"About time you joined us," Trixie said before Patsy was even fully in the door to their room.
She thought she heard Kate Andrews' voice coming from the record player. Or maybe it was Billie Holiday? No, it was the record Kate Andrews did singing all Billie Holiday songs. Patsy had actually gotten a chance to listen to that one.
"Well come now, will you?" Trixie said as she put a drink in Patsy's hand, took off her hat and tossed it over to her bed.
"Aye!" Delia exclaimed as it hit her in the chest.
Patsy had been so ambushed by Trixie she hadn't even noticed Delia was there.
"What are you doing here already?" Patsy asked her. They had plans to go out that night but Patsy thought it wasn't for a few more hours. She had planned to take a nap first.
"I was kidnapped," Delia stated over her drink.
"Oh don't be dramatic," Trixie shot at her. "It was not a kidnapping."
"I was walking from the Nurses' Home to the grocer," Delia told Patsy. "And she yanked my arm and drug me over here against my will."
Patsy laughed. "Intimidating," She added with a nod to Trixie.
"Exactly right," she replied. "And we never got to have that chat over the weekend, so I thought we should have it now," Trixie said with a smile at Patsy then at Delia.
Patsy sighed. She pulled off her sweater, undid the first button of her uniform and sat on her bed beside Delia.
"What chat is this?" Delia asked, her voice growing higher with nerves as Patsy left her side.
She'd only forgotten her drink on the dresser and quickly returned.
"She didn't tell you?" Patsy asked Delia.
"No, I told you it was a kidnapping," Delia repeated.
"Remember she said she had meet you again and question you about your intentions," Patsy told her.
She had only seen Delia once since their adventure to downtown London and evening with Kate Andrews, her girlfriend and their best friend.
"Oh good, you brought me home to meet the family and I didn't even get time to prepare," Delia teased her.
"She caught me off guard here, too," Patsy replied.
"Less taking about me and more talking to me," Trixie said with the same excited smile she had the other night.
"Yes, Trixie. What would you like to know?" Patsy asked.
"Let's start with the basics, shall we?" Trixie said finishing off her drink and going to pour another. "How did you two meet?" She asked smiling over her shoulder at them.
"I've told you that story, Trixie," Patsy informed her.
"The real version?" she added.
Patsy started to blush. Delia noticed. She also noticed she had her left hand behind her back, supporting herself. Delia reached over and entwined her fingers with Pasty's. The blush got worse despite their hands being out of Trixie's view.
"It was about two and half years ago," Delia started. "My ambulance partner and I had brought in this chap from a motorcycle accident. He'd hit some water on the road and went slamming into a house. He busted up almost everything."
She paused a moment for Patsy to tell the next part. Delia clenched her hand tighter but she still didn't say anything.
"Once we got him to The London," Delia continued herself, "the doctors said he needed surgery. It was all pretty chaotic when we arrived and everyone was trying to stable him in the emergency room. I'd got myself caked in all kinds of blood."
"I think most of that was from the scene, actually," Patsy chimed in. "The gurney was not nearly as much of a mess as you were."
"Either way, I got directed to the wash basins by some bossy tall nurse from male surgery," Delia said with a smirk.
"I was not meaning to be bossy," Patsy said in her defense.
"Yes, you were!" Delia said hitting her on the arm. "That was why I liked you so much. You had that much confidence to bossing around the other nurses, some of the doctors, me. I knew I had to get to know you, that you might be like me. But even if you weren't I wouldn't have minded. I at least had to be your friend."
"And you realized this all the wash basin?" Trixie questioned.
"Not as romantic as you hope?" Delia asked.
"Oh gosh, no. That is so…something I would have expected from you two," she answered. "Is that what you were thinking too?" Trixie directed Patsy.
She didn't answer at first. Delia knew that look on her face.
"Can I tell her?" Delia asked Pasty softly.
Patsy nodded as she squeezed her hand.
"Was it the kitchen fire or the gas explosion?" Delia asked.
"The construction accident," Patsy said.
"Right," Delia said turning her attention to Trixie. "It was about three weeks later when I brought in some men from a construction accident. It was right at the end of my shift and Patsy's. I suggested we get some tea together at a place nearby."
"It was after she ordered her tea," Patsy said quietly looking down at the floor. "It all came together for me in that moment. I'd suddenly realized why I had been hoping she would show up every night since the motorcycle accident," Patsy looked up at her girlfriend. "I knew I wanted to be with her in a different way than I had ever felt about anyone."
Trixie let out some sort of excited squeal-grasp. Delia barely stifled a laugh.
"Oh don't laugh at me," Trixie fired at Delia. "That was the cutest thing you have ever said," Trixie told Patsy, who blushed again.
Delia looked at Patsy and laughed as she turned to Trixie. "You know she doesn't much fancy sharing?"
"Of course, darling. That is why you are here. We have known each other for what now, Patsy? Almost a year. And she only told me about you four days ago," Trixie stated.
"You met her," Patsy said trying to defend herself. "Beside after everything that happened with the Amos' and you and Tom's back and forth I couldn't think of a good time to tell you."
"You should have told me when Tony Amos was arrested. You handled that mostly by yourself. I could have helped," Trixie said kindly.
Patsy fidgeted awkwardly. "It was fine. I was able to handle it," she said, the strong front she was usually able to put up failing her.
Delia leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.
"But all the hateful things that everyone was saying?" Trixie stated.
She paused with a gasp. Patsy looked up at her cautiously. Delia did with an eyebrow raised in question.
"My god, Sister Winfred! What she said at dinner that– Well, I shouldn't call a nun that but you know what I mean," Trixie streamed, taking an angry sip of her drink.
There was a knock on the door. Patsy jumped. Delia quickly removed her hand from Patsy's and moved over a bit. Trixie glanced at them before looking at the door.
"Come in," she said cheerfully.
"Sorry, can I join you?" Barbara asked as she leaned around the door. She was still dressed in her uniform and looked like she just arrived home.
Trixie nodded as if she was about to start laughing. "Avoiding Nurse Krane, are you?"
"No," Barbara stated, then seemed to fold into herself. "It is only that I would rather spend time here."
"Well, you are more than welcome to stay," Trixie said getting up to refill her drink and fill a glass with the weak wine for Barbara. "It is not like we were discussing anything of importance."
"Not at all," Delia added.
Trixie took control of the conversation again, complaining about something Tom had done. Patsy excused herself to the restroom. Delia felt the urge the follow her as soon as she left her side but she fought it.
"Ah," Trixie exclaimed. "Could we switch up the music, Delia?"
Delia nodded and she walked over to the record player. Delia assumed Trixie might ask. The conversation was turning a little too light-hearted for Kate Andrews singing Billie Holiday.
"You can do the same singer. I like her, but does she have anything a little more upbeat?" Trixie asked.
"She does. I think I lent them to Patsy," Delia said as she searched through the stack of records.
"Who is this?" Barbara asked. "I don't think I have heard her before."
"Oh just some Canadian singer Delia introduced to Patsy," Trixie said with a knowing tone.
Delia looked over at her with a looked of amusement and shock at Trixie. "Her name's Kate Andrews," Delia answered, hoping Barbara didn't notice her and Trixie's exchange.
Delia found the two records she was looking for. She looked between "Room 10" and "Tonight with my Friend" for a moment and then chose the latter.
Patsy hadn't returned after the second song and Delia figured it was time for her to go look for her.
"Pats?" Delia said to the closed restroom door. When she didn't answer, Delia slowly pushed the door open.
Patsy was standing by the sink and she turned slowly towards her, with her hands clenching the sides of her uniform.
"I don't know if I can do this, Delia," Patsy chocked out and Delia could hear the tears in her voice.
"It's not as easy as it seemed it would be when we were in that bar, is it?" Delia offered up.
"But, you're handling it fine," Patsy stated through more almost tears.
"Oh, Pats. Don't do that," Delia said as she pushed the door shut behind her.
Delia got frustrated for a second that not even this door had a lock. She took the nearby chair and wedged it under the doorknob.
She walked over to her girlfriend and put her arms around her. Delia held her tightly as Patsy leaned down far enough to rest her head on her shoulder.
"I don't know how I'm handling it," Delia said softly.
"But, you're not afraid," Patsy said into her shoulder.
"No, I'm not. I'm sick of being afraid. I don't want to hide or lie or pretend anymore," Delia stated passionate.
"Delia," Patsy whispered concerned as she lifted her head from her shoulder and looked into her eyes.
"Yes, I know how dangerous that is. And I'm well aware the only reason I haven't been thrown in prison yet is because of you," Delia told her. "You've kept me smart and safe."
Patsy smiled down at her and Delia saw that she had almost drawn her back across the hall.
"But here with friends, with people we can trust, you don't need to be so afraid," Delia whispered kindly.
Patsy smiled again, knowing she was right. Delia reached up and kissed her on the lips.
"You know what we are going to do now?" Delia asked as she pulled away.
"Oh, do tell," Patsy replied.
"We are going to walk back into your room just like how we walked into the bar. Not worried and up for anything," Delia stated excited as she pulled Patsy toward the door.
"Any chance there is another surprise Kate Andrews concert in my room?" Patsy joked as Delia removed the chair.
"Only a record, but we only got two more days," Delia replied.
They walked side by side into the room and sat beside each other on Patsy's bed. They didn't touch but they also didn't act like they were only friends.
The day of Kate Andrews' London concert, Patsy and Delia walked down the same darkened London street as they had a few weeks ago, but this time Trixie was beside them.
They had been spending a lot of time with Trixie since that night of Delia's "kidnapping." Patsy had joked about her being the third wheel but had later made sure she was actually OK with it because they were making her an accessory to a crime.
Trixie said she didn't mind. She had joked that she clearly couldn't ask her cleric fiancé to come along. She had later made sure Patsy knew she didn't believe anything the church or even the medical texts said about what her and Delia were doing. Trixie had even expressed her doubts of it she could be married to someone who thought her best friend was a sinner for something that was out of her control. Patsy hated that she might be coming between Trixie and Tom, but she knew she wasn't the only thing.
"Ow, how intriguing," Trixie said as they entered the bar.
Delia sent Trixie and Patsy off to find a table as she went to get drinks this time.
"Am I the only person not like you two in here?" Trixie asked once they were seated.
Patsy had instinctively chosen the same table as last time. She scanned the bar, Trixie seemed to be doing the same.
"I'm not sure, possibly," Patsy told her. "Would it be a problem if you were?"
"Oh no, just curious," Trixie said smiling at her from across the table. "You know, I am really pleased you told me about you and Delia."
Patsy returned her smile. "I am too."
An hour or so later, the three of them were walking to the concert hall.
"Bloody hell, these are front row seats!" Delia exclaimed as she pulled the three tickets out of the envelope in her bag.
"What?" Patsy asked peering over Delia's shoulder.
"Guess we made a good impression," Delia replied.
Trixie shock her head and sighed. "You two didn't look at the tickets when they gave them to you?"
Delia shrugged. "I was nearly too starstruck to speak."
Patsy figured she should reply with the same level of honest. "All three of them are very attractive. I was distracted."
Delia nodded in agreement. Trixie just laughed.
They arrived at the hall and were ushered to the front row. Kate Andrews wasn't on stage yet but all the house lights were already off.
"Glad you made it," Betty leaned over and said to Patsy as she, Delia and Trixie sat beside them.
Before Patsy could even reply Delia was leaning over her thanking Kate Andrews' girlfriend for their fantastic seats.
"You don't get to be backstage?" Patsy asked her.
Betty shook her head. "Kate likes havin' someone to sing to."
"Oh," Trixie said below her breath. It seemed to have just clicked with her who this blonde woman was.
"Sorry, sorry," the three of them heard coming from the end of the front row.
Gladys made her way to the empty seat beside Betty.
"Important call, Princess?" Betty asked.
Gladys sighed. "More so than I had been hoping for. I might not be able to stay for the whole tour."
"Aw, really?" Betty asked.
Gladys shrugged. "But that is not important right now." She leaned forward and smiled. "Patsy and Delia, it is nice to see you again."
"You too," Delia answered.
"And your third would be…?" Gladys asked, leaning forward further.
"Trixie," she said with a small wave. "I'm a friend of theirs."
"Well it is nice to meet you, Trixie," Gladys said giving a quick knowing smile to Patsy and Delia. "I'm Gladys."
"I know," Trixie told her. "I'm assuming you have heard as much about me as I have about you?"
"A rather fair assessment, but I'm sure you have heard more about Betty and Kate," Gladys replied.
Trixie laughed. "I have. Actually, I'm not sure if I have stopped hearing Kate for the last few weeks."
"You kept telling us to play her records after you said you liked her," Delia shot at Trixie.
Gladys warmly laughed at them, but their conversation was silenced when all the lights went off.
"Glad you did it, kid," Betty leaned over and whispered to Patsy.
"Thank you for the encourage," Patsy said back, just in control of her nerves.
Betty smiled, pleased that she was able to help. "We're havin' a party back at the hotel after this. Ya'll should came."
"Thank you. We will," Patsy answered for everyone. She knew Delia would give anything to spend more time with Kate Andrews and her girlfriend. And Trixie was never one to pass up a party.
One light turned on above them and illuminated Kate Andrews at the microphone. She started to sing. Patsy and Delia were just as transfixed as they were the first time they heard her live. Betty would have liked to admit that she wasn't that transfixed, but Kate singing didn't make her feel any different than it did more than 20 years when she was a nervous, nearly fired tenderfoot who started signing on the VicMu floor.
She had loved her then. The only difference now was that she loved her more and knew she loved her back. Kate made eye contact with her. Betty nodded. It was a good choice to start with "Little White House." It was one of the most upbeat ones that got everyone excited right out of the gate.
Part 3
After the concert, the three London nurses walked the streets to the hotel address Patsy had been given by Betty.
"The Ritz?" Trixie questioned after Patsy read off the address. "Well they sure our fancy. This is all just a fluke, right? You two don't really have a lot of celebrity friends that you have never told me about."
Patsy and Delia both looked at each other and raised their eyebrows.
"Perhaps," Patsy answered with a smirk.
"Maybe we have loads of famous Canadian friends," Delia added.
"Haha, girls," Trixie replied.
They arrived at the five-star hotel. Patsy lead them to the elevator, up to the floor and to the room number Betty had given her.
She knocked on the door and could already hear music coming from inside.
Betty pulled the door opened as she took a swing of her beer. "London kids" she said excited. "Come on in. Drinks are by the sink," she said as she stepped aside.
"My lord, this is nice," Trixie exclaimed as the three of them walk to the sink in the largest, nicest hotel room they had ever been in.
The main room was filled with people dancing before a band made up of three teenaged to early twenties boys.
Delia quickly pulled Patsy over to the dancers as soon as their drinks were in hand. The two of them started dancing with everyone else and ended up beside Betty and Kate Andrews.
"Nice to see you two again," Kate told them before Betty twirled her back around.
"I promise we are much more happy to be seeing you again. You were fantastic tonight," Delia said, nearly shouting over the music.
"Oh thank you," Kate told her as they all continued to dance.
Betty laughed. Kate twirled her around and then kissed her.
"What have I done now?" Kate asked her.
"Almost 20 years, babe, and she still take complaints the same way," Betty informed her.
Kate Andrews only shrugged and turned slightly turning her and Betty's and Patsy and Delia's dancing into more of a group dance.
The four of them dance together and happily sipped their drinks until the band finished their song.
"And for this next song we'd like to bring up the beautiful Miss Kate Andrews," the lanky boy, who looked a lot like Kate's piano player Leon, said into the microphone with a confident smile as he pointed at her.
Everyone in the hotel room grew quite.
"I'm not sure if they are good enough yet," Kate said to Betty, but loud enough for everyone to hear.
"We plenty good, Miss Andrews," said the boy on the guitar, who was older than the other two.
"Skip's right, Kate," a sexy blonde chimed in, playing along with the joke only a few were picking up on.
"You got anything to contribute, Eddie?" Betty asked the third, seemingly youngest boy on the saxophone.
"My mom said I had to listen to what you and Kate said," he replied.
"That Sheila has always been smart," Betty pointed out to Kate with a smile.
"Quit delaying the party and just get up here, Aunt Kate," the lanky boy said.
Kate gave a small laugh. "Fine then, Mr. Riley Jr. Move over to back up vocals," Kate said as she walked over to the microphone.
They started performing an older song of Kate's and everyone went right back into dancing.
Gladys and Leon danced over to Patsy, Delia and Betty followed by then Italian man who had introduced Kate at her surprise London concert and the sexy blonde woman, who had scars all over her face.
"We've you two been?" Betty asked the new couple.
"Oh wouldn't you like to know," the sexy woman shot back.
"That the you?" the Italian man asked Gladys motioning toward the sink. Gladys nodded to them.
"Well she ain't doing any good over there, is she?" the sexy woman said with a smile at him.
They jolted over and within a minute Trixie was on the dance floor between them.
Trixie looked over at Patsy with an amused and surprised smile on her face. Patsy also didn't understand how this had all happened, how she nervously walked, well tripped, into a London bar and ended up befriending a Canadian celebrity, which had lead her to being at an after show party at one of the nicest hotels in London.
Once the song ended, Kate jumped back in the dancing beside Betty. Her entrance back into, whatever shape they had become, set Trixie stumbling backwards.
"You all right, ma'am?" Leon said politely as she caught Trixie around the waist.
She looked at his hands then she face and raised her eyebrows with a smirk.
"Hope I didn't just angry your fellow," Leon replied after he removed his hands.
Trixie shock her head. "Oh he is not here. He's a cleric," she answered.
"Not sure if that is enough of a reason, miss," Leon answered. "I'm a preacher myself."
"And you are here?" Trixie questions with an air of equal criticism and wonder.
"Oh not in the mood for religion talk," Kate announced as she grabbed Betty's hand and started pulling her away from the dance floor.
"Wait, Kate," Betty called motioning over her shoulder.
"Of course," she answered with a grin. "Save the children!"
Betty hopped back into the dance floor. Betty grabbed one of Patsy's and one of Delia's hands turning their attention away from dancing and each other.
"Rule number one ," Betty said as she pulled them toward the bedroom. "Avoid religion at all cost."
Delia laughed while shooting a glance at Patsy.
"I believe I already broke that," Patsy told Betty as she pulled them into the bedroom. "I live in a convent."
"Ouch," she said releasing both their hands and clenching her chest. "And I thought this one and Leon being religious was difficult."
"I haven't been religious in a long while," answered Kate, who was sprawled over one of the couches in the room.
Betty motioned for Patsy and Delia to sit on the other as she plopped down beside Kate Andrews. They moved until Kate was sitting beside Betty, with her legs draped over hers and her arm around her shoulder. Kate leaned forward and kissed Betty before she leaned back against the armrest.
Patsy and Delia sat side-by-side on the adjacent couch, publicly holding hands being all they had the confidence for.
Kate could see the nerves seeping into the other redhead's face. She wanted to say something to her because she remained her so much of a young Betty. But that fact also remained her to leave her alone. Kate turned her attention to the brunette.
"You didn't expect it to be real, did you?" Kate asked her.
Kate hoped she would answer truthfully. It was only the four of them in the room, Betty had closed the door almost all the way. The party continued outside without noticing their absence.
"I guess not," Delia answered. "I mean, I had heard rumors and I hoped they were true but deep down I always figured they couldn't be. I've liked you so much for so long and it always just seemed like a fantasy to think you could actually be like me, like us," Delia said, motioning to Patsy.
"How'd ya hear she was like you?" Betty asked.
Delia shallowed her nerves. Patsy blushed.
"Aye, no," Betty said with a smile. "We ain't tryin' to get ya in terrible, I'm just curious."
"I live in the Nurses' Home for our local hospital. There a lot of girls. A few are fans of yours and I just happened to hear it one night," Delia stated.
"Then she told me," Patsy stated.
"It is not as big of a deal in Toronto?" Delia asked.
"Not so much anymore," Kate relied with an encouraging smile.
"Well, you're a pretty big star now," Betty pointed out.
"There used to be a lot of problems," Kate started.
In the other room, a winded Trixie was forced to excuse herself from the Italian man and the scarred woman. They were skilled dancers and Trixie wasn't as conditioned as she used to be. Tom didn't dance.
Trixie was mixing herself a drink when the posh Canadian woman from the concert come up beside her and started doing the same.
Trixie tried to think of something to say but was coming up blank, a rarity for her, but she didn't seem to have anything in common with this woman.
"So how long have you known about them?" Gladys asked Trixie. "Patsy and Delia."
Trixie finished making her drink and smirked over at Gladys as she took her first sip. "Since the night you met them. That was when Patsy told me," she answered.
"Oh, come now. You hadn't already worked it out?" Gladys questioned as she finished making her drink.
They both leaned backwards on the sink/bar facing the dance floor.
Trixie awkwardly laughed and uncomfortably shifted.
Gladys picked up on it and answered first. "I had it all worked out about a week before Betty just told me. It was silly, really. It so easy for me to spot and I had already told her I didn't care."
Trixie chocked on the sip of her drink.
"Not so for you, I'm assuming?" Gladys questioned.
"I wish it was, but it seems I am not nearly as understanding of a friend as you," Trixie said with a hint of angry, all directed as herself, in her voice.
"Oh darling, it had nothing to do with your own perception skills," Gladys reassured her.
Trixie sighed sadly. "But I think it does. If I had just realized it before or during or bloody hell even shortly after the Amos baby I could have made it so much better for her."
"Amos baby?" Gladys questioned.
"We're midwives in the East End," Trixie explained. "Shortly before the Amos' had their first child, Tony, the husband, was arrested for…oh what do they call it?"
"Gross indecency," Gladys answered. She had called her family's lawyer friend three times to ask him to help someone get off on that charge. Once for Betty, once for Kate and once for a young friend of hers from the VicMu days. He was a good lawyer and she had an important enough name. Luckily, all the charges were dropped.
"Yes that," Trixie replied rolling her eyes in disgust. "Poplar isn't that small but when something big happens it seems to shrink. Everyone found out and everyone was so hateful."
Trixie paused for a moment. She was remembering something, but was unsure if she wanted to voice it. For some reason she felt she could trust this posh stranger.
"She stood up to the whole community center," Trixie stated. She had always found that moment strange, sure Patsy was forceful with patients sometimes but the nurses usually kept their mouths shut when it came to religion.
"The community you live in, the East End, it is doesn't sound very accepting," Gladys said like a question.
"Poplar? Oh no, not at all."
"Well, is everyone you work with safe at least?" Gladys asked.
Trixie sighed again. She had been trying to work that out since she first saw Patsy after she told her. She was packing up for bag for the day standing beside Sister Evangelina and Nurse Krane.
"I hope so. There is only one person I am concerned about. She said some not so nice things when Mr. Amos was arrested," Trixie stated.
Gladys seemed to be hit by a memory and smiled. "We had someone like that at the factory where we all used to work. But one day, Betty slapped him around and he never said anything after that."
Trixie laughed. "I'm probably going to hell for saying I have felt like doing the same."
"Oh, I think slapping a jerk is excusable," Gladys said, smiling over her drink.
"She is a nun," Trixie deadpaned.
Gladys nearly spat out her drink. "I forgot they said you girls work with nuns. How does she handle that?" Gladys asked.
Trixie shrugged. "You probably haven't seen it, but Patsy is rather tough most of the time. This nervousness and softness only appears when Delia is around."
Gladys laughed and nodded in agreement. "I have seen it," she stated. "It had just been about 20 years."
Back in the bedroom, Delia and Patsy sat fixated on their couch as Kate and Betty answered their questions.
Every so often Kate would mention a song title and Delia would go into a moment-long freak out.
"But where do you guys…I mean how did you find a place where you could really be together?" Patsy finally got out. She knew her face had to be as red as could be, but she also knew Delia wanted that answer. She had to ask.
"Tangiers?" Kate offered. "It was a bar in Toronto, a lot like the one in London."
"We never did anything there," Betty shot back.
Kate grinned. "Well, you tried."
Betty groaned and rolled her eyes.
"I'm saying we could have done more there if I hadn't been so naive," Kate said.
"'Sides that I don't think there was anywhere until we got the first house," Betty said to Kate.
"Well, the boarding house," Kate said. "We got away with some stuff there."
"Yeah, but that was after I got out ofprison. I wasn't even livin' there," Betty stated.
"Prison?" Delia exclaimed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to blurt."
"Too many drinks, Deels?" Patsy asked with a smirk.
She only shrugged.
"Listen to 'Take the Fall' and 'Alley Alone' more closely," Kate told them with a cheeky grin.
Patsy was trying to recall those songs.
"Bloody hell! You're the girl– the heroics–the," Delia stammered.
Delia's mouth dropped opened. 'Take the Fall' was one of her favorites and she knew every word. Patsy noticed her expression and raised an eyebrow as Betty laughed.
"You got to stop doin' that to the fans, Kate," Betty told her. "You know how much trouble we are going to get in if you kill a kid with excitement?"
"I think you are about to find out," Pasty stated, turning from Delia to Betty a laugh.
Once Delia recovered, she and Kate started deconstructing the words and meaning to 'Take the Fall.'
"I'm going to to out for smoke," Betty stated getting off the couch. "You wanna come, red?" She asked Pasty.
"Why not?" she answered as she followed her to the balcony off the bedroom.
Betty took out two cigarettes once they were outside. She lite Patsy's first, then her own and leaned against the railing.
They both stated down into the darkened London streets.
"So you bought a house?" Patsy asked Betty. "So that you could be together?"
Betty exhaled her smoke. "I bought it for Kate. We weren't really together at the time, but we both needed a steady place of our own."
"I can't remember a time when I didn't live…communally," Patsy said, deciding it was vague enough to include the camp without her having to explain. "I haven't really minded the hiding and the caution but Delia's always said I handle it better than she does."
"You should get a place," Betty told her with a smile. "You've got no idea how nice it will be. I still get astounded sometimes that we can do whatever we want when we lock the door. And we're on our fourth house," Betty stated.
Patsy understand why Delia was so starstruck by Kate and why she wanted to talk to her about her music so much, but Patsy liked this even more. Talking to Betty was like glimpse into her future where all her fantasies could be true.
"Why have you been so kind to us?" Patsy asked her after a moment of silence.
Betty chuckled. "I haven't been that nice. Kate's the nice one."
A smile spread across Patsy's face. "So is Delia."
Betty nodded in understanding. They both smoked silently for a moment.
Then Betty answered , as if she just needed the time to think.
"We seem to do this a lot," Betty began. "We become friend with fans like us. Kate wants us to be role models, to give people someone to look up to. 'Cause their ain't many others."
Patsy nodded in agreement, she understood perfectly.
"I never thought I'd be in this position," Betty admitted. "I didn't think I'd ever be someone people would look up to, then Kate started calling me a hero. After a while, we just stopped hiding and ended up meeting people like you and your girl all over."
Patsy wanted to stop hiding so badly, more for Delia than herself.
"How did you do it safely?" She asked.
"I don't think we have. We both got arrested after a concert in America once," Betty added with a sad laugh. "It almost got me sent back to prison. Truth? I wouldn't have minded. Somebody has to stand up and show people they ain't alone."
Patsy chocked up a bit. Somehow Betty was both everything she wanted to be and a symbol of everything she was still afraid to embrace about herself.
Betty stood up from the railing and held her hands in front of her. "Don't start crying, red," Betty told her biting her lower lip. "I can't handle pretty ladies crying. It makes me do the same."
"I'm sorry," Patsy said trying to shake her tough front into place. "I just–I agree with Kate. You are a hero."
"Thanks kid," she replied warmly.
On the bus back to Poplar, Patsy sat happily beside Delia and Trixie. Patsy reached into her pocket to make sure the scrap of paper was still there. It was. Betty had asked for a phone number for her and Delia so she and Kate could find them again the next time they were in London. Betty had scribbled down the address to their house in Canada and given it to Patsy so they could write if they wanted to.
The bus stopped near The London. Delia stood to get off.
"I'll come with you," Patsy stated. "I'll be home shortly," she told Trixie.
"Don't be too late," Trixie said with an amused smile.
Patsy and Delia stood beside the entrance to the Nurses' Home, the lights from the sign buzzing loudly as they shined over the street.
They had their hands low at their sides as they subtly held each other's.
"We should get a flat," Patsy stated.
"Really?" Delia asked surprised.
Patsy nodded. She glanced around to see the street was empty.
"I love you, Delia," she stated. "I want to be able to tell you…and show you…"
"Aw," Delia accidentally exclaimed at how red Patsy's face was.
Patsy nervously smiled. "…whenever I like without the fear of others or nuns or even Trixie interrupting us. I want a place where it is just you and me and we can just be ourselves."
Delia stood on her toes and kissed Patsy. She kissed her back passionately. Her mind wanted her to jolt away when she remembered she was on a Poplar street. But, it was dark and late and she part of her wanted to be brave like Kate Andrews and Betty.
Eventually, she slowly pulled away.
"Meet me at the cafe tomorrow?" Delia suggested. "I'll bring the flat ads from the newspapers."
"Sounds like an excellent plan," Patsy said with a smile.
"Good night, Pats," she said as she walked toward the stairs up to the Nurses' Home.
"Good night, Delia," Patsy replied as she walked away, slowly pulling their hands apart.