Reluctantly Grace had given in to the persuasion of her sisters, friends and work colleagues to stop moping around and get back into the social scene. She had agreed to join the Saturday night crowd in Café en Seine, one of Dublin’s busiest bars. She pushed through the throng with her friends, wearing a figure-hugging jade-green dress with a little black cropped cardigan, ignoring the numerous appreciative glances from the wall of men balancing pints all around them. The place was busier than ever, packed with noisy groups laughing and shouting and running the waitresses off their feet with orders.
Niamh and the girls were being more than supportive and were ensuring that she was kept topped up with her favourite vodka and orange, but she felt as if she was in some kind of market as guys eyed her up and down. Being single sucked. However, she made an effort to mingle and make small talk and look like she was having a good time.
‘Come on, we’re heading for Krystle,’ shouted Niamh as they finished off a last round of drinks and headed for Harcourt Street.
She was tempted to jump in a cab and go back home but realized that if she didn’t want to be a total damp squib and let her friends down she’d have to make the best of the night and enjoy herself. Niamh and Lisa breezed past the nightclub’s bouncers and the gathering crowd as all five of them headed inside and ordered a bottle of wine before making a rush for the dance floor.
Grace loved music and at last relaxed. She began to dance, letting her body take up the thumping rhythm of the music played by the club’s DJ. The girls all around her were laughing and joining in as the nightclub began to fill. Shane would hate this, she thought momentarily before banishing him from her mind.
Back at the bar Niamh introduced her to two guys she worked with and before she knew it they were both back on the dance floor. She watched as Niamh in her low-cut top and figure-hugging trousers chatted away easily to Kevin while she made an attempt to keep the conversation going with her dance partner Dermot. She had forgotten how awful being ‘chatted up’ really was and after about half an hour excused herself and retreated to the ladies’ bathroom with Claire and Lisa. She really was not sure that she wanted to do this any more; that she cared or had the enthusiasm to talk to utter strangers and pretend that she was interested in them. She checked her watch: another half-hour and she could beat a retreat and go home. Lisa had downed one two many white wines and was getting tearful about Tom Callaghan, the guy she had gone out with for about a year, who had dumped her and gone off to work for Goldman Sachs in London.
‘I would have moved to London, followed him over and worked there,’ she slurred, ‘but he just told me he didn’t want to bring any baggage from Dublin over to London and wanted to enjoy being single again.’
‘He’s a bastard, Lisa,’ insisted Claire, brushing her long blond hair and making her down a glass of water, ‘but for some bloody reason nice girls like us tend to fall for them.’
Grace stared at her own pale face and sad eyes and was determined that she was not going to waste the rest of her night nitpicking over her love life.
‘Hey, I’m going back outside,’ she said, slapping on some lip gloss.
She was walking back to the others when she spotted Mark McGuinness in the distance and ducked to try to avoid him. He was standing near the bar with a stunning-looking girl with cropped dark hair. He looked relaxed, head bent forward listening to her talking to him, his arm around her waist.
‘Good evening, Miss Ryan,’ he said as she passed.
‘Hello, Mr McGuinness,’ she said briefly, trying to be polite. ‘I hope you’re enjoying the night.’
He raised his glass. Funny, she wouldn’t have thought this kind of place was his scene, she mused as she made her way back to her friends. Niamh was sitting up at the other end of the bar with Kevin and Dermot and she joined them. Dermot insisted on getting her another drink, before leading her back on the dance floor again as the slow set started. He was tall and well built but had downed too many pints to make conversation that was in any way interesting. Still, he seemed a nice enough guy. The dance floor was packed and he held her tightly to him as they found themselves in the middle of crowds of couples intent on getting to know each other a lot better.
His hands roamed down along the small of her back and across her hips. Once or twice she corrected him, before giving in to the rhythm of the music. Niamh and Kevin were snogging the faces off each other, oblivious to everyone around them. Emboldened, Dermot tried to do the same but she managed to deflect his lips to her shoulder and neck. She was definitely not ready for this and babbled away like an eejit as he tried to be passionate.
She smiled with relief when the music stopped and the floor began to clear. Dermot, firmly holding her hand, tried to persuade her to sit down for a while.
‘I’m sorry but I’m going to have to go,’ she apologized. ‘It’s been nice meeting you and thanks for the drink.’
‘Go?’ She could see him blink in disbelief as she moved away from him.
She ignored his hasty request for her mobile number and brushed a farewell kiss against his cheek as she chased upstairs to the others. Niamh was happily sitting on Kevin’s lap and clearly had no intention of going anywhere. Roisin and Claire too wanted to stay on and have a laugh but felt Lisa might be ready to head home.
‘She’s pretty hammered.’
‘No she’s not – she’s wrecked!’
‘She can share a taxi with me and I’ll make sure she gets in OK,’ Grace offered, relieved to be leaving the nightspot.
Lisa made no protest as she led her outside past the crowds and hailed a taxi.
All the way home, Lisa rambled on about Tom and how wonderful he was. Grace refused to be drawn into a drunken conversation about ex-boyfriends. The taxi-driver waited patiently as she marched Lisa into her apartment in Milltown and made sure she went to bed and was fine.
Back in the haven of her own place she kicked off her high heels and stepped out of her dress. With a sigh of relief she pulled on her pyjamas. Why she had ever been daft enough to let herself be persuaded to go out was beyond her. Right now she didn’t care if she never dated a man again! She put on the kettle and turned on a late-night movie, a vampire horror, curling up on the couch with some cheese and crackers, actually relieved to be totally on her own.