Page 28 of The Last Saturday In July
At 6-foot-three, Finn had the lean, wiry body of a dancer. He wore his long, thick hair loose and, with his heavy stage make-up, including horizontal stripes across his nose and cheeks, he looked like he was about to take part in Mardi Gras. Jess was grateful he was wearing a dressing gown over his leotard. She wasn’t sure if Moira was up to so much excitement, this close up.
‘Hey, girls!’ He gave Jess and Kate a small wave. ‘Hi, Moira, thanks so much for coming.’
Finn grinned broadly and Moira flushed.
‘Wouldn’t miss it for the world, dear. You look wonderful.’
Finn wiped his hands on his dressing gown. ‘Any media here yet?’
Jess was careful not to react. Unless Finn had persuaded the local free sheet to send one of its trainees, there was absolutely no chance anyone from the press would show.
‘Er,not yet.’ Zoe looked around, as if she expected a camera crew from RTÉ to arrive at any moment. ‘But don’t worry, I’ll send photos to all the press desks.’
Finn gave a heavy sigh and scratched his crotch. To be fair to him, Jess thought, it was very warm in the room, and the striped nylon tights sticking out underneath the knee-length robe looked quite itchy. Simon, who was standing close to him, started to edge carefully away.
‘Simon, why don’t you sit down here with Tom and me?’ Moira said, patting the seat beside her.
‘Smile, everyone!’ Zoe pointed the camera in their direction and Jess, Kate and Finn huddled into a group beside Moira, Simon and Tom. She snapped a few photos and looked towards the door. ‘I hope Mam gets here in time with your parents, Simon.’
Simon put down the drinks on one of the tables and pushed his glasses up nervously. ‘I’m really not sure Mum and Pops are going to enjoy this.’
Jess was starting to feel they’d hate every minute. But it was too late now. She gave her brightest smile. ‘They’ll love it.’
To her relief, Carmel arrived with Simon’s parents a few minutes later.
Simon stood quickly to help them to the table beside them.
‘Thank you, Simon.’ Úna peered closer at his forehead. ‘Good grief, what have you done to your head? You’ve got a big lump on it.’ She turned to Jess. ‘What has he done to his head, Jess?’
‘Well, once Jess didn’t do it, that’s the main thing.’ Moira raised her fishbowl glass of gin. ‘Úna, you should get a couple of these into you.’
Jess suppressed a giggle at Úna’s expression. Simon’s parents had only met her nana twice before, and she was the only person Jess knew who could put Úna on the back foot.
Jess leaned towards them. ‘Thanks for coming, I know Finn will appreciate it.’
Úna sat down next to Simon, her hand fluttering to her neck. ‘Such an unusual venue.’ She turned to Edward. ‘We’ve never been here, have we, Judge?’
Edward made some small clearing noises in his throat, as he peered over his wire-rimmed glasses. ‘Well, no, it’s not normally the sort of place . . .’ He trailed off and squinted harder. ‘Where exactly is the stage?’
As Jess started to point out the performance space they’d just walked through, the lights went out and the audience chatter dropped to excited whispers. A noise behind them made them turn, and Jess could just make out the shapes of the performers as they moved along by the wall to the top of the room. The first strains of some discordant classical music filled the air and, as a spotlight lit the stage, Jess heard a distinct gasp from Úna.
The twenty performers, men and women, wore sheer body stockings, over which were artfully placed feathers, tails, claws and wings, while elaborate bird and animal masks completed the effect. They began to dance, twisting and writhing, stretching and arcing around the small stage, as they stroked each other’s heads, arms and torsos.
To Jess’s left, Simon shifted in his chair. She didn’t dare look across, in case she caught Úna or Edward’s eye.
At the table behind her, a couple of people snorted with laugher. Jess glanced over at Zoe, who grinned and gave her the thumbs-up. Thank God, it was meant to be funny.
She met Moira’s eye, who raised her glass in a salute, before downing the rest of her drink and settling back in her chair.
Jess turned her attention back to the stage.
She’d been unsure what to expect but, while their performance was eccentric, it was also brilliant.
As the music reached a crescendo, Edward suddenly scraped back his chair and got to his feet. Úna tried to pull him back down again.
‘I have to leave.’ His voice carried above the surrounding tables and a number of people turned to look.
‘Oh dear, sorry.’ Úna sounded flustered.
