Читать книгу Someone You Know - Olivia Isaac-Henry - Страница 9

Edie: August 1993

‘This one’s called “The Snake”.’

Even though Edie had heard it a hundred times before, Uncle Ray always announced the songs. It was part of the ritual. And this time it was her record player, the one Uncle Ray and Auntie Becca had got her for her birthday. Tess had got a portable CD player. But Edie knew she had the best present. All Uncle Ray’s Northern soul tracks were on vinyl and that first crackle before the song came on, then the drum roll, gave Edie goosebumps.

As the trumpets came in, Uncle Ray swung his leg sideways before stepping left then right. He didn’t sing along like Edie, his arms and legs slid into patterns and his eyes focused on the middle distance.

‘Spin,’ Edie shouted.

He kicked one leg high then brought it down with a snap, sending him swirling so fast the stripes on his T-shirt blurred. Then he was back into his diamond pattern steps.

‘Your turn,’ he called to Edie.

She’d been practising. Uncle Ray had made her a cassette of some of the top tunes, as he called them, though a few of her favourites were missing. She couldn’t play it on the stereo in the lounge if Dad was watching TV, which was most of the time. So she practised upstairs, which she preferred anyway, because Tess wouldn’t try and join in. With her clumsy hopping about, she looked like a puppet with half of its strings cut. At Christmas, Uncle Ray had bought them their own cassette player for their bedroom, which Edie loved. But Tess said she felt bad because Dad had wanted to buy it for them and couldn’t afford it. Edie thought if he wanted to buy them stuff that much, he’d get a job.

Auntie Becca came in and leaned on the kitchen door frame.

‘You should be outside on a day like this, Edie. It’s your birthday; everyone else is in the garden. It won’t be summer forever.’

Edie ignored her and kept swinging her hips from side to side before copying Uncle Ray by kicking her leg up by her head, then pulling it down to put her into a spin.

Auntie Becca shook her head.

‘I’m not sure you should be teaching her that, Ray,’ she said. ‘She should at least be wearing trousers.’

Edie didn’t listen. She was watching Uncle Ray’s next move. He lunged to the side with his right leg and dragged his left foot along the floor behind him. Edie followed. They stepped left together. Edie squealed and hissed the ‘s’ of snake in the chorus.

‘Ray,’ Auntie Becca said.

‘Give it a rest, Becs,’ he said. ‘We’re just having a bit of fun.’

Auntie Becca shook her head again and left.

Why didn’t Auntie Becca ever want anyone to have fun? Edie thought. It didn’t matter, she was gone now and Edie was going to dance how she liked.

‘What are you doing?’

Tess was at the kitchen door. Edie and Uncle Ray were too intent on their dancing to reply.

‘What’s this one?’

Edie did another spin. Tess jumped into the room and started skipping from side to side, trying to copy Edie.

Mum came in from the kitchen just as Uncle Ray was changing tracks. He put down the single he was holding and swapped it for another.

‘This is “You Didn’t Say a Word” by Yvonne Baker,’ he announced.

‘My favourite,’ Mum said.

She pushed the sofa as far as it would go against the wall and moved the coffee table into the alcove by the fireplace.

She began to dance, singing along to the track. Edie hadn’t seen Mum dance in this way. She was good, better than Edie, despite all her practice. Not as good as Uncle Ray, but nearly. Tess was now bouncing up and down, oblivious to the beat.

Auntie Becca came back and stood at the door, looking as if the entire family had gone mad. Dad stood behind her and stared at Mum.

‘Come and dance, Dad,’ Tess said.

‘Not just now, Tess,’ he said.

‘But Dad,’ Tess pleaded.

She grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the door.

‘Come on, Dad.’

He danced a few steps, just moving from side to side before looking over at Mum and Uncle Ray with their coordinated jumps and spins. He moved back to the door.

‘I’ll leave it to the experts,’ Dad said and left to go for a smoke out the back.

*

They danced until it was dark and Mr Vickers banged on the wall and told them to shut up. Then they ate cold sausages from the barbecue and more cake. Uncle Ray let Edie sit on his lap and sip his beer, which she pretended to like but it made her screw her face up and she vowed never to touch it again. By the time Uncle Ray and Auntie Becca left it was gone midnight and Tess was half asleep on the sofa.

‘Come on, you two, time for bed,’ Mum said.

‘Not tired,’ Tess said as her head flopped on Mum’s shoulder.

‘I know you’re not,’ Mum said and propped Tess against her arm.

Edie followed them up the stairs. She wasn’t tired either, but she wanted the day to end now, when it was perfect. She was ten years old. Double digits. Nearly grown up.