The Ballroom on Magnolia Street by Sharon Owens

request from Louise Lowry.
    ‘I’m sorry?’ Kevin leaned across the table, both to hear Kate, and to be closer to her magnificent cleavage. It was very hard for him to concentrate in the presence of such flawless beauty. He dabbed the perspiration off his forehead with a pink cuff.
    ‘Never mind my sister, Kevin. She’s had one too many vodkas, I’m afraid.’
    ‘Oh, Shirley, I haven’t! You’re making me out to be an alcoholic! I’ve only had five or six drinks. That’s nothing!’
    ‘You’re looking absolutely beautiful tonight, Kate. I really like your hair. It’s very shiny.’ Kevin was on a roll, and didn’t want a sisterly row to get in the way.
    ‘I’ve just had it trimmed.’
    ‘It’s lovely.’
    ‘Thank you very much for the compliment, Kevin. You’re not looking too bad yourself! I love the suit.’
    ‘Really?’ Kevin was delighted. ‘I bought it in London.’
    ‘Did you? What were you doing there?’
    ‘I was taking my mother to get her veins done, privately.’
    ‘Lovely. They’ve great clinics in London. How’s the garage?’
    ‘Going great, yeah. I’m snowed under with work. I might even take on an apprentice or two. I haven’t bothered in the past – it’s easier to do things yourself than to show somebody else.’
    ‘I know what you mean,’ giggled Kate. Shirley rolled her eyes.
    ‘Would you like to dance, Kate?’ Kevin stood up, and offered his arm to Kate, in a gesture that wouldn’t have been out of place at a royal gala.
    ‘Ah, I’ve a dodgy knee, Kevin. I banged it on a filing cabinet at work.’
    ‘Oh, dear. I’m sorry to hear that.’ He sat down again and began to twiddle the blue silk handkerchief between his muscular fingers.
    ‘Shirley will dance with you. Won’t you, Shirley?’ Shirley choked on her drink and shook her head violently. She never danced until she was well oiled. Kate kicked her sister’s foot, under the table, and nodded towards the watching bouncers. ‘On you go, the pair of you. I’ll mind the drinks.’
    Kevin stood up again, and Shirley had no choice but to get up as well and follow him out to the dance floor. The current song was dying away. She prayed that DJ Toni could find something halfway decent in his eclectic record collection. It took her a while to recognize the song: ‘The Land of Make Believe’ by Buck’s Fizz.
    The DJ turned the volume down to make an announcement.
    ‘A great little tune. Buck’s Fizz. That’s the name of a drink, you know. Champagne and orange, if I’m not mistaken. Six years since this classic was in the charts, ladies and gentlemen. Six years! Where does the time go, I ask you?’ He turned up the music, then, even louder than before, and all hope of conversation was extinguished.
    Kate drank her vodka, and Shirley’s too. She felt moved by the song, with its sugary sentiments, and felt a longing for someone or something that she could not explain. She realized with horror that she was beginning to doubt herself. She was falling prey to Shirley’s bad habit of thinking too much. What was she doing in this concrete ballroom, anyway? Did she like Alex enough to kiss him? To marry him? Was that a mild trembling she felt in her hands? Not again! She must get to a mirror. She reached for her bag and stood up too quickly, and the alcohol made her feel dizzy. She walked to the ladies’ room with as much dignity as she could muster, and drew some comfort from its draughty chill. She went into one of the cubicles and locked the door. A weird feeling passed over her, like she was not standing in the cubicle any more, but was actually hovering just above herself. She closed the lid and sat down. Her hands shook so much she could not even manage to tear off a piece of toilet paper to dab her face with. Just then, Louise Lowry and Mary came bursting into the room. Kate held her breath behind the wooden door as she heard the girls talking by the sinks.
    ‘It’ll never last, Louise. Mark my