The crowd oohed.
He slowly made his way down the steps singing the first line of the song.
‘Oh Jesus,’ Mary-Rose said. Her mother laughed.
‘Ever since our first dance on our first date, I knew I wanted to be with you. Ever since you wowed me with your merengue and cha-cha when we met at the YMCA dance class.’
Mary-Rose snorted and covered her face, trying not to laugh.
‘But it was the salsa,’ he made a little move with his hips and the crowd cheered, ‘that made me realise I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.’
People whooped.
‘Margaret,’ he came closer, stole a rose from a nearby table and swooped down to his knee beside her to thunderous applause, ‘my huckleberry friend. Will you marry me?’ Only Kitty was close enough to hear the snort from Mary-Rose as she tried to contain her hysterical laughter while her face was fighting hard to stay calm.
‘Yes,’ she said, but the crowd were too busy cheering to hear. Somebody shushed and that was sent around the shopping centre.
She and Sam were almost nose to nose.
‘I can’t hear you,’ Sam said into the microphone and then pushed it close to her lips. She gave him a warning look. He gave her a cheesy smile.
‘Yes,’ she said into the microphone and the whole of Powerscourt Townhouse erupted.
They hugged and the manager brought over the menus and told them drinks were on the house.
‘That was a good one,’ Mary-Rose chuckled, her pretty face lighting up. ‘Okay, you got me there, Sam. That was possibly one of your best. Your huckleberry friend?’
He shrugged and laughed. ‘I had to impress the mother-in-law. Hi, Judy.’ He gave Mary-Rose’s mother a kiss on the forehead. Judy said something unintelligible to Kitty and Sam laughed, understanding her perfectly.
A young woman, whom Kitty had assumed was a member of staff standing by and watching it all, made her way over to the table.
‘Am I allowed to join you now?’ she asked, a big grin on her face. ‘Is it safe?’
‘Of course,’ Sam said, lighting up. ‘Guys, this is Aoife. I hope you don’t mind her joining us today.’
Mary-Rose looked slightly confused but covered it up quickly. ‘Yes, I mean no, I mean, no I don’t mind.’
‘Aoife, this is Kitty, a friend of Mary-Rose’s. In fact you and me need to have words later, I have a few stories to share.’ He winked and Kitty laughed. ‘Aoife, this is my best friend and wife-to-be, Margaret Posslewaite, also known as Mary-Rose.’
‘Congratulations,’ Aoife laughed, leaning over and giving Mary-Rose a half-hug and kiss.
Mary-Rose seemed uncomfortable by the closeness.
‘Aoife and I met a few weeks ago at work. I thought now would be a nice time for you to meet,’ Sam said, a little embarrassed.
‘Ah, yes, of course,’ Mary-Rose said, still trying to gather herself together.
‘I’ve heard so much about you,’ Aoife said, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, eager to please.
‘Well, I …’ Mary-Rose was at a loss for words.
‘Don’t worry, I didn’t tell her about the baths we took together,’ Sam jumped in, and Aoife laughed.
‘What have you not done together?’ Aoife laughed. She meant it innocently but it carried more weight with Mary-Rose, who immediately looked awkward, which Sam picked up on and who then also looked awkward. But Aoife didn’t notice. Eager to impress her boyfriend’s friend she continued, ‘Speaking of baths, have you ever tried to wash Scotty? He’s impossible!’ Aoife launched into a story about how she and Sam had tried to clean Sam’s dog, but Kitty wasn’t listening to the story. Instead she caught the quick glance between mother and daughter, her mother reaching for her daughter’s hand beneath the table.
Name Number Seven: Mary-Rose Godfrey
Story Title: The Proposee
After meeting with Mary-Rose, Kitty made her way to St Margaret’s Nursing Home to meet Birdie again. She enjoyed spending time with Birdie, loved her simple stories of years gone by, her elegance, her gentleness, her openness to everything around her. Kitty had spent more time with Birdie than with the other people on her list, but, listening back over the tapes, Kitty realised that there was one question that needed to be asked. The day was still bright and sunny despite coming into a chillier evening at six o’clock. Many of the nursing home inhabitants were outside sitting in the shade, which was where Kitty found Birdie, looking as elegant as usual, her feet resting on a pillow on a garden chair, her face lifted up to the heat, her eyes closed.
‘Hello, birthday girl,’ Kitty said gently, not wanting to surprise her.
Birdie’s eyes opened and she smiled. ‘Well, hello, Kitty. It’s lovely to see you again.’ She took her feet down from the chair. ‘It’s not quite my birthday yet,’ she said. ‘Not that I’ll be celebrating it. Eighty-five years old, can you believe it?’ She shook her head, unimpressed.
‘You don’t look a day over eighty,’ Kitty said, and Birdie laughed. ‘You are celebrating it somewhere, though, aren’t you?’ Kitty probed, trying to get to the bottom of the mystery. It had been playing on Kitty’s mind for the past few days: where on earth was an eighty-five-year-old woman planning on spending her birthday if it wasn’t with her family, and she was intent on not telling them where she was going?
‘Well, no, I’m not exactly celebrating it.’ She removed an invisible piece of fluff from her skirt. ‘Isn’t it a smashing day?’
Kitty smiled, loving the challenge. ‘Your birthday is on Thursday, isn’t it?’
‘Yes.’
‘And you’ll be somewhere other than here for your birthday?’
‘That’s right, I won’t be here, but we can meet again on Saturday or Sunday, if that suits you. Even Thursday morning will be fine but I’m afraid I’m probably boring you with all of these stories.’
Kitty smiled. ‘Birdie, can I ask, where are you going?’
‘Oh, it’s not important, Kitty, it’s just …’
‘Birdie,’ Kitty said in a warning tone, and Birdie finally cracked a smile.
‘You don’t take no for an answer, do you?’
‘Never.’
‘Well, all right. I’m afraid I haven’t been entirely honest with you, Kitty, and I do apologise.’
Kitty’s ears pricked up and her adrenalin surged. ‘Yes?’
‘But only because it’s a silly little thing and nothing you would want for your story.’
‘Let me be the judge of that.’
She sighed. ‘I told you that when I was a young girl I was very sick.’
‘You had tuberculosis.’
‘It was an incredibly fatal disease then. It was like being handed a death sentence. Four thousand people died from it every year.’ She shook her head. ‘There was a terrible stigma attached