HER
ANKLES hadn’t looked fat. They tapered from shapely calves in an ideal
body-shot. The flashbulbs had bleached out her face, putting emphasis upon her
heavily shaded eyes and pink lipstick. She had pulled it off. In her cocktail
dress and plastic shoes, she hadn’t looked a hard-eyed slapper.
Next
to her, Vince gazed off camera, reticent, his hairline strimmed and an eyebrow
cleaved, but handsome in his long, black overcoat. A step ahead of her, he
appeared to lead the way, perhaps somewhere to quarrel in private. That’s how
he looked, on the edge of a strop. A couple with chemistry, the press might
believe. From afar, they did indeed appear to hold hands. Close up, her small
digit hung desperately onto his.
Since
the pictures had emerged, her landline had been ringing every evening. Nancy had
picked up on one occasion, to hear an ingratiating Brummy brogue. Nancy had ended
the call before the woman could get her claws in. Nancy spotted someone waiting
outside the house after work. Nancy took a detour to the shops. On her return, the
figure had gone. Nancy feared this was just the beginning. The press attention would gain momentum once the identity of Vince's latest aficionado had been officially confirmed.
Nancy
got the impression she had lost favour with the residents of Glebe Hollow. No
one spoke to her, no one ribbed her about the shots, no one even hurled a gibe.
The miasma seemed to lie somewhere between jealousy and betrayal.
Nancy’s
mother kept going on about it. ‘Why didn’t you tell no one about it, Nancy?’
she demanded. ‘Bloody Cora has. She’s been shoutin’ from the rooftops! What’s
the matter with ya? Your trouble is you don’t say nothin’ to no one. You just
stand there like a wallflower, lettin’ the world go by. Think of all the exposure
you missed out on, the money!’
Cora’s
fifteen minutes had yet to expire. If she was seen about town, everybody got
into the habit of hollering across the streets, ‘Hey, Cora, have you got into
anymore car crashes recently? Who were you with this time?’
Nancy’s
team leader, Louisa had started delegating work on Nancy since the news broke,
making her stay late to close redundant accounts. As Nancy took a trip to the
filing room, Bex grabbed her by the elbow and shoved her against the filing
cabinets. ‘Who the bloody hell do you think you are?’ she hissed.
Air
rushed though Nancy’s windpipe, but Bex was unapologetic, gnashing her false
fingernails into Nancy’s arm. ‘You think you’re so above everybody round ‘ere,
don’t you? So high and bloody mighty!’
Nancy
tweezed Bex’s fingers away. ‘Get off me, you mad cow!’
Bex’s
chin jutted out in a snarl. ‘Picture this, Nance if you can stretch your
imagination that far! Three mates go out for a big night, right? You, me and
Cora who’ve stuck around this dump since school. You decide to hang back at the
club and the next thing I hear, someone is snapped doing a walkabout with
Jonas. The police keep the snaps to themselves ‘cause there’s a crash
investigation.’
Nancy
stared at Bex, fearing Bex’s ensuing words.
‘In
the meantime, I’m writin’ witness statements, talking to the cops and wonderin’
what the hell happened. Then I see you around and it’s like, “Hiya, Nance, how
you doin’?” “Fine,” you say. “How are you?” “I’m fine, thank you, so what’s
new?” “Well,” you say, “Mum’s going to Weston Super Mare in the spring.” “Fab,”
I say, and the next thing I see is a fuckin’ snapshot of you walkin’ out of the
Nexus with Jonas!’
Nancy
knit her lip.
‘You
fuckin’ bitch!’ Bex’s spittle sprayed over her chin. ‘How d’ ya think that makes
me feel? Huh? And to really rub it in, Cora’s at large lyin’ her head off while
you are just so quietly smug! You are so pompous, Nancy, such a bloody snob who
thinks you’re above us all!’
Nancy’s
cheeks flushed. ‘I…I’m sorry, Bex.’
‘Stuff
your sorry, Nancy, I don’t want your sorry!’
Bex
wiped the spittle from her face, puckering up her fringe and smudging her
lipstick. She backed off. ‘Was it you?’ she asked quietly.
Nancy
didn’t understand the question for a moment.
‘Was
it you?’ she repeated, firmly this time, ‘in the limo, when it crashed?’
Nancy
opened her mouth to speak when Bex stopped her with a warding off gesture. ‘You
know what, Nance? I don’t think I want you tell me. I’d rather not put myself
in that position.’
With
that, she gave Nancy another shove before storming off.
