on, open it.’
With trembling fingers she took off the lid, to reveal a sparkling gold chain attached to a small locket. ‘Oh, Tommy.’
‘Do you like it?’ He could hardly keep the eagerness from his voice. ‘I know it’s not your birthday until April but I saw it in a jeweller’s window and I knew it would look just right on you. Do you want me to fasten it for you?’
‘Please.’ Mavis took a deep breath and tried to calm down. For a second she’d been struck with fear and yet it was mixed with desperate hope. Now she felt stupid for having overreacted. It was a beautiful present, and from the name on the box it must have been expensive, but it was a necklace. ‘There’s a mirror over the fireplace so let’s go back to the front room where I can see it. Thank you so much, Tommy, that’s really thoughtful.’
She led him into the sitting room and switched on the table lamp in the corner near the mantelpiece. Now she could see how lovely the present was, and that it sat perfectly just above her collarbone. How well Tommy knew her. He stood just behind her and gazed at her reflection in the big mirror. He bent his head so he could whisper in her ear.
‘You look gorgeous. Is it all right?’ His eyes were bright with pleasure.
Mavis turned around so he could kiss her again. As he dropped his head and his lips met hers, she told herself not to be ridiculous, but couldn’t help a shudder of relief tinged with disappointment. She’d thought just fleetingly that it was a ring in the little box and he was going to ask her to marry him. Mavis knew she couldn’t say yes – she didn’t know when she would be free. She was overwhelmed with a need to give herself to this man who loved her and understood her, who she believed would do anything for her. But after what she had been through with Alec, she couldn’t.
Not yet. Maybe never. She just couldn’t.
‘And then he left me there, stranded!’ Rhona was outraged. ‘Can you believe it?’
‘I hope you told him where to get off,’ said Penny loyally. ‘I hope you rang him this morning and gave him a right earbashing. What a thing to do. Anything could have happened to you.’
‘And I was freezing!’ Rhona continued. ‘I had my new miniskirt on and how was I to know we were going there on his motorbike? Then I had to get night buses home. All the way from bleeding Enfield. Can I have one of your fags?’ She reached across the scratched wood coffee table to her friend’s handbag. ‘I left my last packet in his jacket and I’ve not had a change to buy any more. I made him give me it to wear once we got there, and now the bastard has got them, and I hope he bloody chokes.’
‘Serve him right,’ said Penny. She’d come round as soon as breakfast was finished to see how the night had gone and to share in the excitement, only to find her colleague furious and swearing vengeance. Kenneth had made good his promise to take Rhona to see the Rolling Stones and then to get her backstage after the concert. His claims to know the band’s crew weren’t idle boasts. The trouble was, he’d been asked along to the after-show party but it had been made clear extra friends weren’t welcome, even those as young and glamorous as Rhona. It turned out the band had more than enough of those kinds of followers already. So Kenneth had dropped Rhona without a backward glance, leaving her to make her own way back to the other side of London late on a Friday night, without so much as a cigarette for comfort. Of course he hadn’t answered his phone that morning. Someone in his shared digs had taken the call, not best pleased to have been woken before midday, but Kenneth was nowhere to be found. He’d be sleeping off his hangover somewhere safe from Rhona’s rage.
‘Was it worth it though?’ Penny wondered. She pulled at her own miniskirt, which she’d got from the market. It looked all right but the material was cheap and scratchy, and too flimsy for the chilly spring weather. Still, she wouldn’t give in and change it, as it was important to have the right look even round her friend’s house on a Saturday morning. ‘You did see the Stones, after all. I’d kill to see them.’
‘Mmmmm.’ Rhona prolonged the moment. It had been a fantastic gig, she had to admit. The energy of the band had been electric and she’d been totally mesmerised by Brian Jones. She definitely wouldn’t have minded being at the party with him. Damn that Kenneth for denying her the chance. ‘They did loads of their singles, like “Time is on My Side” and “Not Fade Away”. I danced till my feet were sore. Everyone was singing along, you’ve never seen anything like it.’
‘I love those ones.’ Penny was wistful. If only she could get a date who’d take her to concerts like that. It would be worth the bad journey home to be able to say she’d seen the Stones. Everyone was talking about them and she was sure they’d be properly famous for ages. ‘Give me those cigarettes, I’ll have one meself.’ She paused as Rhona’s mother came into the room.
‘Morning, Penny.’ Marilyn Foster was a lively woman of nearly fifty, with an uncontrollable frizz of brown hair. ‘Nice to see you. Have you had any breakfast? I was out cleaning earlier so I’m making some toast now, do you want any?’
‘No thank you, Mrs Foster,’ said Penny politely, pulling her skirt further down her thighs. She was a bit in awe of Rhona’s straight-talking mother.
‘Well, you’re always welcome.’ Marilyn made for the door again. ‘Rhona’s going to be lonely without Mavis nearby so you must feel free to drop in at any time.’
Rhona pulled a face as her mother went out. ‘She thinks I’m still at school sometimes. I don’t need to have her making my friends for me.’
‘Course you don’t,’ said Penny, taking a deep drag. ‘Ah, that’s better. No, but you will miss her though, won’t you? You and Mavis were really close.’
Rhona nodded. She was guiltily aware that she’d been the one person who wasn’t delighted when the news came that Pete had finally bought the big house and the family would be moving from Harwood Street. Mavis had come round thrilled to bits and Rhona had had a hard job trying to appear enthusiastic. For some reason, though they were polar opposites in temperament, she and Mavis had got on like a house on fire. Maybe it was because they were so different. Rhona’s wild years had started when she was sixteen, when she’d discovered the joys of dating all available gorgeous men, and she had even tried flirting with Tommy before the penny dropped that he was interested in only one woman.
Mavis hadn’t judged her, unlike all the other women and even girls her own age who’d found out – and it wasn’t as if Rhona made a secret of her enjoyment of sex. Mavis had been baffled, more than anything. Having had such a bad marriage, which she’d entered into when she was just sixteen herself, she couldn’t understand why her friend bothered. Rhona had tried to explain the fascination: the thrill of the chase, the knowledge that your body drove men mad, and the fun that was to be had. But Mavis was unconvinced. Her priorities lay elsewhere, but she enjoyed hearing Rhona tell of her exploits, maybe because she herself wanted nothing more than to stay home to look after her beloved children. Rhona sighed. Even though Mavis hadn’t moved far away, it wouldn’t be the same in future.
‘No point in sitting around moping,’ she said now. ‘Right, that’s Kenneth done for. I wouldn’t go out with him again if he came round here begging on his hands and knees. I’d shove him back out the door and sing him “It’s All Over Now”. What are you up to tonight, Penny?’
Penny
