“I thought I’d surprise you.” Zack stretched out a hand to take hers. “Let’s go in and play that record you like to dance to.”
“We’re dancing now?” Glenda said, the excitement in her voice more like that of a teenager rather than a woman in her eighties.
“We’ll dance now.”
He led her through another corridor to a room that had been especially designed to look like a music hall just after the second world war. There was a gramophone and bunting up, tables set up at the back and drinks dispensers and glasses from that era. It had been created with people like Glenda in mind; a chance for them to return to a place that their long term memories had preserved as if it was still the present day.
She went straight over to the gramophone and the selection of records. Zack watched, putting his jacket over the back of her chair. Dancing would warm her back up and tire her out. Frequently after a dance, she would remember where she was and when she was; the exercise encouraged lucidity.
Eddie Arnold’sHeart Full of Love, Hand Full of Kissesstarted to play. He stepped towards her, offering his arm which she took with a flirtatious smile and an unsteady step and then they started to move, him leading just like he’d been taught by another errant grandmother, years before.
The final bars played and he felt Glenda slow, her steps becoming shuffles and her breath becoming shorter.
“Thank you,” she said, looking at him with a different expression. “I think I need a nap now. But it’s good of you to dance with an old woman. You’re just like my Ronnie was. Have I ever told you that?” She patted his cheek and went to the carer who was waiting for her, an arm out to steady her.
“I never would’ve guessed that dancing was your hidden talent.”
He recognised the voice immediately, even though he hadn’t heard it for over a week.
“It’s a useful skill when you work with this age group,” he said, turning round to see Sorrell standing in the door way. She was in tight jeans and a thin sweater, her coat over her arm. Her hair was dripping down her back and he wished for the right to push his fingers through it.
Her smile was sweet. “I suspect the ladies like to take advantage of your skills.”
“And my brothers like to take the piss,” Zack added. He knew he was smiling broadly and wished he could tone it down a bit, not seem quite so happy to see her.
“I brought cake. Gran told me there was a tea dance tomorrow so I made a Victoria sponge and some other bits. I thought some of your residents might like it.”
“They will.” He stepped closer to her. “You should’ve given me a shout. I’d have picked them up and saved you a journey.”
“Honestly, it was good to get out for a bit. This week has been hectic so far and I needed a change of scenery,” she said and he saw the raw honesty beneath the smile.
“How’s it going? Or shouldn’t I ask?” he said, heading closer to her. She smelled of baking and musk.
Her arms raised up in a gesture of who knows. “I have my first guests arriving a week on Friday. All the bedrooms are decorated and furnished. I have a chef, thanks to Jake, and a cleaner and someone to take some shifts on reception.”
“It sounds really good, Sorrell,” he said. “You’re good to go.”
She nodded. “And I have a wedding to cater in three and a half weeks.”
He sat down and gestured for her to take the chair opposite. “Your aim was to be ready for the wedding, wasn’t it? And you sound like you’re more than ready.”
There was another nod, then her gaze froze on him. “Kind of. Everything’s ready. The wedding’s a distant cousin of mine and it’s low key. He just wants fairy lights. Lots of them.”
“He does? What about the bride?”
“She wants fairy lights too,” Sorrell said and this time her smile was wicked.
“Oh,” Zack said. “Where are they going to go?” He got keeping the bride happy was important. He clearly needed to up his fairy light game, should he ever get married.
“In the extension. I’m dimming the ceiling lights and using string lights and…” She stopped and laughed. “You really don’t need the details.”
“I’m interested!”
Sorrell shook her head. “You’re not. Or maybe you are but if I mention fairy lights once more, you’ll end up with your eyes glazed over.”
“Do you need any help with anything up there?” Zack said, swiftly dodging the décor conversation. It was not his forte. When it came to overseeing the build and design of a new care home with a specialist centre for dementia he knew who to delegate to in terms of the finer details. When it came to decorating the place for special events, he also knew how to delegate. When it came to helping his brother choose a beer for the month, delegation was not necessary. He was aware of his strengths and stuck to them. “Not with picking cushions or shit like that, but…”
“Anything involving power tools and ladders?” This time her smile was cheeky.
