Drunk
Kelly refused any of the several beers gentlemen began offering her the moment she and Meg walked in the door. She was still nursing Lizzy, after all, and she’d noticed the baby was a bit groggy if she drank anything at all even a few hours before she fed her. Meg, on the other hand, had accepted the first drink she’d been offered, which had cost her an obligatory dance with a rather large Scottish lad named Titus, but the glasses were tall, and she was able to make that drink last long enough she was not forced to accept any of the other offers that came her way.
Occasionally, Kelly consented to cut a rug with the more attractive men that asked, but for the most part, she simply flashed her wedding band in the direction of those who’d have her hand, and they’d move along. Meg didn’t mind telling the men no directly. In fact, she wished she’d done more of it in her former life.
“We really shouldn’t stay too long,” Meg yelled over the clang of the drums and the din of the hand organ. “You’ll be regretting staying out so late when your little ones want you up at the crack of dawn.”
“Don’t be such a stick in the mud,” Kelly replied. “This is supposed to be fun. There’s a handsome fellow over there. Why don’t you see if you can catch his eye? Maybe he’ll ask you to dance.”
“He’s missing most of his bottom teeth,” Meg pointed out, a look of disgust on her face.
“Ugh, you’re sooo picky,” Kelly replied. “Maybe he’s a prize fighter.”
“Maybe he doesn’t own a toothbrush,” she retaliated. They were huddled in a corner toward the back of the room, perhaps because neither of them really wanted to dance anyway, but Meg liked to watch other people, and she was having fun observing some very flirtatious girls interact with what could only be called the most handsome group of men in relation to those around them.
“I think there are some Second Class passengers here,” Kelly noted. “Maybe even a few First.”
“Do you think they’re just here to laugh at us?” Meg asked.
“No, they’re here because they know Third Class passengers know how to have a grand time. Not us, of course. Certainly not you.”
“Hey, I know how to kick up my heels and enjoy myself,” Meg shot back.
“No, you know how to attend a ball. You don’t know how to loosen up and dance,” Kelly replied.
“I danced. I could dance. I don’t want to dance,” Meg explained, crossing her arms across the borrowed navy-blue and white checked dress she was wearing. She had only drank about half of her beer, but she was wondering if it was beginning to affect her thinking because she was aware that her speech didn’t quite sound as sophisticated as it normally did.
“Well, you might want to dance now,” Kelly muttered, peering out across the crowd.
“What’s that?” Meg asked, attempting to see what, or who, she was looking at. Clearly, he saw her at the same time that she saw him, and there was no avoiding eye contact or attempting to sneak away. After an audible catch in her breath, Meg finally managed to mutter, “Why is Charlie here?”
“I don’t know,” Kelly replied. “But he is. What are you goin’ to do?”
“What can I do?” Meg replied, pulling her eyes off of him at last and shrugging her shoulders. “He’s coming over. I can’t hide. Should I grab some random fellow and ask him to dance?”
“Yeah, that wouldn’t seem strange at all,” Kelly said, shaking her head. “Too late now.”
“Well, fancy meeting you here,” Charlie said as he stepped directly in front of her. While his attire was less formal than usual, he certainly stood out amongst the crowd, and Meg lost the ability to speak momentarily as she stared at him in awe and confusion. Jonathan was there as well, standing behind Charlie, an odd smile on his face as he chuckled quietly to himself.
Kelly was not, however, at a loss for words. “It’s our party,” she reminded him with a mischievous wink.
“That’s true,” Charlie admitted, drawing his hands out of his trouser pockets and crossing his arms across his chest as if in contemplation. “But I wasn’t sure if you would be here, what with the small children, injured husband, and all.”
“Well, I couldn’t let Meg come by herself,” Kelly explained feigning offense.
Charlie nodded, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth. He took a step closer to Meg, and leaning in so she could hear him above the music, he asked, “Do you like to dance then, Meg?”
His proximity caught her a bit off guard, so before answering, Meg took another swig of her beer, hoping to gain some liquid courage. She wiped the foam off her mouth on the back of her hand, before taking a deep breath and replying simply, “Not with them.” She shifted her gaze away from Charlie, past Jonathan, across the room at Titus who was dancing with a small dark-haired woman, his heavily-browed eyes darting Meg’s direction on occasion, as if to let her know he was still claiming her as his girl.
Charlie glanced over his shoulder momentarily, considering Meg’s other prospects before returning his attention to her and mumbling, “Okay, then.” By the variety of potential suitors in the crowd, those clearly members of Steerage and some dressed well enough to be Second or even First Class passengers, he was not able to tell whether she was referring to a specific group of men, or just men in general. After a moment of contemplation, he finally asked, “If you don’t want to dance with any of ‘them,’ why are you here?”
Without thinking, Meg replied, “She made me come,” gesturing in Kelly’s general direction and sloshing some of her drink as she did so. She knew the beer was definitely affecting her now, but even with that information, she wasn’t able to stop the flow of gibberish spewing from her lips, so she continued. “She was hoping I’d meet a nice fellow.”
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