Page 50 of Teacakes & Tangos
He smiled across at me. ‘I fancy a BBQ. What do you think? It’s such a lovely evening.’
‘Ooh, yes. I like that idea.’
‘I noticed you’ve got one in your back garden.’
‘We have indeed. But that’s always been Dad’s domain so if we go down the burgers and sausages route, you’ll be on chef duty, okay?’
‘Perfect. Dana always put me in charge of the BBQ.’ He grinned. ‘I can even do you a pudding – baked bananas with cream are delicious.’
I was feeling just a little uneasy, wondering why Xander hadn’t seemed keen to take me back to his place. But I dismissed the feeling as we went off to buy food for the BBQ.
As Xander had said, my place was handier to get to...
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Dad was continuing to improve.
He was still sleeping a lot and a little vague sometimes when I was talking to him, but I could see he was getting stronger and more lucid every time I visited.
It felt like we’d been given another chance at life.
That sounded a bit dramatic. But Dad and I were so close, I honestly felt that if I’d lost him, a part of me would have died, too...
I could tell he was pleased about Xander and me deciding to go to the tango night together, although when I mentioned that I could take him to check out the Magic of Dance once he was out of hospital, he was adamant he didn’t want to go.
‘It wouldn’t feel right without your mum there with me,’ he’d said firmly. ‘Too many memories.’
I’d nodded sadly. ‘It would be bittersweet, I grant you. But maybe you need to do it, Dad. It might help you to move on.’
But he seemed adamant about this.
Dance no longer interested him and never would, so what would be the point?
*****
On the bus home after seeing Dad, I was thinking about the following day when I’d be going to the tango night with Xander.
What was I going to wear?
I’d asked Clara and she’d said that at their first session the previous week, some people had come along wearing tango-style costumes, but at the other extreme, there were dancers in simple jeans and T-shirts.
When I got home, I went straight into the spare room, which was basically a dumping ground and rather untidy. But I knew exactly what I was looking for.
I unearthed the old brown trunk that Mum and Dad had bought at an antiques fair many years ago. Then I knelt down beside it, my fingers on the catches.
The trunk hadn’t been opened for years.
I took a deep breath and pulled up the lid, and my heart was beating a little faster as I gazed at the evocative and colourful display before me.
A musty scent rose up from the trunk as I started carefully pulling out the contents. There were dresses all the colours of the rainbow – shiny satins, butter-soft velvet and gauzy net – most encrusted with clusters of sparkling jewels and dazzling sequins.
These were the costumes Mum had worn during her amateur dancing days.
And I knew what I was looking for as soon as I saw it.
It had been my favourite of all Mum’s dresses and it would be perfect to dance the tango with Xander! Tears blurred my eyes as I pulled it out – but they were mostly happy tears.
This trunk of dresses was like Mum’s car. We’d been avoiding opening it because of the potential for more heartache. But as I sat back, stroking the dress with all its lovely memories, I felt glad that I’d finally broken through that barrier.
