The distinctive sound of the trumpets echoed around the hall. Shuffling feet quickly made their way to the dance floor. She loved the butterflies in her stomach each time the big band began to play. Tonight though, she had to settle on being a wall flower. Tommy hadn't bothered to show and none of the other soldiers had caught her eye, and it would seem nor had she caught their's, standing quietly by herself. Momentarily she thought of the effort she'd put into dolling herself up. The black market lipstick she'd wasted on a Tommy who didn't bother appearing.
Her pale blue dress started to move with her as she swayed to the music, gently tapping her navy heel on the dusty wooden floor. The music had taken her mind off to a far away place with a faithful Tommy, glitz, glamour and no air raids. London would always be home, she was an East End girl but war had made the future seem very murky. Morals you would never have broken before the war didn't seem quite so important in the grand scheme of things. She'd spent numerous nights cooped up in the shelter, squashed next to Mrs Reynolds and her four noisy children. The fear of what was above never really seemed so bad as the dark loneliness of the underground shelter.
"Miss? Excuse me Miss?" the voice penetrated her thoughts of war and brought her back to the dance hall with a bump. The band was still playing and she was still swaying to the music. However, now she had a rather handsome looking chap standing in front of her.
"Hello love!" she offered. "I've been watching you from across the room, may I ask for this dance?" he politely requested. She nodded and allowed him to take her hand and lead her to the floor. She wasn't use to such manners, Tommy wasn't usually that charming. The tempo of the music gradually slowed and she gently glided around the floor, allowing him to sweep her up in the dance. She was mesmerised, his manner and appearance pulled her in, she was intrigued. They hadn't spoken but she felt herself staring a his face, into his eyes, waiting for that twinkle.
She gently reached out and touched his cheek, his skin was soft, no sign of stubble. Her neatly manicured fingers began to stroke his skin, whilst all the time she gazed into his eyes. She usually didn't behave like this, lapsed morals or not, she was being extremely forward in a public place. She thought for a second about the repercussions if word got back to Tommy, but she just didn't care.
He glanced down at her hand on his cheek and whilst he kept one hand on her waist he used the other to move her petite hand on to the lapel of his jacket. "I'm, I'm sorry mister! I don't know what came over me. You might be handsome but still…" she said in a apologetic tone. He knowingly smiled at her, "What's your name?" he asked. "Oh, er, I'm Alice, sorry!" she offered waiting for his name, but it didn't come. Her mystery man continued to twirl her around the floor.
The dance Alice and her stranger shared seemed to last an eternity, but eventually it had to end. For those last few moments she was trapped inside her own bubble. The band hummed behind them and the chatter from other couples gently seeped into her world. She was once again just gazing at him as if caught by an invisible thread. The smell of dust, shoe polish and hair lacquer brought her back to the dance hall. The very same dance hall she visited weekend after weekend with Tommy, the very same song she danced to weekend after weekend with Tommy. However, tonight didn't feel stale to her, this was fresh. A new and exciting experience with a man whose name she didn't even know. For once she didn't care about anything or anyone else except him, her and their moment together.
Alice wasn't quite sure what to expect now the dance was over. People were milling about around them, whilst the band got ready for their next number and everyone continued as normal whilst her life momentarily stood still. She looked up at him through a couple of brown curls which her fallen down from her Victory rolls, as he glanced down at her. He held her gaze for a few seconds and then slowly placed his hands on her hips. Very gently he kissed her, she closed her eyes and took in the emotion of the moment. As he moved back he gently cupped her chin in the palm of his hand.
That moment, Alice's special moment was shattered by noise and commotion by the main doors. The large, glass doors were being pushed open by two soldiers whilst another fought with a fair haired, suited man. The argument was getting heated with more and more bystanders muscling in for a better view. Alice's stranger glanced over her shoulder and she could see his pretty face contort with anger as he roughly grabbed Alice by the shoulders and moved her out of the way. Whatever the commotion by the door was about, the stranger seemed very concerned by it. He started to take huge strides across the hall, his anger visible by his clenched fists.
"Wait! Who are you?" called Alice hopelessly. She was petrified of losing this man, he was soon going to be gone. He would be engulfed in some silly argument and forget about Alice forever. He stopped for a moment, as if he'd forgotten why he was heading for the door. He turned to look at Alice, the anger gone from his face. He starred for a few seconds at her and then narrowed his eyes slightly, as if weighing up what Alice meant to him, "Harry! My name's Harry" he said quietly.
With that he was gone, he'd pushed through the soldiers, grabbed the fair haired man and left through the glass doors. The soldiers continued to argue with one another wondering what had just happened. No one seemed to notice the motionless brunette in the pale blue dress, standing in the middle of the dance floor. She had one small tear running down her cheek. One small tear for her stranger, one small tear for Harry.