Chapter 3: The Dance

Chapter 3: The Dance

That evening Kathy took a long time to dress because she didn’t know what to wear. She finally put on her best dress and shoes. Then she brushed her shoulder-length fair hair until it shone. A last look in the mirror showed a slim girl with happy brown eyes, her oval face framed by soft curls.

William stood at the end of the road and waited. When he saw Kathy, he hurried to meet her.

“Hello again! Ready to go?”

“Yes, let’s go!”

Together they went into the building. It was full of young people. Some girls were in mini-skirts and T-shirts, others in long, bright dresses. Most of the young men wore jeans, T-shirts and leather jackets. Everyone wanted to enjoy themselves. William greeted his friends, then invited Kathy to dance the moment the music started. They danced nicely together. And when the music stopped, a girl with soft brown hair and shining brown eyes came near them.

“This is Sue. Sue, say hello to Kathy!”

“Hello, Kathy! Nice to meet you. Come and meet the rest of the crowd.”

Just then, a tall young man came forward. He held his glasses in one hand and a handkerchief in the other.

“This is John. He always cleans his glasses when he’s thinking. He’s terribly clever, so he cleans his glasses a lot.”

“My hair falls across one eye when I’m angry.”

She looked into his kind green eyes and didn’t believe he could ever actually get angry.

“Here comes Pam! You hear her before you see her, because she’s always laughing.”

“Are you talking about me?”

“Yes.”

“I hope it was something nice.”

As she smiled her grey eyes shone. A young man went near her.

“Hello. My name’s Adam.”

“Glad to meet you. I’m Kathy.”

“Would you like to dance?”

“I’d love to!”

For the rest of the evening, Kathy danced and talked to her new friends, and William enjoyed himself, too.

“Last dance.”

“My dance!”

William led Kathy to the dance floor. As they were dancing Kathy took a look at her face in a mirror. Her cheeks were pink and her eyes were shining.

After the dance was over, William and Kathy went home, walking through the streets of the town which were now quiet.

“See you tomorrow then, Kathy.”

“See you tomorrow, William. Bye-bye!”

Every Saturday, Kathy and William worked at Helping Hand. Kathy enjoyed doing the odd jobs around town. She even sang for a pop group because their singer was sick. And then she had to serve drinks and food to the guests at a garden party, but the name of the house was “Pine Lodge” not “Hampton House” as she had hoped.

One Saturday, she and William helped Mr Jones build a fish pond in his garden. As it was a very hot day they decided to jump into the pond to cool off a little after so much hard work. Mr Jones looked at them and said that he would have to put the fish in the pond the next day.

On days when there was no work to do, they played Monopoly and Scrabble and had a lot of fun together. William also taught Kathy to cycle.

One day Joan asked Kathy and William to take the van to the Old People’s Home. Kathy visited the rooms on the matron’s list. Number 16 was not on the list.

“Where’s the lady from Room 16?”

“She’s gone away. By the way, I found an envelope, with your name on it, left on the floor of Room 16. Here it is.”

Kathy opened the envelope and took out the piece of paper inside. “VISIT HAMPTON” was all it said. She put the paper in her pocket.

“Was she a friend of yours?”

“No, but I liked her.”

Then, as there was nothing else to do in the Old People’s Home, Kathy followed William out to the van.