Trisha was working out with Sally-Anne how to transform the vision of a Chix contribution to London Pride into practical details in the quiet seclusion of their office.
"You really think you can handle driving the float from the depot and all around London?" queried the fair-haired woman in the early morning pale coloured chill, an atmosphere which didn't encourage positive enthusiasm.
Sally-Anne balenced her biro meditatively between her fingers and brushed her hair out off her forehead with her left hand. These actions help her clinch the matter in her mind.
"The driving licence just about allows me to drive it thanks to my time in the police force. They wanted specialist drivers and, hey I volunteered for a short spell before I got put back on the beat," she laugher ironically at one or two of the useful skills she'd picked up as well as horrendously bad personal experiences which had lost her her job.
Both women looked dreamily into an uncertain distance as they imagined all their friends within the flamboyant carnival atmosphere of a Pride parade with ever present percussive rhythms and whistles. They were going to have to dress up more than was their habit.
"Why don't we use our website to advertise for women to join our float?" Sally Anne asked in a meditative turn of voice as ideas floated around them to be drawn out of the ether to be vocalised.
"I'll get onto that. We'll also see how everyone feels on Saturday night when the gang come on Saturday night except George and Alice who'll childmind for Helen and Nikki," Trisha said calmly. She had this faith that their friends would rise to the occasion and bond with the float that would proudly carry the name of the club for all to see and this wasn't some wishful fantasy of the way she'd love to live her life but couldn't. This really was being out and proud in its most tangible form.
At that moment, the phone rang and trisha took the call. Her businesslike composure of her face and voice dissolved into irrepressible joy and thankfulness. An inquisiive Sally-Anne gathered that the Pride organisers were discussing business with her and it was good news.
"We're going to be third float in the procession, Sally and guess what, she apologised for not putting us at the front. She'd given her word to the other two float organisers. She said we'd got this for our good reputation for the long years we'd created a nice mellow scene where women have a good night out and tend to end up happily ever after. Her words, not mine," Trisha exclaimed excitedly after she'd finished the call.
This warm compliment made Sally-Anne feel warm inside. She knew that their club catered for a nice mix of women, retaining a good number of their old friends who'd started with them plus the younger women who'd assimilated the atmosphere. They got happily inebriated and romantic as opposed to aggressively drunk and sick. They'd plotted out a steady course and tended to avoid short term trends.
"That's really lovely of them to sday that. I feel kind of shy when other people tell you that you've done well," Sally-Anne answered glowing all over despite her self-consciousness.
"You're a little like Nikki when you talk that way. She was always shy of accepting a compliment," Trisha said fondly, causing a smile of recognition to pass between them before getting back to business."We've worked hard for this and this honour is ideal for us. I'm glad we're number two or three as I'd sooner follow someone else so we're sure of making the right moves as we're so new to actually putting on a performance."
"All this feels like our fantasy, unreal in the cold light of dawn except for our faith in this project."
"Don't worry, we and our friends will make this happen," pronounced Trisha confidently and it was a sign of fate that a shaft of sunlight caused by the pale colours in the office to warm up and cast a gentle glow in their world.
In Helen's office, idle tongues always had something to speculate about or, more accurately, pass off their speculations as the latest news which only they were privy to. The office was, with exceptions, all-female and straight and it suffered from this disproportionate weighting. true, they conceded, Helen kept a silver framed photograph of a smiling Nikki wearing a pin-striped dark jacket and shirt complete with a leafy twig suspended in the right hand corner and bright sunshine casting a general glow. Nevertheless, envious eyes saw the way that Helen laugh and joke with the man who seemed to come alive whenever she engaged him in conversation. There must be something in it as otherwise, the man kept himself to himself. True, Helen talked from time to time about Nikki and family matters but maybe this was camouflage. You never knew what women like her were like aqnd what they got up to. Of course, when Ms Stewart came into the room, they kept their heads down and got on with their work.
As soon as Helen had returned to work after her maternity leave, she had noticed that there had been staff moves while she'd been away. She'd talked to Tony in confidence on her first day who primed him about the rumour factory sounding off about the scary lesbian who was going to take over the show. That was quite enough warning to her so she ran a critical eye over the office. She noted that, except for Tony, it was all female which faced her with an amusing conundrum. it was ironic that, while she'd been a lesbian for a good many years, this didn't make her averse to the company of men despite laxy assumptions to the opposite. What engaged her interest was a sense of integrity and loyalty combined with a fun loving approach to life and, most of all, a free spirit.
One glance at Jo Watts told her that she regarded herself as the office senior and was no friend of hers with nothing in common. her dark neatly permed hair belonged to a stuffy era several decades back as was her sensible knee-length skirt. Even when smiling, her expression remained tight and repressed. Even the way she spoke was as buttoned up as her blouse. The way Helen strolled in wearing tight trousers and the top two shirt buttons undone and bright red lipstick meant that she'd committed the mortal sin of being attractive as well as being a lesbian. This did not bode well for future relationships as female jealousy made for a potent poison cocktail with hatred of the unconvwentional. Another one like Bodybag, Helen sighed to herself except that this one avoided sticking her head openly above the parapet. Still, Helen reckoned she could manage this section as she'd come across tougher situations than this as she settled down to a long war of attrition.
It was on Friday that she joked and laughed with Tony one time too many even though she tried to also socialise with the others when she caught a glimpse out of the corner of her eye of Jo Watts's face set in a mask of disapproval. This was it, Helen resolved, take the one chance to have it out in private wioth this woman or bitterly regret letting the moment 'd learnt this lesson, she remembereed in a flash, when for the first time she'd faced out her old boss Mr Stubberfield years ago at Larkhall Prison.#
"Might I have a private word with you Jo?" Helen asked with a touch of steel in her voice.
"I can't think why that might be needed Helen. I have my work to get on with,"the other woman replied in an oily fashion.
"You wait and find out. I'll keep it quick," retorted Hen in firm tones and a sideways nod of her head. Once inside her office, Helen lost no time in cutting to the chase but she was dismayed as jo watts started talking interminably in a particularly irritating tone of offended virtue. "I'm denying any responsibility that I might have thought that you'd have any issues with you in any way. Didn't I say the other day to Louise about how this office is a happy place to work. Of course, you may have been somewhere else when I said it..." Oh God, this woman can talk the hind leg off a donkey and I'd be never wiser what she said at the end than at the beginning. Helen waited for the slight gap in the monologue and jumped in.
"Let me stop you for a moment. You're saying in short that you've done nothing and said nothing against me."
"I was going to say that I'm a bit hurt that you might think that way," Jo said with further obfuscations.
"And that includes my sexuality, that I'm a mother and a lesbian?" interjected Helen sternly, looking straight in the eye at Jo. A dead silence ensued which Helen prolonged just long enough to make her point.
"So you're silent and I presume unless you say otherwise that you have no problem with me including these specifics," pressed Helen relentlessly.
The other woman scowled in frustration as much as her inexpressive nature let her. Finally, she spoke.
"Well, I've heard tell that some people think that your behaviour to Tony is, well, innappropriate. It's not what I'm saying," Jo said spitefully.
"Innappropriate?" echoed Helen in incredulous laughter. She'd seen this one coming and was ready for it."He's straight and I'm gay so what's the problem? Besides, he's a nice guy and an old mate of my partner Nikki Wade. He is friendly and approachable and I wish everyone was like him. You see what I'm getting at?" Helen carried in in her sweetest tones.
There was another distinct pause before Helen wrapped up the interview.
"Like I say, silence means consent and I'm holding you to this and there'll be consequences if things don't change. I stand for fairness, a good atmosphere to work in and a total absence of discrimination and prejudice which includes any homophobia being knocked on the head. Is that clear? If so, I thought you had your work to get back to," she concluded, pushing her advantage to the maximum. It was no great surprise that an angry and flustered Jo Watts got out of the office as fast as her feet could take her.
Helen looked at her watch. This was a worthwile twenty minutes that was time well spent. She next considered which outfit she'd wear for London Pride.
Meanwhile Alice had got over there earlier frustration and disappointment at being passed over for promotion. She talked about her feelings to George one evening when they both had spare time. They were sipping their drinks while the lights were soft and intimate.
"You know George, I'm not bothered any more about furthering my career. I'm happy as I am,"Alice declared snuggling up against her partner and having her hand gently stroked.
"I'm glad to hear you're happy. What caused this change of mind?" she asked gently while stroking Alice's slender hand.
"Living with you makes me happy of course," Alice said, giving her lover a soft kiss."I've realised that I like my job though it's hard work and has its frustrations. Going one step up would take me away from what gives my job meaning, in working with people, spending half my time in management bullshit and in putting pressure of others to do more work. I couldn't run a galley ship to save my life," she said softly.
"Then that's what it takes to live a satisfied life," George said softly, returning the kiss only deeper and more passionate.
A little while later as Alice was buttoning up her shirt up after George had let her desires run riot, George was doing the same for her skirt and she remembered something she had to say before she forgot.
"Don't forget, we're childminding for Helen and Nikki this Saturday. I've told Trisha what we're doing for Pride so we're free," George said.
"You've caught me at my worst position to resist, just after you've had your wicked way with me," Alice said semi-humourously when all she wanted was to lie next to her lover is a state of satisfaction.
"Darling, what's wrong. Your job is dealing with children and I'm a mother, well sort of. Besides, Jo told me how delightful and stimulating Rose is. We'll be fine," George urged at her most persuasive, running her fingers along the inside of Alice's leg to make her point.
Alice laughed affectionately at her mischievous partner. She went with the flow on this one.
.
"Rose, we want to talk to you," Helen said to the alert child who was already guessing there was something afoot. "We're going out tonight to Chix and we'rer asking for a couple of friends to look after you."
"Oh good, is it Jane and Jo or is it Sally-Anne and Trisha this time?" the little girl asked excitedly, taking the two women by surprise. A part of them was painfully severing the umbilical cord and putting at risk their child's emotional security. To Rose, she could probably take care of herself but her parents' friends meant an emotional holiday time for her.
"It's George and Alice this time," explained Nikki.
"George?" queried Rose. Her parent's female friends normally came in twos except for her uncle John and John, the judge who was somehow special to them all and, oh yes, her grandparents.
"Short for Georgia. She's a glamorous female barrister like Jo Mills who's a bit of a live wire while Alice is very soothing and comforting," explained Helen carefully spwelling out a thumbnail sketch for their daughter.
"Any friends of yours are good enough for me," Rose breezily, mentally pushing her parents out the door in advance to go out and enjoy themselves. She suspected that she would get to know them all sooner or later.
As the coloured lights clicked on and the soothing musical rhythms started playing, a feeling welled up in Trisha and Sally-Anne that this evening of dancing, romancing, good times and sparkling conversations was as good as it had ever been ferom the start. This time felt momentous as this club was prepatring to make its statement right out there on the streets and the VIP room was good and ready for them all.
Gradually, the club started to fill up as taxis disgorged scantily dressed women, dressed up to the nines. They converged on the club, smiling and waving as they recognised each other or else at their shared purpose. Soon, a throng of women built up at the admissions desk and cloakroom, alreadfy moving slightly at the muffled sounds leaking through the walls.
Trisha and Sally were at their accustomed posts welcoming visitors hospitably and keeping an eye around them but they waved at their old friends as they suddenly materialised out of nowhere from out of the swirls of coloured lights and seductive sounds. Feeling like schoolgirls let off the leash, they queued up at the bar and chattered away at each other. Once served, they looked around for a vague sense of leadership and got it.
"Do we party first or talk?" Helen said, getting down to business.
"Oh, that's a hard one. Making decisions," joked Karen. Helen grinned briefly at her friend, remembering their days in the prison service.
"We talk first and then we can enjoy the rest of the evening undisturbed," Beth suggested thoughtfully. That went down well and so it was that they trooped off upstairs and gathered around the long table set out specially for them. Each of them looked around expectantly.
"This isn't going to be a formal minute taking, meeting type thing?" questioned Jane as she humorously stumbled for words.
"Hey chill out. This is about organising a celebration out on the streets rather than in the club. It's just a bit more complicated so we know what each other is doing and do we wear any sort of costume. Trisha looks as if she's got some ideas," interjected Nikki in a light-hearted manner so as to get her friend set up to kick off the discussion.
All eyes were turned towards the head of the table to where Trisha sat, head bursting with all sorts of ideas. Would this crazy scheme work or were they biting off more than they could chew?