A Flash in the Pan by Lilian Kendrick Read Free Book Online

disbelief.
    “When are you ever going to wear them? I mean, they’re so high you’ll fall over, and so pointy they’ll squash your toes. That’s before you even think of the impression people will get when you hobble around in leopard print stilettos! I give it two weeks and they’ll be in the box on top of the wardrobe and never see the light of day again.”
    “Nonsense. These are dead sophisticated and I’ll love them forever!”
     
    That was thirty years ago, when we were students and I had legs to die for and no inhibitions. How times have changed! Last week, I had a call from Gail, the first in thirty yea rs, and it all came back to me – Gail, with her common sense attitude to life and her ‘ Women’s Institute Committee Sh oes’ . We arranged to meet for dinner tonight.
    I got to the restaurant first; I’ve always been a stickler for punctuality. I was glad to sit down. The bus stop was half a block away and my feet were killing me. Nowadays, I suffer from arthritis in my toes and the damp weather makes it worse. Besides, I’d insisted on getting ‘those’ shoes out of the box to wear for old times’ sake. After all, I’d only ever worn them three times. They’d been in the box since the night I ‘got it together’ with Tony, but that’s another story. Anyway, I’d broken my ankle by losing my balance when we were kissing goodnight and he wasn’t impressed, so it was farewell to the love of my life and hello to sensible shoes from then on.
    What a waste! I’d been after him for six months and when I eventually got my wicked way, the damned shoes wrecked it all.
    I didn’t recognise Gail until she sat down opposite me. It seems a strange thing to say, but middle-age suits some people and Gail has been blessed that way. The features that made her a rather plain young woman have transformed with the years into the kind of beauty and elegance that’s going to last. I was a pretty teenager, but prettiness doesn’t last and now the kindest thing that can be said is that I am fair, fat and heading for fifty faster than I care to think. So we ordered dinner and made small talk.
    “So, Gail, why now?” I was halfway through a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and feeling relaxed enough to ask the question that had been on my mind all night.
    “Well, I thought it was about time we cleared the air.” She was avoiding my eyes.
    “It was all so long ago.” I tried a smile, but it didn’t feel quite right ; Lord knows what it looked like. My stomach was churning.
    “I feel as if I owe you an apology or something.” She finally met my gaze and I thought I could detect the trace of a tear.
    “Ah, maybe you did once. But we were kids and it’s all behind us. Let’s say no more about it.” I was impressed with how magnanimous I sounded as I refilled her glass.
    So we said no more about it. We finished dinner and the bottle of wine. As I got up to go to the ladies’ room, she took my hand.
    “Tony left me last week. I thought you should know.” Her speech was slurred.
    Suddenly my head felt light. I stared at her, feeling a mixture of anger and remorse.
    “I … I … have to go.” I managed at last.
    On the way out I spoke to the waiter.
    “You’d better call an ambulance for my friend. She’s very depressed and I’m sure I saw her putting something into her wine glass a while ago.”
     
     

22. A Royal Wedding
     
    I - The Preparation
     
    Ethel was ‘handy with a needle’. She’d always been able to make pretty things. Her speciality was recycling old clothes and turning them into something beautiful. Such talents are rare in these disposable times, but Ethel was proud of her skills. She would unpick the stitching, wash and press the fabric and spread it out on her sewing table to examine its potential. The Muse would descend on her and then her nimble fingers would fly around with scissors, needles, thread and finally her trusty sewing machine, until a brand new item lay before her,