new arrival was being ushered into the packed sitting-room by the hostess, Kate Rooney.

  ‘It’s about time!’ Laura exclaimed, appearing through the throng.

  ‘I nearly didn’t get here.’ Cassie divested herself of her coat, ran her fingers through her hair and grinned at her friends. Aileen, dressed to thrill in shocking-pink bell-bottoms, surveyed her admiringly. ‘Wait till Donie Kiely sees you,’ she teased. ‘He’ll probably ask you to marry him on the spot!’

  Cassie blushed. ‘Sshhh! People will hear you. Is he here?’

  Aileen affected an American drawl. ‘He sure as hell is, honey.’

  Kate arrived with a glass. ‘Here, Cassie, relax, have some punch. I’ll be serving supper soon,’ she smiled, gliding off to talk to Margy Kane and her boyfriend.

  ‘Wow! Punch! How sophisticated,’ murmured Cassie, who couldn’t in a million years imagine Nora allowing her to have an unsupervised party, complete with punch. She took a sip. It was delicious.

  ‘Why were you so late?’ Laura asked. Cassie gave them the details.

  ‘Tough times ahead, girl!’ laughed Aileen, who knew Aunt Elsie of old. Aunt Elsie did not approve of Aileen O’Shaughnessy, ever since the time she had swanned into Jordans’ in a pair of purple hot-pants during one of Elsie’s visits. Definitely not a fit person for her niece to be associating with. The more disapproving Aunt Elsie got, the more outrageously Aileen behaved.

  The last time she had visited, shortly after the famous retreat, Aunt Elsie had been eager to know how the girls had got on, and enquired if it had been of great spiritual benefit to them. ‘Wouldn’t it be a great blessing if Cassie or Barbara or Irene became a nun or one of the boys became a priest?’ Elsie had said piously. Cassie nearly choked at this, and Aileen and Laura, unable to contain themselves, guffawed at the idea. Aunt Elsie was furious. ‘What is so funny, pray?’ she asked icily. ‘In my day it was a great honour to get the call from God. But, then, in my day we were properly brought up,’ she declared, sweeping regally out of the sitting-room to tell Nora of their impudence. They had been made to apologize and Aunt Elsie told Cassie later that evening that Laura and Aileen were not suitable companions for her as she had seen a terrible deterioration in her niece’s behaviour since she had started consorting with the pair of them. For ages after, the girls teased Cassie unmercifully, calling her ‘Sister Cassie.’

  ‘You’ll need something a bit stronger than punch to cope with Saint Elsie,’ Aileen smirked, leading Cassie to a corner of the room. ‘I fecked a few bottles of stout and a few fags from the wake.
My contribution to the party.’

  ‘You did not!’ Cassie was half-shocked, half-amused.

  ‘Sure, there was loads of stuff there, and nobody was taking any notice of me, so I slipped a few into the pockets of my trenchcoat. I mean, I did say the Rosary and things while I was there,’ she added plaintively.

  ‘Of course you did,’ said Laura soothingly. ‘Hurry on and open the bottles!’

  It was a wonderful party. They sang and danced and devoured the lovely salad buffet that was spread out for them in the big dining-room, passing around plates of crispy cocktail sausages and melt-in-the-mouth sausage rolls. Kate Rooney certainly knew how to give a party, the girls agreed between mouthfuls of food. Cassie filled a paper plate with goodies and brought it out to Mr Spock, who was patiently guarding her bike. He wagged his tail so hard with delight that it was a wonder it didn’t fall off. When someone put on Roy Orbison singing ‘Pretty Woman’ and Donie Kiely asked Cassie to dance, she felt as if she had died and gone to heaven. Tall, dark and handsome Donie Kiely, who could have had his pick of any of the girls of Port Mahon, was dancing with her and asking for the next dance. All the worries about climbing back in the window later on, and guilt about deceiving her parents, slipped away and she danced a slow set in Donie’s arms and wished the night would never end.

  At around one-fifteen, Kate’s parents arrived back from Dublin and everybody prepared to leave. Donie had already asked Cassie if he could walk her home and she said she had her bike and her dog and asked if that mattered. He laughed his good-humoured laugh and said it was no problem whatsoever. She really liked him, she decided, as they walked along the sea road, with Donie wheeling the bike for her and Mr Spock trotting demurely alongside, full to the gills with all the food he had eaten and ready for a nice cosy snooze in his kennel. It had got much colder and wilder and gusts of wind swirled around them. The sea was white-capped and foamy but Cassie didn’t care; she was as happy as a lark.

  Donie was studying English and history at UCD, he told her, and was planning to teach when he had his degree and H Dip. He lived in digs near the university during the week but came back home to Port Mahon at the weekends to help his father, who was a market-gardener like Jack. They had so much in common, really, she thought happily, wishing that the walk home would never end. He was so easy to talk to and when he smiled at her with those gorgeous brown eyes it was magic. He had the most beautiful manners too, walking on the outside of the footpath, wheeling the bike for her. Andy, her previous boyfriend, had never been so considerate. It gave her a nice glow. A thought struck her. He was so mannerly he would probably want her key to open the front door for her. How would she explain about it being locked. How on earth could she climb in the window in front of him. Hell! What a dilemma!

  Her bubble of happiness burst with a bang. They were almost at the entrance to the farm. Spock, anxious to get to sleep, galloped on ahead.

  ‘Is this it?’ Donie smiled.

  ‘This is it,’ Cassie murmured, coming to a halt. ‘Donie . . . mmm . . . I won’t ask you in for coffee.’ She continued hastily, ‘It’s a bit late and . . . um . . . well, my mother’s a little bit old-fashioned.’ Oh this was awful, she could feel her cheeks burning in the dark. She had never felt so flustered in her life.

  Donie smiled down at her. ‘She sounds just like mine,’ he reassured her. ‘Don’t worry about it. I’ll see you to the door, anyway.’

  ‘No, no, honestly, this is fine, it’s just a minute up the drive.’ She was practically babbling now.

  ‘Are you sure? It’s a bit dark.’

  ‘It’s not at all, I’m well used to it.’ They smiled at each other.

  ‘Can I see you again?’

  Cassie couldn’t believe he was saying the words she had been longing to hear all evening. ‘I’d like that,’ she answered shyly.

  ‘Tomorrow night?’

  Cassie laughed. ‘My Aunt Elsie is coming tomorrow so I’d say I’ll be expected to entertain her. Sunday?’ she asked hopefully.

  ‘Will I come and collect you?’

  ‘Could I meet you in town instead? It would suit me better, with my aunt and all,’ she added lamely. It would be too hard to think up explanations if Donie came calling to the door. ‘How about Kentucky Fried Chicken on Main Street? We could have coffee?’

  ‘That would be great,’ Donie agreed enthusiastically. ‘We could go to the pictures if you like. I usually go back to Dublin on Sunday night but I could leave it until Monday morning this time.’ Mentally, Cassie heaved a sigh of relief. All she had to do now was climb in through John’s window and she was made up.

  Bending his head, Donie kissed her lightly on the lips. ‘Good night, Cassie. Thanks for a lovely evening. I’ll see you on Sunday at seven.’

  ‘I’ll be looking forward to it.’ She smiled up at him, her heart dancing with happiness. It was nice to have a boyfriend again like her friends. Although Laura and Aileen were great about including her in everything, sometimes she felt a bit of a gooseberry. They would be delighted for her; they knew she had fancied Donie for ages. She watched Donie striding back the way they had come. He turned and waved and she waved back and watched until he was enveloped by the night.

  She sped across the lawn up to the house and over to John’s window. She left her brother’s bike where Donie had leant it against the gate-post. It would be fine there until the morning.

  Cassie looked and looked again and her heart sank. Someone had closed the window. It must have been rattling because of the wind and Jack had probably come in and closed it. Damn! Gently she tapped against the window-pane. ‘John! John! Let me in!’ she said as loudly as she dared. Thank heavens Jack and Nora slept at the other side of the house. She knocked again, louder this time. Not a budge out of John. What in God’s name was she going to do? It was getting really stormy and it wouldn’t be long until it rained. She hoped Donie got home before it started. She knocked again, feeling quite desperate, and froze as she saw the light go on in the adjoining bedroom.

  Oh good night, this is it, she thought forlornly as Barbara’s face appeared at the bedroom window. She caught sight of Cassie and her mouth dropped. The sisters stared at each other and Cassie waited for Barbara to rush into Nora’s and Jack’s room. Instead, the younger girl opened the side window. ‘If Mam found out about this, you’d be killed,’ Barbara lectured tartly as Cassie began to haul herself in. It was more awkward than she had anticipated and Barbara had to grab her under the arms and pull. Finally she was in and Barbara closed the window. Cassie waited for her younger sister to say, ‘I’m telling in the morning,’ but Barbara said gruffly, ‘I won’t tell, if that’s what you’re afraid of.’

  Cassie couldn’t believe her ears. ‘Thanks, Barbara,’ she muttered uncomfortably. ‘And . . . umm . . . I’m sorry I slapped your face and pulled your hair. I lost my temper.’ She added magnanimously, ‘If you want to wear any of my clothes, you can,’ remembering the remark Barbara had passed about how Aileen was a better sister than she was.

  ‘Oh!’ Barbara was taken aback by the generosity of the peace-offering, but, being Barbara, she didn’t waste a minute capitalizing on it. ‘That jumper you’re wearing is nice. It’s new, isn’t it? Could I wear it to the disco on Sunday night?’

  Typical, thought Cassie to herself. But tonight she didn’t care, Barbara could have whatever she wanted. ‘You can have it, but just be careful of it. It cost me a fortune.’

  ‘I will. Good night, Cassie.’

  ‘Good night, Barbara,’ Cassie echoed, slipping out of her clothes and removing Big Teddy from the bed. Sliding down between the smooth sheets, she pulled the patchwork quilt up around her and yawned in the darkness. It had been an extraordinary day. So much had happened, she thought sleepily. Who would have thought it would all have turned out so well.

  Aunt Elsie arrived on the twelve-thirty train on Saturday and Jack collected her. Her first comment as she walked through the door of the sitting-room where Nora and the family
were waiting to greet her was that the picture of the Sacred Heart was crooked, and would Jack kindly straighten it, as it was a sign of disrespect to the Almighty. She had started as she meant to go on!

  The following morning, the Sunday of the planned date, Aunt Elsie awoke feeling extremely poorly. Her tummy was at her and she declared she would stay in bed for the day and drink only hot milk with pepper. Aunt Elsie was such a demanding patient. ‘Cassie, would you get me my Rosary beads; they’ve fallen off the bed.’ Then, ‘Would you get me a cold flannel and hold it to my forehead. I think I’m getting a migraine.’ And later, when the migraine had passed but a cold seemed to be developing, ‘Would you make me a hot drink with cloves and lemons and bring me a spoonful of honey. My throat is ticklish.’ By five-thirty, Cassie was like a cat on hot coals. She hadn’t even had a chance to wash her hair, which had gone all flat after the wind on the night of the party. They couldn’t expect her to stay in tonight. Hadn’t she stayed in all last night to play cards with Aunt Elsie? Well, tonight she was going out with Donie, come what may! Fortunately, exhaustion overcame Aunt Elsie and Cassie was delighted when rumbling snores were heard from Irene’s bedroom, which Aunt Elsie had taken over for the duration of her visit. Irene was sleeping on a camp-bed in her sisters’ bedroom, much to her dismay. She missed all her cuddly toys and posters.

  With her hair washed and her make-up on, Cassie began to feel much better and her spirits lightened as she prepared to depart. ‘Just meeting the girls,’ she said airily, poking her head around the sitting-room door where Nora and Jack were endeavouring to relax for a while. She wasn’t exactly telling fibs, Cassie reassured herself; she undoubtedly would bump into Laura and Aileen at some stage in the evening.