Page 56 of The Knitting Club at Wagtail Ridge

‘Thank you.’

The two of them stood looking at each other for a very long minute before Mike seemed to notice Rose’s companions. ‘Hi, Bree.’

‘Mike, this is Matt.’ As Bree spoke, there was a loud squeal and a gleeful little girl flung her arms around her waist. ‘And this is Matt’s daughter, Vicki.’

The men shook hands then Mike looked down at Vicki. ‘Gosh, if I hadn’t already promised Rose the first dance, I would love to dance with you, Vicki.’

The little girl blushed. ‘I always dance with my daddy.’

‘And rightly so.’ Mike nodded. ‘But if I was to ask you for a dance, would you dance with me?’ He crouched down and whispered very loudly, ‘And then your dad could dance with Bree, who looks very pretty tonight, don’t you think?’

Vicki nodded vigorously. ‘I think Daddy would like to dance with Bree.’

‘I think he would too. So you save me a dance later, okay?’

‘Okay.’

At that exact moment, the band struck up a seventies disco track. Mike held out his hand to Rose. She took it and was swept away, looking as happy as Bree had ever seen her.

‘Come on, Daddy.’ Vicki tugged at her father’s hand. ‘Dance with me.’

Matt looked at Bree. ‘But Bree has only just arrived. We don’t want to be rude and desert her so quickly.’

‘It’s fine. You two go and dance. I’ll see if I can find the bar.’

Bree bought a glass of wine, adding her money to the growing pile in the library fund jar. Anna Prentiss appeared at her side, also looking for a drink.

‘How’s our girl Sky?’ she asked.

‘She’s fine. Fingers crossed.’

‘I am starting to have a faint hope that she might beat the odds.’ Anna gently rubbed the scar on her face. ‘But I’m not going to get too invested in that. There’s a way to go yet.’ She took her glass of beer and wandered off.

Bree found a spot from which to watch the dance floor. It would be fair to say that the dancing skills of the Wagtail Ridge inhabitants were mixed. On the far side of the room, a space had opened around a middle-aged couple who had a sort of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers look as they whirled around in what might be a foxtrot. Orange-haired Val from the post office was dancing with a thin man Bree guessed was her husband. And Deb and Shane from the pub, their arms wrapped around each other, were swaying to some music only they could hear. Maggie was here too. She saw Bree and extracted an arm from her clinch with a nice-looking lad to wave. Bree lifted her hand in response.

It took Bree a few seconds to find her grandmother and Mike. They had their best ballroom skills on display and Bree’s eyebrows rose as Mike spun Nan under his arm, then, his hand firmly around her waist, bent her backwards. Nan looked elegant and happy and ten years younger. They danced away and were lost in the crowd.

Bree’s eyes found Matt and his daughter. The little girl was jumping up and down, waving her arms in a series of moves that bore very little resemblance to any dance Bree had ever seen, but the smile on her face outshone every other on the dance floor except perhaps one. Matt’s dance moves definitely came under the heading of Embarrassing Dad Dancing, but he obviously didn’t care. He was probably having the best time of anyone on that dance floor.

Bree was distracted by the arrival of a woman from the knitting club who wanted to introduce a friend who might want to join. Before she really had time to think about it, Bree found herself surrounded by the women from the club, making plans for the next meeting and perhaps an outing to the historic Nundle Woollen Mill. Now that she had Maggie to help her, Bree might have time to go with them.

While Matt danced a second round with his daughter, Bree helped at the food table and then carried used dishes to the kitchen. When she returned, she found Matt looking for her.

‘I feel a bit guilty, deserting you like that the minute we walked in the door.’

‘It’s fine. You and Vicki looked like you were having fun.’

‘We were, but she’s with some school friends now. Are you willing to risk a dance with me? I’ll do my best not to step on your toes.’

On the stage, the band launched into another, even louder song and Bree nodded. Matt took her hand and in a matter of moments, they were on the dance floor.

The next half an hour passed in a swirl of music and laughter. No toes were damaged, and Bree, Matt and Vicki were dancing as a threesome when the band called a break, citing a need for food and beer.

‘I could use the same,’ Matt said. ‘Then, Vicki, it will be time for you to go to Kelly’s place.’

This elicited a cheer from the small girl, who darted ahead in the direction of the food table.

‘All the kids are going to Kelly’s for a sleepover tonight,’ Matt explained. ‘Someone volunteers every year to allow the parents to stay on at the dance.’

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