I make a soft hum.“Funny, I was worriedI’dfeel that way.What do you say, beautiful?Feel like dancing?”
Mila sputters out a laugh.“A pity dance?”
“No pity here,” I assure her.“In fact, I’d feel sorry for you if you agree to dance with me since I’ll probably step on your toes.”
She laughs again and takes my offered hand.On the dance floor, Liam and Joss are practically fused together.Fiona and Van are dancing with a respectable distance between them, reminding me of teenagers at a school dance.Fiona is speaking quietly to Van, who’s listening intently.
“So, you and Fiona live together in London?”I ask Mila.
She presses her lips together, her gaze sliding to Fiona for a second before settling in the vicinity of my left ear.“Mmhmm.Yep.We sure do.”
Her odd behaviour draws an unexpected chuckle from me.“And what’s that like?”I prompt.
“Oh, it’s great,” she says.“We often go long stretches without seeing each other, but when we’re both in the city, we love spending time together.We share the house with three other girls, which can make it feel a bit crowded, but we have all of London as our playground.”
I smile, mostly to myself since she’s still not quite meeting my eyes.“I think her obsession with London started around the time she saw the Spice Girls movie for the first time.”
Mila laughs, relaxing slightly in my hold and finally meeting my eyes.“That sounds about right.”
The song comes to an end.Rather than transitioning into a pop tune like I expect, another slow song comes on.I immediately recognize the opening notes of “The Lady in Red” by Chris de Burgh.When my gaze slides to Fiona, she’s watching me.She releases Van and nudges his arm.I can’t hear what she says, but from the movement of her lips, it looks like ‘go on’.
Neither Mila nor I made a move to separate when the last song ended, so we’re still dancing together.Van comes over, his resolved focus on Mila.
“Mind if I cut in?”he asks.
Mila seems stunned into silence, so I say, “Not at all.Have fun, you two.”
Without looking at me, Mila murmurs, “Thanks, Nathan,” and steps into Van’s hold.Fiona is lingering nearby, watching the exchange with a small smile.She starts to head back to our table, but I step in front of her, halting her progress.
“Wanna dance?I remember you loved this song when we were younger.”
One side of her mouth quirks.“Is there anything youdon’tremember?”
The ability to make sane, sensible decisions, apparently.Without responding, I pull her into my arms, and we begin swaying to the music.
“Van seems like a sweetheart,” she says.“He said he was coming over to talk to Mila, but chickened out at the last second, and asked me to dance instead.”
“He’s a good guy,” I say.“Been through a lot.I’m guessing you gave him a pep talk, and that’s why he asked Mila to dance?”
“Sure did.”She grins up at me and then moves closer, sliding her arm further around me, and resting her head on my shoulder.
Everything about this moment seems strangely familiar: the smell of Fiona’s hair, the feel of her soft body against mine, the song that’s playing.Shortly before Fiona and I became a couple, she and Liam dragged me to a school dance.Liam knew a girl he liked would be there, so Fiona said we should all go.The three of us spent most of the night on the gym bleachers, talking amongst ourselves, and eating overpriced snacks as our peers danced below.Shortly after Liam worked up the courage to seek out his crush, “The Lady in Red” came on, and Fiona asked me to dance.I wanted to say no, but I could never say no to her.She was as beautiful and radiant then as she is now, and I’d just begun to realize I loved her.
And god help me, I still love her.I’m so fucked.
“How are you doing?”Fiona asks quietly in my ear.
“How do you mean?”
“Just…in general.Are you okay?You look kinda worn out tonight.”
“Busy day,” I tell her.“We’ve been working on this big project at the B&B, and today was a pretty heavy-duty construction day.”I don’t add that I haven’t been getting enough sleep because of our late-night excursions.I doubt I’d sleep well regardless, and for now, I’d rather spend that time with her since I can practically feel the clock ticking down.
“Did you know Dad stayed at the B&B when he first came to Honeywell?”Fiona asks, shifting so she can see my face.
“No, I had no idea.”
“I found an old journal of his from when he first came here,” she says.“He stayed there for a few months before he and Mum got a place together.Obviously, I knew he had a whole life before I came along, but it’s weird finding out new details like that and not being able to pick his brain.”
