TODAY WE ARE FORTUNATE TO WELCOME GUEST AUTHOR, HELEN C KELLY, WHO IS SHARING AN EXCERPT FROM HER NOVEL, 'HOLD ME'

Dawn

Thursday rolled by. I finished working at five o’clock, so by the time Debbie came round to pick me up for choir practice, I was ready for her. I boiled some potatoes and cooked some salmon for us to have with salad for our dinner. I didn’t think I could stomach anything heavy, as the butterflies flying around my stomach were already making me feel sick. Every hour, I had thought of cancelling, but I knew that deep down I would regret it. Debbie was right. I needed to get out and get on with my life. This condition couldn’t take away all of me. This was the first step in doing that. At least I would know most of the people at choir. We were, after all, only a small village.

With dinner finished and the dishes put away, Debbie drove me to the community centre. Having spent a couple of minutes looking at the map of the building to find the right room, I looked over towards a door to see a sign saying ‘Choir Practice’ with a huge black arrow pointing left.

The community centre was a bit of a rabbit warren. The entranceway was lined with concrete tiles, and the walls were painted an odd yellow colour that was neither bright nor dark. Continuing along the corridor, there were branches of corridors with doors off to the right-hand side, and on the left-hand side there was another door that led to a courtyard outside and a separate building which housed the big hall. It was in here that the fundraiser had taken place the last time I’d visited the centre. The choir was in room five, and by the time we reached it, I was out of breath … though mainly due to the sheer anxiety of going out. As soon as we went in, I realised I had nothing to worry about, as the only person there was Jane. Walking towards Debbie and me, she smiled and pulled me in for a hug before moving on to Debbie.

“I am so glad you came. Come and have a seat. As you can see, no one else is here yet.”

“Thank you.”

Jane turned round to Debbie. “When I spoke to Dawn the other day, she said you weren’t stopping by. What a shame,” she added with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

“Oh ha ha,” Debbie replied sarcastically. “Am I ever going to live that down? Just let me know if you have any enemies – I am, after all, a secret weapon.”

The three of us chuckled.

“Did you want me to drop her off to save you coming back for her?” Jane offered. “If that’s all right with both of you, it’s no problem for me.”

“I think that would be a good idea,” I said before Debbie got a chance to reply. “That way, Debbie, you can go home and just put your feet up without worrying about coming back out for me.”

A bit flustered, Debbie said, “Okay…thanks for taking her home. But if there are any problems, please give me a ring.”

“I will. Now, go home and relax,” I demanded. “I will text you later when I get home. Thank you for bringing me. I love you.”

“I love you, too. Enjoy yourself.”

With that, Debbie left. Just as Jane and I started going through the music, I heard someone say, “Knock knock.”

We both turned round to see someone I hadn’t seen for a long time, and he had certainly changed. Gone was the slightly tubby, acne-riddled boy, and in his place a real man with muscles in all the right places, confidence pouring out of him. But he still carried his cheekiness, which was easy to see when he turned to Jane and said, “Okay, I gave in, but it was a low blow sending James after me.”

“I was desperate! You have no idea how much persuasion that took to get him to twist your arm. I had to agree to name my first child after him!”

She rolled her eyes as she turned back to me. “You remember Dawn, don’t you, Connor?”

“I certainly do. I haven’t seen you around much. How are you?”

“I’m okay,” I lied. “You’ve certainly changed since I last saw you.”

“For the better, I hope.”

“Of course, although not that there was anything wrong with the old version ...”

“That was a quick save there. You nearly hurt my ego.” He gave a sly smile.

“Well, I wouldn’t want that.”

“Where is that troublemaker sister of yours?”

“Debbie acknowledges that singing isn’t, uh, quite her skill.”

“Thank heavens for that. I still remember her audition for Grease when we were at school.”

“I think everyone does.” To which there were more than three people laughing. Only then did I realise that there weren’t just the three of us in the room anymore. More people from the village had joined us, all of whom I recognised - one of the perks of living in a small village. You know everyone, at least by sight. It was nice to see people that I felt comfortable with. That was one of the difficulties I’d found going to the conference the previous week - meeting new people and making conversations. People don’t realise how much energy it takes to talk to strangers and to think about what to say. That was one of the reasons I had been so tired when I’d got home.

Once everyone had started to settle down, Jane started, and I was surprised at how easy I found it. We had a laugh when people made mistakes, but it was all harmless fun and a great way to relax. Even Connor looked like he was having as much fun as everyone else. Jane even managed to find a way to check that I was okay and that I didn’t need a break. As she had said when she’d come to my house, some people decided that some songs weren’t for them, so they just sat them out and listened to everyone else. That allowed me to take a break whenever I needed one without standing out, but I was enjoying myself too much for that to happen. It wasn’t long before it was time to leave, and after we locked up, we went to Jane’s car, where quite a few of the choir members were lingering. There were only a few cars left in the car park. Although we were the last to leave the building, the centre had really good security lights, so it wasn’t dark and gloomy and there were still a few people standing round talking before they went their separate ways.

Sitting in her car, we’d begun talking about how the evening had gone when Jane turned the key. But her car wouldn’t start.

“No. Come on. Don’t do this to me now!”

“Uh, Jane, I’m not sure that shouting at it is going to help. I might not be a mechanic, but it sounds like flat battery.”

Just as she was about to answer, there was a knock on the driver’s window, and both Jane and I screamed, then we both looked at each other and laughed as we turned and saw Connor through the glass.

Winding down her window, Jane asked, “Are you okay?”

“I apologise for scaring you, but I noticed that you haven’t left yet and I wanted to check that you were okay?”

“My car won’t start. I think the battery is dead.”

“Ah, I don’t have any jump leads in my car. I can offer you ladies a lift home or wait until someone else can come? I didn’t want to leave you here. It wouldn’t be the gentlemanly thing to do. Jane, have you let David know?”

“I was just about to.” She held up her phone. “He’s working at the restaurant tonight so should be finishing up around now. If I ring him, if it’s alright with Dawn, can she sit in your car where it will be warmer?”

Jane looked at me to make sure I was okay with what she had said.

“That’s okay by me,” I replied.

“Of course.”

Connor came round to my door and opened it like a gentleman, and he gave me his hand to help me up. “Right this way, madam,” he said as if he was a chauffeur, a cheeky glint in his eye.

I laughed shyly. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

“Anytime. I will put the heating on, then pop back and see what Jane has sorted.”

“Thank you.”

I watched him in the passenger wing mirror talking to Jane, who then passed her phone to Connor so that he could speak to whoever was on the other end. I presumed it was David. I managed to see her rolling her eyes and laughed to myself, presuming that David was being over-protective.

Jane and Connor came back to the car as Jane got in the back and Connor got in the driver’s side.

“I am sorry, Dawn,” Jane said. “Connor has offered to give you a lift home and me a lift to David’s restaurant.”

“It can’t be helped, don’t worry, and I don’t mind ringing Debbie. She did say to let her know if there were any problems.”

“Not necessary, this is just a minor hiccup. We can drop off Jane first and then I will take you home as it’s on my way, is that all right?”

“I just don’t want to put anyone out.”

“You’re not putting anyone out. I get the company of two beautiful ladies. I will be the talk of the village!”

Jane laughed. “I’m just glad I let David know before the gossip reached his ears!” We all laughed thinking about what the rumour mill might come up with.

It didn’t take long to drop Jane off at the restaurant and get to my house.

“Thank you for the lift Connor, I really appreciate it. Did you want to come in for a drink?”

“No problem. I would love to, but I promised mum I would pop in and see Lily before I went home after choir practice as she had something I needed to pick up for her and I don’t want to be too late.”

“Okay. Thank you again, and I will see you soon.”

With that, I left the car and went to my front door. I turned around and waved goodbye to him as soon as I’d put the key in the lock. I was a bit disappointed about that, as it would have been nice to catch up with him, but also glad because it meant that I could go straight to bed. My body was starting to flag. The night had gone better than I’d expected. I’d thought that I would be more of a hindrance than anything else, but it was the opposite. I couldn’t wait for next week’s rehearsal. I quickly texted Debbie to thank her for making me go and for arranging it. I then went to bed. Just as I plugged my phone in, I got a text back saying,

"You're welcome."

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COMING SOON: On Monday, 30th June, we have our amazing team member, author Lorraine Carey who will be sharing one of her 'Tales by Firelight' - 'Echoes From The Board'.