Chapter 3: Change
Apart from two trips down, to go to the toilet and to retrieve the lunch that had been left for him, James had spent hours on that roof. Joe had been at the bottom of the ladder most of the time, barking out orders to him to make sure that he got it right. The progress was slow, James's unsteadiness on the roof along with a lack of any experience in anything like it, but by early afternoon he had made his way round to the back. Joe himself had gotten up and done the smaller porch at the rear with him, the two of them working effectively to get it done quickly before James was on his way to the very top again. He was just starting the work when he heard the back door flying open.
"OI DICKO!".
Michelle.
More acclimatised to his surrounding, he'd managed not to flinch when she'd shouted and instead sighed upon the latest insult that came his way. Looking down, James noticed that Michelle was not alone, the rest of the gang fanned out behind her on the lawn to see him on the roof. Orla was still decked out in her step gear, a very colourful outfit that he thought suited her down to the ground. Clare was in her usual combination and it was no surprise to see her looking like a walking cack attack when she spotted his position on the roof, a cable tie between his teeth.
"Jesus Christ! We have to get him down from there!". She fretted
"Breathe for fucks sake Clare!" Michelle ordered. "So what if he falls, might knock sense into that soft English head of his".
"Thanks for that". He called down to her
"James! James!". Orla shouted up to him
"What is it Orla?". He enquired as untangled a couple of lights that twisted into each other.
"If we got some hay, I reckon you could jump off and land in it. It'd be top class craic it would".
"Don't be ridiculous Orla!" Erin snapped at her cousin. "He'd break his neck".
"Not in my dream when I was dressed in all that white…".
Orla trailed off when she spotted a worm in the grass in front of them and knelt down to examine the little creature. Clare and Michelle both looked down to identify the distraction but soon they'd passed it off as Orla being herself and joined Erin in looking up to see James fastening a light into position. They never said anything for a minute, Michelle's snickering at her cousin's plight the only sound from below. Clare and Erin both wore a similar look of concern and neither were greatly impressed by how Michelle found it funny.
"Did you want something girls? I'd rather just be left alone to get on with if you don't mind".
"Well fuck you then prick". Michelle coarsely responded
James grew more frustrated at her latest comment and had to steady himself on the roof as the anger flashed over him.
"Ma phoned. Her and da are both working again tonight so we've got the house to ourselves and I've rented a copy of Carrie just for Clare". Michelle finally explained
Frowning at the choice of film, considering what had happened at Prom was still fresh in their minds, James decided to just accept it and move on. He knew better than to complain. Especially when it came to Michelle. He spoke his agreement of their plans and they chatted for another couple of minutes as he went along the line of lights. The conversation had turned to just how Michelle had managed to get the copy of Carrie, a point forced only by Michelle herself. The lad behind the counter had been a massive ride and sensing the chance of killing two birds with one stone, she'd got him in the backroom but the story ended there when Clare insisted she did not want to hear anymore of it. Joe soon returned from a nap, going back to giving out instructions again from the ground floor. Michelle eventually got bored and left with Clare, instructing James to escort Erin and Orla round once he had finished with the lights.
With a couple of hours more of natural light left, he didn't have long…
James was on the home stretch. The only lights left were the ones around Erin's window, then he would finally be able to get off the roof and hopefully wouldn't have to go back up again. Joe had gone back inside, wanting to watch the horse racing on the tv but not before giving James a final set of instructions to finish the job off. Gerry had been out to see him briefly too, mainly to check that he wasn't hanging off the roof and holding on for dear life. Grateful for the disturbances seemingly coming to an end, he cracked on with the lights above the window. That was where he was when the window was pushed open, nearly taking his fingers with it as he fixed a light. Looking down, he was greeted by the pleasant sight of Erin's head sticking out of the window, with a glass in her outstretched hand.
"Some lemonade for ye". She smiled
"Oh erm… thanks". He replied, reaching down to accept the drink.
For a brief second the tips of their fingers touched and like it had in the car after prom, the shockwave of her touch changed the air around them. Something had changed since the phone call that night. Why did he keep feeling like this…
He did not see the blush on Erin's cheeks from his position but if he had, it would have only confirmed to him that she knew something had changed too. The awkward silence that proceeded in the following seconds told them both that neither could quite work out what had changed or why. He was just a wee English fella after all, and she was a Derry girl. Taking the glass back once he had finished, she put her head back inside, but the window remained opened despite the cool temperature.
"How much longer will ye be?" Erin eventually broke the tension
"I've just got the lights along the windows to do and them I'm done. Shouldn't be long".
"Then I'll keep ye company till you're done".
"Oh well… yeah that… erm… would be nice". James's voice was far more nervous than it should have been, though he put it down to being on the roof and quickly dismissed any further thought on the matter.
"Maybe you could read me some of your poetry?"
If the others had been in Erin's room then his request would have been swatted away immediately with sighs and grumbles. Of the group, James was the only one who quite enjoyed Erin's literary works and it would be a nice bit of background noise to cajole him along as he finished with the lights.
"You… you want to hear my poetry?".
James could not see the fiery panic he'd set inside Erin. No one ever asked to hear her words, obviously because they would be jealous that it would not be their work, but now James had asked, and she didn't know where to start. Like the Englishman, she was beginning to notice the strange air that now existed around the two of them and the change that crept up on them. Something must have changed… but what?
"If you don't want to it…".
"No! No… I do". She stopped him and he could hear her scrambling across the room to no doubt find a piece of her work.
Erin went straight over to a shelf and produced a bit of paper, having made the decision sat back by the window as to which one it would be. A few seconds later she was sat back down by the window and raised her voice so that he would hear her clearly.
"It's not finished yet but here we go. The Loving Flower, by Erin Quinn".
The Flower
Graceful and proud
Confident but shy
Hidden within the crowd
The Snake
Beautiful and bright
Charming but deceptive
Ready to bite
The Lion
Handsome and royal
Vicious but gentle
Unwaveringly loyal
The flower confused
Chose the snake
Drawn in by the act
Vision turning opaque
The lion unmoved
Went away
Off to its own
To see out the day
But the snake conformed
To other flowers fears
Unseen on the horizon
Leaving the flower near tears
A miracle required
A soul to mend
The other flowers obeyed
And found that friend
The flower conceded
Ambition floored
But then came the Lion
And all hope was restored
From then on
The flower knew…
"And that is as far as I got". She called up
James had stopped working with the lights, not through having finished the task, but from the pure beauty of the words that fell from Erin's lips. There was something… something speaking back to him in her words. A connection of sorts. Something about them seemed so… real…
"Are you done yet son!".
He may not have understood Erin's, but Joe's words were clear. The job needed finishing.