“I can do what I like with my body. It’s nowt to do with Miss smarty-pants who I sleep with!”
The girls continued their whispered comments until they reached the doors where Hazel hoped they’d quiet down. She didn’t want her father to hear that kind of talk from her fellow models. She was sure he’d be as shocked as she was.
The rehearsal sessions went on all that week, and by Friday, Hazel was feeling much more confident about what she was expected to do. She met Eunice on the corner as usual on her way home from the café, and the two girls linked arms as they walked through the streets.
Eunice seemed preoccupied, and Hazel asked what was wrong.
“I miss you, Hazel. I feel I haven’t seen you this week at all.”
“Well, we still walk home from work together every night. Nothing has changed, has it?” Hazel couldn’t understand why her friend seemed down. “It’s not as if we have any sewing to do, is it?”
“But we haven’t spent more than a moment together, and we usually get together after tea to lark around and chat.”
“It won’t be for much longer, Eunice.” Hazel didn’t like to see her friend upset. “Another week of rehearsals and then the show is next Saturday night, and after that, we’ll be finished until the autumn.”
“Sorry, love. I don’t mean to be clingy. I can’t help missing you, that’s all.”
“Well, I miss you too.”
“Do you?”
“Of course!” Hazel hadn’t had time to miss her friend. She was busy making new friends and had been so wrapped up in their exciting and very different lifestyles that she hadn’t given poor Eunice a second thought.
“Have you thought about what you’ll do tomorrow night?”
Hazel had thought about nothing else. When she’d fallen into bed each night, her mind always turned to Glenn. He’d not been to see her at the café because he’d been on the late shift at work, so she had no idea what he wanted from her. Should she go to town on Saturday and hope to see him there? Should she stay at home and hope he might get a message to her? Should she wait and see if he came to the café next week? She’d always fallen asleep before working out a solution because she’d been exhausted.
“Well, have you thought about it?” Eunice interrupted her thoughts.
Hazel made up her mind without giving it any more thought. She’d been tying herself in knots, wondering what to do for the best. It was time to decide. “I’ll come into town with you and Ray if that’s all right. If Glenn isn’t there, then Ray will keep me company if you want to go off with Kenny.”
“I wouldn’t go off and leave you, Hazel. Kenny and me aren’t like that.”
Hazel felt a pang of guilt. She and Glenn hadn’t thought about leaving poor Eunice alone that night.
“Do you know what’s showing at the pictures this week?” Hazel’s conscience made her consider her friend’s feelings, and she felt this might be a way of making it up to her. “We could make a foursome and go watch a film.”
“What?” Eunice looked shocked. “Are you suggesting that me and Kenny go with you and Glenn?”
“If he’s in town, yes. Why not?”
“I don’t think Kenny would like to go to the pictures with Glenn. They don’t mix in the same circles, do they?”
“Then maybe we should ask them to try to be friends for our sakes.” Hazel was convinced her idea was a good one.
“Well, I suppose I can ask.”
“It would be really good if we could all get on, don’t you think?” Hazel hoped Glenn would be in town. Everything would be fine if he was there waiting for her as he had been the week before.
Chapter 14 – Cause for Concern
Despite her reservations that he wouldn’t want to see her again, Glenn was there waiting at the town hall steps. He’d even agreed to go to the pictures with Eunice and Kenny, though there hadn’t been much conversation between the four of them. She and Glenn had kissed the whole way through the film, and she couldn’t remember what film had been playing.
Eunice had talked about the tea dance, and Glenn surprised Hazel a few days ago by giving her two tickets that he’d bought for them.
“If that Kenny Sidebottom can take your pal dancing, then, I’m sure we can go too,” he’d said.
Hazel began to relax and dared to believe that Glenn really did love her after all. Even though he seemed reticent at talking about his feelings when others were around, she felt his love in the way he held her and caressed her. His love for her was there in his kisses and the way he called her, Petal.
He seemed happy to accept her excuses for not going further in their lovemaking and even apologised if he had been the cause of her discomfort.
Outside the café kitchen door, on the Friday afternoon, he held her close and whispered his apologies once again. “I’m so sorry I hurt you, Petal. I can’t understand how you could still be uncomfortable, though.”
“I’m sure you didn’t mean to hurt me, Glenn, and I don’t mind because you gave me a lot of pleasure too,” she reassured him. She was perfectly well now but knew it was a good excuse to keep his advances in check. “I can’t wait until I’m healed enough down there so we can do it again,” she promised, taking Eunice’s advice to keep him sweet.
“That’s my precious Petal.” He’d hugged her. “I can’t wait either. It was wonderful to make love with you. I knew it would be. You’re a natural!” He kissed her ear and nuzzled her throat.
“I have to get back to work, Glenn. Cynthia’s hanging around near the door, I can hear her,” she’d whispered and giggled. “I’ll see you at the dance tomorrow afternoon, and you can wish me well for the show in the evening.”
“The fashion show?” He lifted his head from her shoulder. “Is that tomorrow night?”
“Yes, I told you. That’s why I’ve been preparing every night for the last two weeks with the other girls.”
“But that’s Saturday night. I thought we were going to meet in town and perhaps, well, I thought you might be feeling better, you know?” He winked suggestively and looked at her lap.
“I told you weeks ago that the show is tomorrow, Glenn. Don’t you listen to me?” She covered her frustration with a stiff smile. “Anyway, we’ll be going to the tea dance in the afternoon, so you’ll see me there, won’t you?”
“Sorry, love. I suppose it slipped my mind about the show. I was hoping we could spend some time together tomorrow night in the dark streets. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I’ve missed you.”
“Well, I’m sorry about that, but tomorrow evening, I’ll be doing my modelling for Mrs Wilson. It’s the full dress-rehearsal tonight.”
“You’ll steal the show, Petal. Bet those other girls are envious of your looks.”
“No, you’re wrong. All the other girls are much more pretty than me. No, pretty is the wrong word. They seem so elegant! I feel like a plain Jane when I’m around them.”
“Don’t talk daft. Nobody could hold a candle to you, Petal.”
She kissed him lightly on the cheek. “Well, I’m glad I have your support, Prince Charming, but Cinderella knows when she’s being outshone.”
“You’re no Cinderella, Petal, and don’t you let anyone tell you otherwise.”
“I’ll see you at the dance, then?” she asked again.
“I’ll be there, love. I’ll meet you outside at two.”
She sighed and leant against him for a few more seconds. “Until tomorrow then, my love.”
She watched him leave before going back inside to face Cynthia’s wrath. Her boss was becoming more and more intolerant of her love affair.
“Has he gone?” Cynthia asked when she closed the kitchen door.
“If you mean Glenn, then yes, he’s gone.” Hazel slipped on her pinafore and tied it around her waist. “Are there any customers to serve?”
Cynthia gave her two plates piled with food. “Table two.”
Hazel wasn’t happy about the way things had changed between her a
nd her boss, but as far as she could see, she’d done nothing wrong at the café. She did her work the best she could, just as she’d always done. She was cheerful with the customers and stayed behind to help clean some nights, even when she didn’t get paid for it. The trouble was Glenn. Cynthia simply didn’t seem to like him and couldn’t keep her opinions to herself.
Hazel went about her work until closing time, but couldn’t take Cynthia’s standoffish attitude any longer and decided to confront the older woman.
As they put their coats on, Hazel cleared her throat. “I want to say something, Cynthia, but I don’t want you to take this the wrong way. I don’t want to fall out with you.”
“Oh, aye?” Cynthia’s fingers paused in the buttoning of her coat. “Out with it then.”
“Well, you’ve made it clear that you don’t like Glenn, but I’m still the same person I always was, whoever I see in my spare time. I still do my work with no complaints from our customers, so I can’t understand why you're offhand with me.”
“I have eyes and ears, lass.” Cynthia folded her arms across her ample chest. “I can hear what our loyal customers have been saying behind your back, love. And they are the same ones who you think have no complaints about you.”
Hazel was shocked to hear what Cynthia was saying and wanted to challenge her, but her boss was still talking.
“I’m a good deal older, and I dare say I’m a bit wiser than you are so I won’t mince my words. I’m off with you because I’m disappointed in you, that’s all.”
“Who has been gossiping about me?” Hazel felt a flush of panic rise in her chest. If Cynthia had heard, who else might know what she’d done?
“I won’t name names, but it’s common knowledge you and Glenn Bradshaw have been closer than you should have been. There’s even one or two of the women customers keeping an eye on your figure, hoping for something else to gossip about, so I hope you’ve been careful when you’ve been up to no good in them back alleys!”
Hazel’s face burned with shame, and she couldn’t look Cynthia in the eye. “How would they know?” It was no use denying what she’d done. “We only did it the once, and nobody saw us!”
“I told you that Bradshaw family were no good. Your sweetheart will have been bragging to his pals about what you let him get away with. Isn’t it obvious?”
She felt sick and put her hand to her mouth. Her head was shaking with denial, but she knew Cynthia was right. How else could people know? How would she be able to face the customers now, knowing what they all knew about her?
“At least you didn’t get pregnant. Be grateful you don’t have to carry that shame, though some folks are taking bets that you’ll soon be forced to walk up the aisle with a big belly.”
“What!” Hazel’s head was reeling. She tried to think about her monthlies. Was it due now? Was she late? Her hands trembled as she tied the belt on her coat. “I don’t think I’m pregnant,” she whispered.
“Well, if you continue as you are doing, it won’t be long before you are, love, and God help you if you have to tie yourself to a Bradshaw man. Criminals, the lot of them!”
“Glenn isn’t like that!” she protested. “He’s a hard worker, and he cares about me. Why can’t you see that he’s not the same as the rest of his family?”
“You’re fooling yourself if you think that, Hazel.” Cynthia took the key from the high shelf. “You mark my words! He’ll bring you no end of grief if you stick with him. You might think you’re in love, girl, but it takes more than a bit of slap and tickle in a dark doorway to make a lasting relationship.”
“You’re wrong!” Hazel said petulantly. She knew Glenn was better than his father and his brothers. Even Glenn himself complained about their laziness. He wasn’t afraid of hard work, and he earned a good wage at the colliery. She wanted to marry him. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with the handsome, strong man who cared for her and called her, Petal. She wanted him to make love to her and take her into that world of pleasure and passion as often as possible. What would an old woman like Cynthia know about love, anyway?
“I hope you can prove me wrong, love. For your sake. But if you wanted to know why I’m off with you, that’s the reason. I don’t like to see you throwing your life away with a no-hoper like him. Especially now Mrs Wilson has taken a shine to you. Who knows what the future might hold for you with all this modelling malarkey? But if you insist on sticking with a Bradshaw, you’ll live to regret it. You mark my words.”
Hazel had heard enough. Anger was bubbling inside her chest, and she couldn’t hold it back. “Well, it’s a good job it’s none of your business, isn’t it? You can’t tell me how to live my life. You’re my boss, not my mam!”
Instead of answering back immediately, Cynthia dropped her head and smiled sadly before she spoke. “I might not be your mam, love, but believe it or not, I care about you. You’ve worked for me nearly four years now, and I’ve grown fond of you, lass. You’re like the daughter I never had. I’ve seen you grow from a nervous, gawky young thing into a beautiful, confident young woman and it pains me to see you throwing everything away now.”
Hazel’s anger dissipated as quickly as it had erupted. “Glenn loves me, and I love him. Why can’t you be happy for me, Cynthia?”
Cynthia shook her head. “I wish I could be, love.”
Hazel realised she would have to hurry if she were going to be on time for the final rehearsals at the town hall. She wouldn’t have time to go home for tea tonight. The final rehearsal was starting at six. “I have to go.”
“Oh, yes, your fashion show.” Cynthia followed her out the door and turned to lock it. “How is it all going for you? Exciting I expect, eh?”
“It’s a lot harder than I thought it would be, but I am enjoying it. Mrs Wilson was bossy at first, but she’s nice now I’ve got the walks right.” She remembered the tears of frustration when the elegant woman chastised her for walking like a cart horse. Now she could float across the stage holding her head high and was happy to see Mrs Wilson smile at her efforts.
“Well, there’ll be a few café customers in the audience tomorrow night. You hold your head up and show ‘em what you can do, lass.”
“Ta-rah, Cynthia.” Hazel hurried away on shaking legs. How would she be able to perform the moves on stage with all the town watching her? Her mam and Aunty Audrey were coming too. What if the customers were to gossip about her and what if her mother heard them? She would never live it down if her mother found out what she’d done. Her dad would be livid. He might even disown her! What would she do then?
She worried all the way to the town hall, but once inside, her mind was occupied by other matters. The dressing rooms were arranged with the clothes she and the other girls would be wearing. Stacks of shoes, hats, jackets, coats and dresses of all descriptions were draped around on shelves and hanging rails. This evening, they would be rehearsing the quick-changes and organising which outfits each girl would be wearing.
“Ah, Miss Harris!” Mrs Wilson always addressed the girls formally, by their family names. “This is your section.”
Hazel was shown to a small corner of the dressing room holding a selection of colourful outfits hanging along one wall with a rail of clothing separating her area from the next one.
“You’ll start at this end, with hats coats and suits as we arranged, and then as the evening progresses, you’ll work along through the tea dresses until we reach the evening gowns.”
Hazel stared at the beautiful floor-length gowns in silks and delicate chiffons. Each one was decorated with sequins, beads or fine lace trims. She reached to touch one.
“Hands off until you’ve washed, please.”
Hazel quickly pulled her hand back. “Sorry, I forgot.”
“Quick smart, then. Coat off, clothes off and into the bathroom. We start in five minutes!”
Hazel hurriedly began to unfasten her coat.
“She can be a right dragon, can’t she?” Ally whispered fr
om the next section. She was pulling pins from her short fair hair and pressing it into waves with her fingers.
“Her heart is in the right place,” Hazel defended Mrs Wilson to the older girl.
“Aye, but it beats to a different rhythm than our hearts, doesn’t it?”
“What do you mean by that?” Hazel asked, giggling nervously.
“She lives in another world, doesn’t she? I mean, who in their right minds, who lives around here, would buy a frock like this?” Ally picked up a black, spangled gown with a deeply plunging back. “You wouldn’t have anywhere to wear it, would you?”
“The posh folks have balls and parties all the time,” Hazel said. “Perhaps that’s when they wear dresses like that.”
“Do you know how much a dress like this would set you back?” Ally whispered the extortionate price of the heavily decorated gown.
Hazel gasped. “That’s more than I make in a year at the café!”
“I can’t wait to put it on. Isn’t it gorgeous!”
Hazel nodded and hurried away to the small bathroom to get ready.
When she returned, she put on the first outfit and waited for her instructions. Mrs Wilson’s assistant, the tall and slim Miss Vaughn, gave signals from the curtain at the side of the stage, pointing to each girl with her manicured finger before waving her forward. When Hazel was given her signal, she lifted her head and glided on the stage, following Ally to the other side before performing a pirouette on her toes and striding back to the centre where she twirled again, slowly, before returning to Miss Vaughn’s position. All the while, Mrs Wilson stood to the side of the stage, giving a commentary into a microphone about the outfits each girl was wearing.
“Good! Good!” Miss Vaughn whispered and flapped her long-fingered hand. “Quickly now, you must have the next outfit ready in two minutes!”
By the twentieth outfit, Hazel’s feet were sore from wearing all the various shoes, and she could feel the area under her arms was damp. She desperately wanted to take a quick wash before putting on the evening gowns, but there was no time. She used her work blouse to rub under her arms and made a mental note to bring a washcloth with her for the actual show tomorrow.
Happiness for Hazel Page 13