The Ballroom on Magnolia Street

by Sharon Owens

  Kevin looked at Kate for a long minute, wondering if he was crazy to give her another chance. Then, he thought of his house and how empty it seemed when she was not there. He knew he would be miserable on his own. Maybe Kate was sincere in what she said? And her attempt to leave him was just her way of dealing with the end of her single days? She did seem absolutely determined to marry him now. He decided to take a chance. If she didn’t turn up for the ceremony, though, he’d have to emigrate. He’d have to go to the airport himself, then. He smiled at Kate and flicked his fringe out of his eyes, revved up the engine and pulled out smartly from the kerb. Mrs Winters, who had been lying up against Kate’s window, staggered into the road and hurt her toe. She watched Kevin’s car as it went smoothly down the road, and disappeared round the corner.

  ‘I don’t know how that girl gets away with it,’ she complained as she went back inside the house and banged the door shut. ‘In my day, they’d have lifted you, for such a disturbance of the peace.’

  ‘How is she, Martha?’ her husband asked quietly, craning his neck to see beyond his wife. ‘Actually, where is she?’

  ‘That Kate one! She’s gone back to him. After all that drama!’

  ‘Thank God. We’re not as young as we used to be, love. If anybody can sort out our Kate, it’s Kevin McGovern. He’s a good lad. He’s strong.’

  ‘We’ll see about that. And the house is freezing, now. You might have closed the door, for pity’s sake. With the price of coal these days,’ she grumbled, as her husband sipped a large brandy, beside the dying embers of the fire.

  ‘If you think it’s cold in here, you should try sitting in the shed for two hours,’ he whispered, taking off his shoes and rubbing some life back into his poor blue toes.

  29. The Main Prize

  It was one o’clock in the morning. Kevin and Kate were fast asleep in bed, their arms twined round one another. Kate was still wearing Kevin’s leather jacket.

  Hogan’s Goodbye Disco was in full swing. All the showbiz greats were being played. Wham. Dollar. Rick Astley. The dance floor was absolutely heaving. Even the macho men from the Ormeau Road had thrown caution to the winds and were jiving and bopping with the best of them. Louise Lowry was very disappointed that there was no sign of Kate Winters, as she was planning some more interesting requests. But then she saw a little cardboard sign on DJ Toni’s booth that said NO REQUESTS PLEASE, so she went to dance with Mary instead. Alex was on bouncing duty tonight, and he could hardly spare the time to look at Louise, let alone talk to her. But Louise didn’t mind. She didn’t love Alex, after all. She didn’t want his conversation, or even his magnificent body. She’d lied to Kate about the red-hot sex she’d had with Alex. She only wanted his money, and Alex had told her that his uncle had a bad chest infection and wasn’t responding to antibiotics.

  The bar staff were mere black and red blurs, as the optics and barrels were drained quicker than they could be replaced. Customers who couldn’t wait for more vodka to be brought in from the storeroom were settling for any spirits available. All drinks were reduced in price, anyway. The hot-food bar was also doing a roaring trade, and the smell of vinegar was second only to the heady whiff of excitement. DJ Toni kept saying things like, ‘And now, for the last time ever, here are the Kids From Fame and “Hi Fidelity”,’ to which Declan would sigh, ‘Thank God.’ But some of the admittedly tipsy females would scurry to the safety of the loo and have a good sob. The emotion was simply too much for them. Some of them had met their husbands here. Some of them had met their first love here. Some of them had conceived their children in the parking lot.

  Speaking of conception, Shirley was exhausted. It was very tiring, being pregnant. And she thought the music was far too loud. Funny how she had never thought that before. But tonight the noise level was giving her a headache. She was afraid to breathe too much, either, in case the thick fog of cigarette smoke reached her baby, and made it sick. She wanted to go home, but Declan was having such a great time, chatting to his friends, she didn’t like to spoil things. They had agreed to go home at half-past one so it was nearly time to leave anyway. Declan kept looking at his watch and then at the DJ booth, hoping that Toni would play some good music. Iggy Pop or the Psychedelic Furs.

  Just then, the club’s owner, Johnny Hogan, came over to their table and asked them if everything was all right. Were they enjoying the music? Shirley said that yes, it was lovely. (She’d won a prize for the best costume, even though she hadn’t dressed up for the competition. But Johnny misinterpreted her 1920s’ smoking jacket and very white face for a Louise Brooks look-alike bid.) The other boys at the table nodded politely. But Declan told him he thought it was a shame that certain bands were not on the playlist, and soon he and Johnny were deep in conversation about clubs and music. Declan thought a really cool nightclub would put Belfast on the map, even though some people were trying to blow it off the map. Johnny Hogan was fascinated by what Declan had to say and he sat down and listened with his head to one side. Shirley wished Kate was with her. It was uncomfortable being the only girl at the table.

  ‘I’m going to get some chips,’ she told Declan. ‘I want to stretch my legs.’

  ‘Sure,’ he told her. ‘Are you okay to go on your own?’

  ‘Yeah, will I get you some?’

  ‘Yes, please. I’ll be right over.’

  Johnny Hogan almost said that he was hungry himself and they could all go together and sit in his private booth in the food bar. But then, he remembered the prize-giving, and knew that he couldn’t be seen to be too friendly with Declan Greenwood.

  There was a pause in the music, and DJ Toni said, ‘And now’ ladies and gentlemen, for the last time ever in Hogan’s ballroom, here is FR David, and the fantastic love ballad “Words”.’ Cue, more women in tears rushing to the toilets. There was quite a bottleneck of mascara-streaked females in the corridor. The waste-paper baskets were overflowing with sodden tissues.

  ‘Well, I’ll be on my way,’ said Johnny to Declan, and they both stood up. ‘I’m trying to speak to as many people tonight as I can.’ Johnny offered his hand to the younger man, and Declan shook it firmly, and Johnny looked at him for a second too long before he smiled and walked away into the crowd.

  But anyway, at the time, Declan wasn’t even that interested in the prize-giving. He was eating his chips and holding Shirley’s hand when Johnny took the microphone and made his big announcement. Declan thought he was dreaming when the winning ticket was declared and he realized he had actually won the ballroom. Shirley looked as bewildered as he felt. They both looked around for reassurance. Yes, the ballroom and everything in it now belonged to Declan. Johnny had to announce the ticket number three times before Declan was able to move a muscle. He checked in his pocket and showed the number to Shirley. Number 742. Shirley nodded her head. Yes, it was true. Everyone was applauding, the noise was tremendous.

  Johnny was looking round the hall, searching out the winner. When Declan staggered to his feet, Johnny said, ‘Here is our winner! Well done and congratulations! Come up and claim your prize, young man. Hooray! Let’s have a picture for the paper!’

  Declan went slowly up to the stage and received the keys to his great prize, and shook hands with Mr Hogan, as if he was in a trance. All his friends were green with envy, and kept shaking their heads in disbelief. Johnny patted him on the back and Declan came down the stairs again, completely bewildered. As if by magic, he was surrounded by several pretty girls. Shirley didn’t know what to think. She didn’t mind if Declan wanted to go into the nightclub business; he had often spoken of it. But she knew that it would take up a lot of his time, possibly even more time than if he was a doctor. She went very quiet and left for home in a taxi, claiming exhaustion. But Declan stayed on in the ballroom and had a few drinks with Johnny, and played a few records in the DJ booth. Johnny showed him the office and the fire doors and the safe and the drinks store and the lighting switches. They barely noticed the end of the night being announc
ed by Toni, and the balloons being released from a net on the ceiling. The crowd filed out slowly, the overhead lights in the foyer showing up their flushed and tired faces. The bar staff collected glasses, and the industrial dishwashers hummed in the steamy kitchen. DJ Toni was weeping quietly in his booth as he put his precious records back in their paper cases. Declan was dizzy with happiness, his medical degree forgotten. He kept saying he couldn’t take it all in. It was like the story of Charlie Bucket and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Johnny told him not to worry. That it was really true and that all the legal stuff would be taken care of in the morning. All he needed was a signature. At five o’clock, Declan signed his name on the deeds.

  As the sun was coming up, Johnny drove Declan home to Derryvolgie Avenue and they shook hands again, but Declan was too excited to go to sleep. He began to set out plates on the kitchen table for breakfast, as soon as he had washed all the cigarette smoke out of his hair in the shower. At seven o’clock, when the Greenwoods were having breakfast, Eddy and Marion found out about the raffle. Eddy dropped a full bottle of milk on the slate floor and it exploded with a crash that made them all jump. There was milk all up the front of Eddy’s suit and even some dripping off the ceiling. Declan didn’t tell them that he was planning to put his degree on hold for a trial period. He’d save that news for later. First, he was going to grab some sleep and then go round to Shirley’s house and talk things over. If he was really the new owner of the ballroom, they could go to the bank for a mortgage, and get a decent place to live. No need for his parents to buy him a house now. He’d buy Shirley a new kitchen and all the fancy furniture her heart desired. A new car, maybe? And all the equipment for the new baby. Their lives were transformed overnight. It was a heaven-sent coincidence, getting the winning ticket like that. Beaming from ear to ear, he grabbed a slice of toast and bounded up the stairs, to bed.

  Marion went straight back to bed too, with a cup of tea and some painkillers for her sudden headache. She got in beneath the embroidered cream duvet with her dressing gown still on, and shivered violently. When Eddy came and sat on the bed and asked her gently what was going on, she just shook her head. She couldn’t look Eddy in the face, and refused to speak to him. He tried to put his arms around her. But she felt rigid with guilt and could not respond to his embrace. She slipped out of bed, ran across the luxury carpet and locked herself in the ensuite bathroom. She said she was taking a long bath and he knew then that she would not come out of the bathroom for hours. Marion did not cope well under stress. There was no point in having a blazing row with her. Eddy realized that she had told Johnny the truth, and that it could never be un-told. No matter how much he shouted his head off at his wife. It was not Marion’s fault, anyway. It was that hound-dog, Hollywood Hogan; sniffing around things and people that were none of his business any more. He went back down to the kitchen.

  ‘Im going out for a while,’ he told his daughters. ‘Don’t be late for school.’ Then, Eddy went straight round to the Hogan house on Eglantine Avenue, milky suit and all, to give Johnny the beating he should have given him in 1962.

  When Johnny opened the front door, he knew what was coming. He didn’t even flinch when Eddy punched him hard in the eye. Johnny didn’t care. He’d been expecting some sort of scene. He staggered backwards into the hall and fell heavily on the patterned carpet. Eddy rushed in and grabbed him by the collar, punching him several times. Johnny made a token attempt to defend himself but he let Eddy rough him up a little bit. It didn’t hurt that much because he was still drunk from the night before, and Eddy was a clean fighter. Eddy split Johnny’s lip and blackened his two eyes, and the hall table got broken. But there was no serious damage done. When Eddy had worn himself out, he stood up and pointed straight into the face of his long-term love rival.

  ‘You won’t get away with this, Hogan,’ he said. ‘You won’t. Do you hear me? I won’t let you.’

  ‘He’s my son. And it’s my ballroom. And it’s got nothing to do with you! You stole Marion away from me. When she was feeling low, with the baby. You weren’t man enough to get her back, on your own. I’ll never forgive you for that.’

  ‘She’s mine. And Declan is mine, and I swear, I’ll not let you take him away from me. You stay away from Marion, too. Whatever you’re playing at, it won’t work.’

  ‘Relax, Greenwood. Marion doesn’t want me. Yes, I asked her to come to America. And she turned me down flat. She’d never leave the children. So, you can settle yourself. Now, get out of my house.’

  ‘You lost her yourself, Hogan, years ago. And the boy, too. Don’t think it’s only our daughters that are standing in the way of a big reunion. You had five years to wed Marion, and you didn’t do it. You used her.’

  ‘I said, get out of here. I need to sleep for a while before I see Declan.’

  ‘You’re a loser, Hogan, you’re going nowhere. And you’ll not take the boy down with you. He’s got brains to burn, and he’s set for better things than shaking hands with strangers off the street. That was good enough for the likes of you and me, but it wouldn’t suit him. And if you knew him at all, you’d know it’s true.’

  But Johnny was halfway up the stairs to sleep off the most eventful night of his life. He halted to rub his bleeding lip with the back of his hand and his white cuff became smeared with deepest red. Johnny knew the pain would be worse when the drink wore off him. But inside, his heart was floating on a cloud of happiness. The ballroom would bring his son back to him. He was not alone any more. James and Eileen were in the twilight of their lives. Five years would see both of them into the city cemetery. But that was all right. Johnny was not dreading that day any more, because now he had a son. They would get to know each other again while Johnny showed the younger man the ropes, and when he was ready to handle the truth, Johnny would tell him, and everything would be okay. Marion had no right to keep him and Declan apart. He stared at his white cuff. Blood. Declan and himself. They were blood relations. And Shirley’s baby was part of Johnny, too. His first grandchild.

  ‘Close the door behind you, Greenwood, and go home to your wife,’ he said. ‘We have nothing more to say to each other. It’s over.’

  30. A Day to Remember

  Declan didn’t see Eddy when he came back from the tall house on Eglantine Avenue because he was fast asleep in bed. Eddy cleaned himself up in the family bathroom and then knocked on the door of the master-bedroom ensuite, and told Marion that he had taken care of things.

  ‘Did you hit him?’ she asked.

  ‘Yes, I did. And it felt good.’

  ‘Did you fight?’

  ‘Not really. He wouldn’t fight with me.’

  ‘Is that the end of it, Eddy?’

  ‘That’s up to Declan. He doesn’t know the full story. Not yet, anyway.’

  ‘I won’t see Johnny again, Eddy. I promise. He frightens me. He’s living in the past. It’s as if the last twenty years never happened.’

  ‘That’s okay, darling. I’m not cross with you.’

  ‘I love you, Eddy. I’m sorry about all this.’

  ‘I love you, too. Let me see you, darling. Let me in. Whatever happens, we’ll still have each other.’

  She didn’t answer him but, after a while, she got dressed and unlocked the door, and they sat together on the cream sofa at the foot of the bed. There was so much to say, they didn’t know where to begin. It could only be a matter of time before Declan found out that Johnny was his father, and also he might leave college and manage the ballroom. And maybe even drift away from Eddy and Marion. The thought made her feel desolate. Her mouth dried up. Marion said she was thirsty and Eddy fetched them both a cup of hot, sugary tea.

  ‘Will we tell him together?’ said Eddy. ‘Explain things to him before Johnny does it for us?’

  ‘No. Not today.’

  ‘We can’t hide from this for ever. Maybe it’s time?’

  ‘I can’t. It’s all right for you, Eddy. You’re the hero in all this, marrying me t
he way you did. And Johnny doesn’t look too bad, either. He was denied the chance to get to know his son. His only child, as far as we know. It’s me who will come out of this story badly; a silly woman who couldn’t make up her mind who she loved.’

  There was nothing Eddy could say to that. It was true. Marion sat quietly on the sofa, too upset to even cry.

  ‘Go on to work,’ she said. ‘I’ll be okay.’ He nodded.

  She spent the day sitting in her bridal shop, but she didn’t open it to the public or do anything behind the scenes, either. She just sat on her little white sofa in the middle of the room, gazing at the beautiful dress in the window, and wishing that she had worn it for her wedding to Eddy all those years ago. And that she had never left him for Johnny in the first place. And that Eddy was Declan’s father. And that she’d had more sense when she was young and beautiful. At five o’clock, she locked up the building and went home to make the dinner.

  The wedding went ahead as planned. Both Kate and Shirley looked magnificent as they alighted from the limousine into warm spring sunshine. Kate looked like a royal princess in her gold lace gown and Shirley was surprisingly sophisticated in blue velvet and several strands of pearls. She wore blue nail polish to match the dress, and her eyeliner was much neater than usual. She’d even been persuaded (by Kate) to use a little face powder and blusher, and to wear a pearl tiara. Of course, there were gasps of amazement from the more conservative members of the congregation when they saw the blue gown, but as a whole, the guests approved of the bridal sisters. Strangely, with their beautiful bouquets of bright yellow sunflowers and roses, they looked great together. Kate graciously said she would allow Shirley to walk down the aisle first. Just so no one could say that Shirley looked like a bridesmaid. But no one did say that anyway. Shirley looked like a film star, with her hair styled to perfection and dressed with a crown of pearly teardrops. The sisters stood in the porch of the church with their proud parents. They all held hands and hugged each other. Kate’s long hair was piled up on top of her head in an elaborate knot and Mrs Winters gave it a final tweak before they all assumed their positions for the wedding march.