Part 9 (1/2)
”Oh, you have to!”
”Sharon, I don't think she can remember,” Denise frustratedly said to Sharon.
”Oh, what is it?” Sharon put her face in her hands, irritated. Holly shrugged her shoulders at Denise again. ”OK, I've got it!!” she announced happily, and began to sing loudly in the cafe. ” ”Sun, sea, s.e.x, sand, come on boy give me your hand!” ”
Holly's eyes widened and her cheeks flushed with embarra.s.sment as people at the surrounding tables turned to stare. She turned to Denise for support in silencing Sharon.
” 'Ooh ooh ooh so s.e.xy, so s.e.xy!' ” Denise joined in with Sharon. Some people stared in amus.e.m.e.nt but most in loathing while Denise and Sharon warbled their way through the tacky European dance song that had been a hit a few summers previously. Just as they were about to sing the chorus for the fourth time (neither of them could remember the verses), Holly silenced them.
”Girls, I can't sing that song! Besides, the verses are rapped by a guy!”
”Well, at least you wouldn't have to sing too much,” chuckled Denise.
”No way! I am not rapping at a karaoke compet.i.tion!”
”Fair enough,” nodded Sharon.
”OK, well, what CD are you listening to at the moment?” Denise got serious again.
”Westlife?” she looked at them hopefully.
”Then sing a Westlife song,” Sharon encouraged. ”That way, at least you'll know all the words.”
Sharon and Denise began to laugh uncontrollably. ”You might not get the tune right,” Sharon forced out between hacking laughs.
”But at least you'll know the words!” Denise managed to finish for her before the two of them doubled over at the table.
First Holly was angry, but looking at the both of them crouched over, holding their stomachs in hysterics, she had to giggle. They were right, Holly was completely tone-deaf and hadn't a note in her head. Finding a song she could actually sing was going to prove impossible. Finally after the girls settled down again, Denise looked at her watch and moaned about having to get back to work. They left Bewley's (much to the other customers' delight). ”The miserable sods will probably throw a party now,” Sharon had mumbled, pa.s.sing their tables.
The three girls linked arms and walked down Grafton Street, heading toward the clothes store where Denise was manager. The day was sunny with just a light chill in the air; Grafton Street was busy as usual with people running around on their lunch breaks while shoppers slowly meandered up the street, taking full advantage of the lack of rain. At every stretch of the road there was a busker fighting for attention from the crowds, and Denise and Sharon embarra.s.singly did a quick Irish dance as they pa.s.sed a man playing the fiddle. He winked at them and they threw some money into his tweed cap on the ground.
”Right, you ladies of leisure, I better head back to work,” Denise said, pus.h.i.+ng the door to her shop open. As soon as her staff saw her they scarpered from gossiping at the counter and immediately began to fix the clothes rails. Holly and Sharon tried not to laugh. They said their good-byes and both headed up to Stephen's Green to collect their cars.
” 'Sun, sea, s.e.x, sand&rsquo, ” Holly quietly sang to herself. ”Oh s.h.i.+t, Sharon! You've got that stupid song in my head now,” she complained.
”You see, there you go with that 's.h.i.+t Sharon' thing again. So negative, Holly.” Sharon began humming the song.
”Oh, shut up!” Holly laughed, hitting her on the arm.
THIRTEEN.
IT WAS FOUR O'CLOCK BY the time Holly eventually got out of town and started heading home to Swords. Evil Sharon convinced Holly to go shopping after all, which resulted in her splas.h.i.+ng out on a ridiculous top she was far too old to wear. She really needed to watch her spending from now on; her funds were running low, and without regular income she could sense tense times ahead. She needed to start thinking about getting a job, but she was finding it hard enough to get out of bed in the morning as it was, another depressing nine-to-five job wasn't going to help matters. But it would help pay the bills. Holly sighed loudly, all these things she had to handle all by herself. The thought of it was just depressing her, and her problem was that she spent too much time on her own thinking about it. She needed people around her, like today with Denise and Sharon, as they always succeeded in taking her mind off things. She phoned her mum and checked if it was all right for her to call around.
”Of course you can, love, you're always welcome here.” Then she lowered her voice to a whisper, ”Just as long as you know that Richard is here.” Christ! What was with all the little visits all of a sudden?
Holly had contemplated heading straight home when she heard that but convinced herself she was being silly. He was her brother, and as annoying as he was, she couldn't go on avoiding him forever.
She arrived to an extremely loud and crowded house and it felt like old times again, hearing screams and shouts in every room. Her mum was setting an extra place at the table just as she walked in. ”Oh, Mum, you should have told me you were having dinner,” Holly said, giving her a hug and a kiss.
”Why, have you eaten already?”
”No, actually I'm starving, but I hope you didn't go to too much trouble.”
”No trouble at all, dear, it just means that poor Declan will have to go without food for the day, that's all,” she said, teasing her son who was taking his seat. He made a face at her.
The atmosphere was so much more relaxed this time around, or maybe it had just been Holly who was uptight during the last family dinner.
”So, Mr. Hard Worker, why aren't you in college today?” she said sarcastically.
”I've been in college all morning,” he replied, making a face, ”and I'm going back in at eight o'clock, actually.”
”That's very late,” said her father, pouring gravy all over his plate. He always ended up with more gravy than food on his plate.
”Yeah, but it was the only time I could get to book the editing suite.”
”Is there only one editing suite, Declan?” piped up Richard.
”Yeah.” Ever the conversationalist.
”And how many students are there?”
”It's only a small cla.s.s, there are just twelve of us.”
”Don't they have the funds for any more?”
”For what, students?” Declan teased.
”No, for another editing suite.”
”No, it's only a small college, Richard.”
”I suppose the bigger universities would be better equipped for things like that, they're better all-round.”
And there was the dig they were all waiting for.
”No, I wouldn't say that, the facilities are top of the range, there's just fewer people so therefore less equipment. And the lecturers aren't inferior to university lecturers, they're a bonus because they work in the industry as well as lecturing. In other words, they practice what they preach. It's not just textbook stuff.”
Good for you, Declan, Holly thought, and winked across the table at him.
”I wouldn't imagine they get paid well doing that, so they probably have no choice but to lecture as well.”
”Richard, working in film is a very good job; you're talking about people who have spent years in college studying for degrees and master's...”
”Oh, you get a degree for that, do you?” Richard was amazed. ”I thought it was just a little course you were doing.”
Declan stopped eating and looked at Holly in shock. Funny how Richard's ignorance still amazed everyone.