Page 22 of Christmas at the Movies
James waltzed Sarah around the dance floor, cheek to cheek. Soon, everyone else was dancing, to a mix of songs they’d chosen from movie soundtracks.
‘May I have this dance?’ asked James’s dad, who looked very smart in his suit.
‘Of course.’ Sarah took his hand and her newly minted father-in-law twirled her around the dance floor.
‘I had no idea you could dance like this, Sean.’
‘Mary loved to dance. Back in Dublin when we were courting, we’d often go out dancing,’ he reminisced nostalgically.
‘I wish I’d got to meet her,’ said Sarah. From what James had told her, his mother had been kind, generous and cheerful – all qualities she had passed to her son.
‘She would have loved you,’ said Sean. ‘Because you make James so happy.’
‘He makes me happy too.’
When the song finished, Sean took a small box out of the breast pocket of his suit. ‘I have a wedding gift for you.’
‘Oh, but you already gave us a gift,’ said Sarah. He’d given them a framed poster ofDiamonds are Forever,signed by Sean Connery.
‘This one is just for you.’
Sarah opened the box. It was a gold necklace with an emerald pendant.
‘It’s beautiful,’ said Sarah, allowing her father-in-law to fasten it around her neck.
‘It was my Mary’s – the green of the stone matched her eyes.’
After thanking Sean and giving him a kiss on the cheek, Sarah joined Pari and a group of her girlfriends, who were dancing to ‘Night Fever’ with exaggerated disco moves. Then Chuck Berry’s ‘You Never Can Tell’ began to play.
Laughing, Pari and Sarah recreated the dance contest between Uma Thurman and John Travolta fromPulp Fiction– or at least tried to. Sarah slipped off her flats and did the twist, as Pari held her nose and pretended to swim. Everyone gathered around them in a circle and clapped when they finished.
Sometime during the course of the evening, Meg and her mum had reappeared. Geraldine had thrown herself into the dancing, and was pogoing so energetically to ‘I’ve Had the Time of My Life’ that her fascinator had flown off her head. Her mascara was smudged from crying, giving her panda circles under her eyes.
‘How are you doing, Mum?’ asked Sarah.
‘This is a traditional Masai dance,’ shouted Geraldine over the music as she bounced up and down. ‘Warriors do it at weddings.’
‘Maybe you should take a break—’
‘Nonsense!’ said Geraldine, hopping off. ‘I’m having the TIME OF MY LIFE.’ She laughed hysterically.
Sarah watched in horror as her mother leapt around the dance floor and crashed into her ex-husband, who was slow-dancing with his fiancée.
‘Geraldine, you are embarrassing yourself,’ hissed Charles. ‘You’ve had too much to drink.’
‘I’M EMBARRASSING MYSELF?’ screamed Geraldine. ‘YOU’RE THE ONE CARRYING ON WITH SOMEONE YOUNGER THAN YOUR DAUGHTERS!’
‘I realise that you’re jealous of my happiness,’ said Charles. ‘But please don’t ruin Sarah’s special day. Let’s try to be civil.’
‘Jealous?’ Geraldine laughed bitterly. ‘What doIhave to be jealous about? While you’ve been babysitting your little girlfriend, I’ve been seeing the world on my Carmichael Fellowship. THE ONE YOU DIDN’T GET – HA!’
Charles’s face turned red with anger. ‘YOU CAN TAKE YOUR CARMICHAEL FELLOWSHIP AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR—’
‘Mum! Dad!’ pleaded Sarah.
‘Please, Geraldine,’ said Tiffany, placing her hand on Geraldine’s arm. ‘I’d like us to be friends again.’
‘Friends?’ Geraldine scoffed. ‘Oh really? You’d like us to be friends …’
