Page 8 of A Second Chance Summer in Dublin
‘So are you nervous for the showcase?’ I asked her as bottles tinkled into a skip from the side door.
‘Me? No, not my style, I’m very self-assured like, and –’ she drummed her fingers off the bar counter ‘– I just got an RSVP fromFerguson Brophy Bridal Designs. They’re coming to see my Whiter Shade of Pale showcase! Can you actually?!’
‘Oh, congratulations. They’re coming to see my Brothers Grimm showcase, too,’ I told her triumphantly.
Her expression shifted and her brow furrowed. She took a step back, made a small blow hole with her mouth. ‘Oh? Seriously? I wasn’t aware you were going to intern, being that bit older, I mean?’
‘No, I am.’ A riotous cheers from the table behind us. Glasses tinkering off one another.
‘Not that you’re old, like, that’s not what I meant, like.’ She had to raise her voice and her lilting Cork accent made mesmile.
‘That’s okay.’ At twenty-six I was older than the rest of the class by at least seven years. I’d worked in retail, freelance dressmaking while saving to put myself through college.
‘See you next week, so. May the best woman win the internship atFerguson Brophy.’
‘Bye.’ I turned back to Logan. The muscular curl of his biceps as he folded his arms across his chest made my eyes dip, dart up to his big brown eyes, then dip again. I really didn’t know where to look. I could barely listen to a word he was saying. Logan was so altogether arousing. The proximity of him was electrifying. He gave me a burning stare. Made me determined to stick it out at college, beat Emma Stark and any other competition to the internship I’d been chasing and working so hard towards for years.
‘One day, you’ll be a very successful wedding dress designer – you gotta put it out to the universe, right? And one day, I’ll be a famous theatre actor. Wealthy. Top of my game. The West End. Broadway. A Tony award, the whole shebang. Fame. I’ll find it. I’ll get it. I know I will. And I won’t give up until I do.’
I found him completely inspiring.
He leaned in even closer on his stool, inches from my face, so close I could see a tiny chip in his front tooth and a pimple patch on his chin. My heart ran laps around my pounding chest. The juke box had started with a burst and Tracy Chapman sang slowly about a fast car.
‘I’ll do it! I’ll finish the course. My graduation showcase is in a few weeks, and it’s so important my collection is the best it can be because of that internship .?.?. My future career is depending on it!’ I wiggled my lacerated fingertips to show him.
Logan took my hands and studied the bloody tips. He held them so close to his face that for a spilt second, I thought he wasgoing to kiss them.
‘Th-the Brothers Grimm .?.?.’ I stuttered. ‘Fairy tales. That’s the theme of my collection. Again, hence the Red Riding Hood cape. Actually, I need a Rumpelstiltskin for my runway show.’ I thought I was going to faint at his touch, so I tried to be funny, but he nodded, then released my hands as the barman placed two pints of settled Guinness on beermats up on the counter. Logan lifted his pint, deadly still, no bubbles rising merrily to the top. He swallowed, ran the back of his left hand across his top lip, swiping the foam away.
‘I’ll do it. I’ll be your Rumpelstiltskin,’ he said, leaning across, oh-so slowly, and kissing me softly on my right cheek, turning my whole world upside down.
*
Subconsciously, I rest my cold hand on that right cheek, as though Logan’s kiss is still somehow lingering there all these years later. Forever indented in my memory. I drain my wine.
Chapter Five
My flat feels stifling, I need some cool air.
Unfolding myself, I get up, refill my glass and step out onto the rooftop. I breathe in slowly. After Logan left me I threw myself into trying to resurrect my own neglected career. I’d been fully focused on his career for too long. I started my company,By Grace Algar, and began designing full-time.I’d spent many a lonely night deliberating a business name for my brand on Word docs. They all felt fake, generic, flowery, corny and cliché. I was none of those things and neither were my gowns. They were totally unique to the bride – an expression and extension of their personality. They wore the dress, the dress did not wear them. And that was why I liked the name so much. I poured every moment and penny into my new business, working every waking hour. But despite my talent, clients were slow to come to me. I couldn’t afford to rent a premises, so fittings have to take place in my less than salubrious flat with no access to parking above a very noisy games arcade, where groups of hooded youths stand outside smoking weed and mumbling. Customers have to climb up a rickety staircase. It’s not ideal and business is slow and getting slower. And I get it. It’s not exactly what most brides picture. I can’t even afford a stand at the Bridal Exhibition shows or ads in glossy magazines so I’m relying on word of mouth.
My phone rings on the table and I plod back in. I glance down at the caller ID. It’s Mia. I answer.
‘Hey!’ The noise in the background of clattering glasses andthe heavy beat of R&B sounds out. I plug one finger in my free ear, repeat. ‘Hey?’
‘Oh! Hey! Fancy a bop? I’m in town. The opening of a new cocktail bar on Dawson Street! DJ’s deadly!’ Mia screeches down the line.
‘No chance. Thanks but I’m exhausted.’ I welcome the cool of the lino beneath my bare feet, the tarmac on the rooftop was still so warm.
The sounds of ice being shaken in a cocktail shaker. ‘Come on! Free bar!’ The muffled laughter of the joyful crowd.
‘The bra’s off,’ I shout.
‘Oh, well, if the bra’s off that’s that. Ain’t no coming back from that .?.?. but are you okay?’
I know she’s worried about the party and Logan’s attendance. ‘I’m grand .?.?. oh, actually while I have you, I’ve just been thinking maybe I should bring a date, just so it’s less awkward .?.?.’ If Mia knew I wanted Logan back she’d have me committed because she’d watched after Portofino as I’d cried through the embarrassment and ate through the heartache. But deep down I never really believed we were over forever. Not even after what he did. The chemistry I had with Logan was something I just couldn’t switch off. I had invested so much in our relationship. He had given me the confidence I’d always lacked. I just truly believed that if he could nail the acting career he so badly wanted, he’d be back to say sorry and to save our relationship. So while I waited for his key to turn in the door of our flat and that confrontation to be resolved, I worked as hard as I could.
The noise of the bar rises, like rolling thunder and booming lightning. ‘Brilliant idea! Who?’ she shouts louder.
