Inheritance

Chapter Seven. The Edgars.

Chapter Seven 

The Edgars 

Time proved a great healer. Buoyed by his friends, pride, and the natural resilience of youth, John returned to the fray, determined to seek out the elusive Susan Edgar.

With this goal in mind, he, Ray, and Frank, a freckled ginger headed classmate, sat in the cozy confines of the lounge bar at the Victoria Park Hotel, nursing their Carlsberg specials and keeping a watchful eye on the stairs leading up to the ballroom. A genial old lady sat at the bottom of the stairs, monitoring admissions.  

The tickets for the dance were expensive, almost twice the price normally charged at the Coro' and the Public Hall. The boys were reluctant to pay such an exorbitant amount unless they thought it worth their while, so they drank, talked about the day's football results, and watched the parade of pulchritude going up the stairs. Eventually, convinced that it was a good investment, they splurged on tickets.  

The entrance to the ballroom lay to the right at the top of the stairs. To the left was a lounge bar that almost replicated the one they had just vacated. Straight ahead, a corridor led to the cloakrooms. The dance floor was much smaller than the one at the Coro. The ballroom was also more tastefully decorated with small coffee tables and matching chairs placed around a highly polished circular floor. A formally dressed quintet provided music from a raised bandstand at the end of the hall, directly opposite the entrance. 

It was still early, the dance floor almost deserted. Girls sat chatting in small groups around the coffee tables whilst the men fortified themselves in the adjacent lounge. John and his two friends were standing indecisively at the entrance to the bar when they heard a commotion at the bottom of the stairs. Peering over the bannister, they saw three girls involved in a dispute with the ticket lady. John paid no attention to the argument - his gaze was fixed on the trio. These were no ordinary girls. They were the Edgars. 

"I told you they were something didn't I, Frank?" 

"To tell the truth I was a bit fed up hearing about them, but now that I've seen them, I can understand the fuss. Which is Susan, the one you fancy? Is she the tall one?" 

"No! That's Sheila. She's the youngest, probably about fifteen. Susan is the one in the middle, the one with the jet black hair." 

"Look at the boobs on her."  

Frank ignored Ray's crude interruption.

"And the other one, the blonde, I supppose that's Sharon."

"That's right, Frank. Fancy her?"

" She's gorgeous. I just might ask her for a dance later. Do you think I stand a chance?"

John gave him an assuring nod of the head. He wanted someone to test the waters. No way was he going to tell him that he thought the Edgars may be  out of their league.

Later, when the dance was in full swing, Frank approached the Edgar's table. From a distance, it appeared that his request was amicably considered, but with a smile and a shake of her head, Sharon declined his invitation to dance. The refusal didn't seem to bother him.  

"She was so nice, said maybe later, but boy does she ever speak posh." 

An hour passed. An hour in which John did little but surreptitiously gaze at Susan. She was so beautiful. Even at a distance, he could see the bluish sheen in her raven hair, marvel at her unblemished complexion, and enjoy her radiant smile. From time to time, she danced. She moved so gracefully around the floor that John almost gave up any idea of ever partnering her.