wet flower violently, like it is on fire, and pins it to the collar of her dress.
Edie and Noreen trot back up the steps again and Dora follows them through the door. The band is tuning up. There’s a loud rush of sound and a strong smell of Brylcreem and 4711. Dora hands in her ticket and gets a tin mug of cordial in exchange. The hall has been jollied up with dolls cut out of newspaper. Down one side the dolls have skirts; down the other they have trousers. Under the dolls, lining each side of the hall, are a row of chairs: boys and girls. Dora sips her cordial and looks at the dresses. Spearmint green is popular, and violet and yellow. She counts three flat pancake hats in the style of Queen Elizabeth. Dora is wearing Betty’s tweed suit with a silk scarf tied around the waist. The scarf is keeping things in place. Betty has warned Dora not to dance too vigorously or she’ll leave the skirt behind. Michael should be with her. She only agreed to come because of Michael. While Betty was helping her to get ready some boys from the butter factory came and collected him in an old Plymouth sedan with the back doors missing.
Dora places her mug on a chair and pats her hair. Eunice from the post office comes and sits next to her and they smile at each other when the band strikes up properly and the dancing begins.
Errol Carton dances with Betty Whipp, Sissie MacAdam dances with Reg Lillee. Mrs Collins dances with her son Donny – against his will. Edie Plimeroll dances with Des Carton. Iris Glassop dances with Donny Collins. Noreen Bird dances with Wes Popp. Noreen Bird dances with Des Carton.
Michael comes in after three songs have gone by. He is with two older-looking boys Dora doesn’t recognise. The three of them stand slouched against the boys’ wall sharing carefully from the same mug – too carefully for cordial. Michael’s shirt is big on him, the shoulder seams sit way down on his arms and the cuffs have been folded back. His tie – Harry’s tie, Dora supposes – is navy silk. She likes the way he’s slicked his hair back behind his ears so more of his face is on view and his good trousers are pleated – adding some bulk to his hips and thighs. Michael and his friends stand a bit apart from the others. They talk and drink and watch the dancing and sometimes point at a girl.
A song finishes, another is about to start, when one of the boys makes his way across the floor. He is a tall boy with curly hair and a long, slightly crooked mouth. He walks over to Mavis Fehring – the prettiest girl. She toys with her gloves and pretends to be looking in the other direction. The boy touches her on the shoulder and she stands up and smiles in a bored, tired way as if dancing with this boy is another chore such a popular girl as her will have to endure. Mavis follows the tall boy as he walks around the outside of the dance floor looking for a place for them to dance. He’s a very tall boy – probably six foot – so Mavis is almost trotting behind him on the toes of her painted green sandals to keep up. He’s taking a long time to find a place; Mavis has followed him now for one whole lap around the hall. The boy passes Michael and his other friend and grins at them. Mavis is still trotting behind him. The song is well underway. Some of the couples who are dancing have slowed down to watch as Mavis follows the boy. She’s done three laps now behind him, she’s starting to cut the corners and her mouth has fallen open with the effort. On the fourth lap, the song half over, Mavis takes her eyes off the boy’s back. She looks giddily around the hall. When she reaches the girls’ wall she grabs for her chair and throws herself onto it. The boy knows straight away that she’s stopped following him. He slackens his pace and saunters back to his friends. Michael offers him the mug and he takes a swig. There is some confusion about what has just happened. Mrs Collins bustles up and bends over Mavis sympathetically, but Mavis shakes her head and motions her away. Mavis