Sunshine and Showers by June Francis

Author:June Francis [Francis, June]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Canelo Books
Published: 2017-05-10T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Kathleen stood in the doorway of Alice’s shop on Foregate Street, enjoying the fresh air whilst she crocheted a lace collar in a two-ply beige cotton and wool mix thread. If she saw any prospective customers looking in the window she planned on encouraging them in. Trade had been terrible since the beginning of the general strike. No women or girls tootling round the shops in search of that special outfit for the Whit bank holiday coming up but hopefully things were about to improve.

The strike had officially ended on the twelfth of May but here it was, Tuesday the eighteenth, and some of the men were still refusing to return to work. Fortunately the railway unions and owners had at last come to an agreement, so hopefully the trains would now return to normal and bring in the day trippers.

Suddenly Kathleen noticed two women walking along the pavement on the other side of the street. They looked familiar and every now and again they paused to gaze in a shop window. It was only as they drew level that Kathleen realised who they were and immediately she waved and called, ‘Mrs Bennett, over here!’

Joy glanced across the road. Kathleen could see that she was frowning and it occurred to her that she and Wendy might not have recognised her and that made Kathleen feel good about herself.

‘It’s Kathy Doyle!’ she shouted.

Joy and Wendy both stared at her in astonishment and then, waiting only for a horse and cart and a cyclist to pass, they hurried towards her.

‘Kathy, it is you,’ said Joy, eyeing her up and down. ‘I wouldn’t have believed someone could change so much in such a short time.’

Kathleen chuckled. ‘I’m really something, aren’t I?’

‘Give us a twirl,’ said Wendy, smiling.

Kathleen twirled and the scalloped hem of the shapeless shift dress in a cream and navy soft jersey fabric fluttered about shapely knees encased in flesh-coloured rayon stockings.

‘That is the shortest dress I have ever seen,’ said Joy, a hint of disapproval in her voice. ‘And where has your chest gone?’

‘I’m wearing a Symington Side Lacer,’ said Kathleen in a confidential whisper. ‘Mrs Alice Bennett says my wearing the latest fashion is a good advertisement for the shop. You pull on the laces at the sides and it flattens your breasts.’

‘So having a flat chest and showing your knees is fashionable now, is it?’ asked Joy, shaking her head in disbelief.

‘Yeah. In Paris they call it the garçonne look and the best-known designer is Coco Chanel.’

‘Well, you are knowledgeable,’ said Wendy, her eyes dancing.

‘The word means boyish according to Mr Bennett. He was in France, yer know, during the war.’ Kathleen touched the crown of her head. ‘And what d’you think of me hair?’

‘Definitely boyish,’ said Wendy, surveying the girl’s blonde crop. ‘I’m pretty sure that Grant wouldn’t approve of me having mine that short.’

‘I suppose you don’t have to,’ said Kathleen. ‘You only need it this short if you want to wear the latest tight-fitting cloche hat.

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