people she knew. One or two of them passed her by, seeming not to recognize her, which delighted her even more. The style was top drawer; all the men wore expensive suits and the women were filling the room with wide new-look skirts, and some in candy-coloured day suits like herself; the older women in hats, the younger women wearing jewelled headbands cut close to their coiffed hair. Ava was delighted that she could match any of them. So was Nessa, who was dressed head to toe in an emerald-green ensemble. She was in her element. Ava knew what was on her mother’s mind but, for once, it didn’t bother her. In fact she was delighted to see her mother so happy.
As they entered the lobby, Nessa nodded at a passing hat and said out of the side of her mouth, ‘There’s Kitty and Kevin Flanagan – the crème de la crème,’ then seeing her husband was about to remove his jacket hissed, ‘Don’t even think about it!’
Tom raised his eyes to heaven and headed towards the bar, while Nessa grabbed her daughter’s arm and rose up on her toes exclaiming, ‘Holy God! Is that Rose Kennedy?’ then deflated. ‘No. Bridie Connor. Same hair – similar height – still,’ she said, taking heart as they walked through the elegantly laid-out lobby with its swirling patterned carpets and Formica side tables, ‘with this upmarket crowd I wouldn’t be at all surprised.’
They wandered over to the seating plan and Ava saw that she was at a different table to her parents, at the same table as Niall and Dermot Dolan, sons of the judge. Nessa was temporarily dumbstruck with excitement and before she had the chance to open her mouth Ava gave her a look that said, ‘not a word’.
Ava knew Niall Dolan from her Thursday nights at the Emerald Ballroom. While he was great fun and they liked each other, like all of the young men she was friendly with, Ava knew he wasn’t interested in her romantically.
She had never met his older brother Dermot before, although she had heard about him from her mother’s endless gossip of who was (and wasn’t) eligible in the Irish community. Dermot was eligible. A lawyer, he had followed in his father’s footsteps, graduating with honours in law from Harvard five years before, and his star, as a brilliant young defence attorney in the New York District Attorney’s office, was rising. He was known for using his charm and legal skills to great effect when representing the underdog, and had a reputation for compassion as well as a sharp mind. However, he was still single at pushing thirty, which meant he was probably a charmer and an impossibly good-looking womanizer, like his younger brother. The mere thought of sharing a meal with a dashing man who would doubtless dismiss her, would normally have made Ava feel inadequate and sad. However, today was different. Today, Ava was feeling hot-to-trot.
Walking away from her mother, towards her table, Ava could feel her body inside the armour of her outfit; the prickle of the snug lace against her skin, the movement of her buttocks as they brushed against each other in the tight skirt, the broadness of her shoulders against the smallness of her waist – it all made her lift her head and straighten her back with a poise that felt unfamiliar and yet, utterly as it should be. Ava found herself walking with confidence and grace; like a panther in pink. As if the instruction from her frustrated deportment teacher in finishing school had finally sunk in!
She got to the table early and when she saw she was sitting next to Dermot Dolan she reached down to move her place card to another part of the table. She was feeling too good about herself to be ignored by some snooty lawyer. However, she caught the cuff of her silk blouse on the name placeholder. As she went to release it she noticed the white lace of Sybil Connolly’s blouse peeping out from under, and the perfectly turned cuff of her pink suit with its three pearl buttons, and she felt a clip of pride
As they entered the lobby, Nessa nodded at a passing hat and said out of the side of her mouth, ‘There’s Kitty and Kevin Flanagan – the crème de la crème,’ then seeing her husband was about to remove his jacket hissed, ‘Don’t even think about it!’
Tom raised his eyes to heaven and headed towards the bar, while Nessa grabbed her daughter’s arm and rose up on her toes exclaiming, ‘Holy God! Is that Rose Kennedy?’ then deflated. ‘No. Bridie Connor. Same hair – similar height – still,’ she said, taking heart as they walked through the elegantly laid-out lobby with its swirling patterned carpets and Formica side tables, ‘with this upmarket crowd I wouldn’t be at all surprised.’
They wandered over to the seating plan and Ava saw that she was at a different table to her parents, at the same table as Niall and Dermot Dolan, sons of the judge. Nessa was temporarily dumbstruck with excitement and before she had the chance to open her mouth Ava gave her a look that said, ‘not a word’.
Ava knew Niall Dolan from her Thursday nights at the Emerald Ballroom. While he was great fun and they liked each other, like all of the young men she was friendly with, Ava knew he wasn’t interested in her romantically.
She had never met his older brother Dermot before, although she had heard about him from her mother’s endless gossip of who was (and wasn’t) eligible in the Irish community. Dermot was eligible. A lawyer, he had followed in his father’s footsteps, graduating with honours in law from Harvard five years before, and his star, as a brilliant young defence attorney in the New York District Attorney’s office, was rising. He was known for using his charm and legal skills to great effect when representing the underdog, and had a reputation for compassion as well as a sharp mind. However, he was still single at pushing thirty, which meant he was probably a charmer and an impossibly good-looking womanizer, like his younger brother. The mere thought of sharing a meal with a dashing man who would doubtless dismiss her, would normally have made Ava feel inadequate and sad. However, today was different. Today, Ava was feeling hot-to-trot.
Walking away from her mother, towards her table, Ava could feel her body inside the armour of her outfit; the prickle of the snug lace against her skin, the movement of her buttocks as they brushed against each other in the tight skirt, the broadness of her shoulders against the smallness of her waist – it all made her lift her head and straighten her back with a poise that felt unfamiliar and yet, utterly as it should be. Ava found herself walking with confidence and grace; like a panther in pink. As if the instruction from her frustrated deportment teacher in finishing school had finally sunk in!
She got to the table early and when she saw she was sitting next to Dermot Dolan she reached down to move her place card to another part of the table. She was feeling too good about herself to be ignored by some snooty lawyer. However, she caught the cuff of her silk blouse on the name placeholder. As she went to release it she noticed the white lace of Sybil Connolly’s blouse peeping out from under, and the perfectly turned cuff of her pink suit with its three pearl buttons, and she felt a clip of pride
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