When Saturday rolled around, Bo was enjoying an evening with the Flingers. In an ideal world, they’d always be dancing to a live band – especially when they were at an event – but for cost and convenience, they usually had to make do with recorded music, sometimes from streaming services but mostly from vinyl – which was where Ran came into his own.
He was behind the decks, headphones clamped to one ear, making sure the music sounded perfect. Bo thought nothing sounded as authentic and rich as a vintage vinyl played on a record player. With all its imperfections, and the aura of the original recording, the vinyl records gave a unique flavour and energy to the room.
She’d already danced with four different partners of all ages when Hubert asked her to join him in a fast-paced version of ‘Boogie Woogie Santa Claus’ by Patti Page. The switch between partners was a mental and physical challenge in itself, let alone trying different dances.
‘Thanks, but I’ll sit this one out,’ she said, securing some escaped tendrils of hair under her ponytail. It was a mild autumn evening and the heat generated by a dozen couples bopping enthusiastically to some of the tunes from the Christmas playlist had turned the community hall into a sauna. It was a little strange to be dancing to Christmas songs so far ahead of the festive season though they had to start practising early.
‘Not like you to wimp out, Bo,’ Hubert said, grinning.
‘Busy week,’ she said. ‘The café’s been packed and I had two tour parties for picnic teas. I’m knackered. That’s my excuse anyway.’
‘Come on, I’m twice your age and I’ve not sat down.’ Hubert’s wife Sally joined them, rocking a musical note print skirt, with a blue top and matching underskirt.
‘You and Hubert are professionals and you’re much fitter than me. And besides, nothing would give me greater pleasure than seeing you two boogie woogie.’
‘Next dance, then?’ Hubert said.
Bo nodded. ‘You bet!’
Sipping her water, she marvelled from the sidelines as Hubert took to the floor with Sally. Their energy was phenomenal as they boogied to the vintage track that had first been issued in the late forties. The turns, spins and changes of hands, the triple steps, the changing places were super fast – and they did it all with a smile on their faces.
Ran was jigging away behind the decks too, much to Bo’s amusement.
They ended with a lift that drew whoops of delight from the rest of the Flingers.
‘Whoa! Way to go!’ Bo called and whistled.
Applause rang out and Hubert and Sally gave a bow.
The song ended and Ran announced a break before joining Bo. He’d shared the proposed playlists with Hubert and Sally and they all chatted about the music. Tonight was a ‘taster session’ of the music, to get people in the mood and to see the reaction to the music.
‘I could do with a cold drink,’ Ran said.
‘Great idea,’ Bo said, walking with him to the kitchen area off the side of the main hall. After they’d grabbed a drink, Hubert took him aside while Sally spoke to Bo.
‘You were really rocking that last track,’ Bo said to Sally who was a little pink-cheeked but hardly out of breath.
‘Thanks. I love that one. I haven’t danced boogie woogie for ages.’
‘You could have fooled me.’
‘Have you heard from Angel?’ Sally asked.
Bo related a heavily edited version of her visit to Angel from earlier in the week.
Sally sighed. ‘Hmm. I was wondering whether to ask her to help with putting together our costumes, or at least give her opinion. It would be great to have a festive theme and I thought it might help to take her mind off things for a while.’
‘It’s a good plan,’ Bo said. ‘I asked if she’d be coming back but she said she couldn’t face it for now.’
‘That’s understandable,’ Sally replied. ‘I hope she’ll change her mind eventually. I can understand she doesn’t want to face a mass of people yet. It must be bad enough going to work every day and seeing the customers. I wish I could get my hands on that Tommy. I always thought he was a wastrel, but she worshipped him.’
‘I think she might be coming round to a different point of view,’ Bo said. ‘It’s tough when you realise someone isn’t who you thought they were … Even tougher when they’ve been living a lie for so long, like Tommy has.’
Sally’s eyes were on stalks. ‘She knows who he’s with, then?’
‘No – though she’s suggested a couple of names. They’re mainly other fishermen’s partners or exes, so they mean nothing to me.’
‘Hmm. I’ve heard rumours but I’ve tried not to fuel them,’ Sally said. ‘And I’ll keep it that way until Angel chooses to tell me more.’
When one of the other members called Sally away, Bo refilled her glass from the drinks dispenser before the music started again.
They danced some more and then Hubert called everyone together to make a final decision on the music. There was a brief but heated discussion and Sally said she’d email a poll so everyone could vote.
At the forthcoming Illuminations performance, four couples would be performing two dances each, so that no one had too many dances to learn. They weren’t going to be coordinated like Strictly professionals. That wasn’t rock and roll style, because every couple had their own way of dancing but they still needed to practise with their partners. One of the things Bo loved about rock and roll was that you didn’t necessarily have to have the same dance partner all the time. While many duos were partners in real life, it was common to be asked to dance by any member of your group.
However, the performances had to be planned more carefully than the usual ‘free for all’ nights at the Flingers to avoid people bumping into each other during the more enthusiastic moves.
At the end of the evening, Sally found Bo again.
‘The Illuminations are the second Saturday in December – that’s still a couple of months away and, while it seems like we have plenty of time, we could really do with knowing who’s dancing as soon as possible,’ Sally said. ‘We need to plan the programme and timing and make sure every couple who wants to has a chance. Angel’s a great dancer and we want a mix of ages. I really hope she’ll join in.’
‘I’ll ask her again but don’t get your hopes up,’ Bo said.
The Flingers began to drift away. Bo stayed to help restore the community hall kitchen to order while Cade helped Ran load his kit into his van.
Leaving others to lock up, she went outside. It was a fine night, the sky peppered with stars and a tiny sliver of moon hanging over the horizon. Ran was still by his van, chatting to Hubert. Bo’s car was parked next to his. Hubert wished her a goodnight but Ran lingered by the van, waiting for her.
‘How do you think it went?’ he asked her.
‘Pretty well. They seemed to like the music choices.’
‘I’m glad I had your feedback. I might have gone for something a bit too obscure but now I see it was better to get them rocking in the aisles.’
She laughed. ‘I thought we came up with a good mixture of classics and something different. That “Boogie Woogie” track is fantastic, though it’s too fast for me – some of the others could do that one.’
‘It’s great, isn’t it? First issued in 1948.’
‘It’s still a real corker,’ Bo agreed.
‘Though it seems a bit weird to be dancing to Christmas tunes in September …’ Ran said.
‘I agree but there are already Christmas puddings on sale in the post office,’ Bo said. ‘And I’m already trying out some recipes for the café and looking for new ideas at my suppliers.’
‘I must admit Christmas passed me by in London,’ Ran said. ‘I was always too busy working.’
‘What did you do?’
‘I was an economic analyst for an investment bank – I won’t bore you with any further details than that.’
‘Doesn’t sound boring to me.’
‘Trust me, I’m glad to be out of it,’ he went on briskly. ‘I need to go to Falmouth on Wednesday to drop an outdoor amp off at the repair centre. I thought I’d call in at the vintage record shop – Coastal Sounds. I, um, wondered if you’d like to come with me? If you’re not working?’
Bo was too surprised to speak, but Ran filled the gap.
‘I thought it was your day off. I’m running a course first thing but I’m free by half-past ten. Obviously, I totally understand if you have a hundred better ways of spending your day off than mooching around dusty old racks of vinyl.’
He made it sound like a penance, even though Bo suspected it was Ran’s idea of heaven.
‘Mmm.’ She pretended to give it hard thought. ‘I ought to power wash the decking at the café …’
He nodded solemnly. ‘Of course. Power washing trumps record buying.’
‘Though I suppose I could do that another day.’
His eyes glinted as he realised she was, actually, teasing him. ‘I could help you with the power washing another day, as recompense for coming with me?’ he said. ‘I don’t want to put you on the spot though.’
‘OK, it’s a deal.’ She wanted to spend more time with Ran even if it was what she’d promised herself not to do; but as with most things in life, temptation got the better of her.
‘I did wonder if we could grab a bite to eat afterwards. There’s a new café opening on Gyllyngvase beach – it’s owned by an uncle of my boss at the dive centre.’
‘Oh yes, I saw that in the local paper. Gylly Café? I didn’t think it had opened yet.’
‘Not officially, but they’re doing a soft opening at lunchtime as a trial run. If you fancied it, we could drop off the amp, call in at the record shop and then have a spot of lunch?’
‘That sounds … good,’ Bo said, so taken aback by the invitation that she didn’t have time to think whether she wanted to go or not.
‘Great. Shall I call for you at eleven? Gives me time to change and come back?’
‘Yes. Yes, OK,’ she said.
‘See you on Wednesday, then.’
With a nod, Ran walked off. She returned to her car, with a quick glance that showed him busy shifting the rest of the equipment to his van.
He hadn’t looked exactly thrilled when she’d accepted – quite serious in fact. Maybe he was nervous about having asked her – expecting her to say no, and possibly regretting it? She was still in two minds herself. Of course, it would be good to know him better, but the alarm bells were very much still sounding, albeit muffled … like the Runnel Stone bell warning her.