Stilettos & Stubble (20 page)

I shuffled the
brown envelopes and put them back tidily in the corner.  Part of me was telling
me to leave them be and another was telling me to take the bull by the horns
and open them.  OK, so they weren’t
addressed
to me but I was in sole
charge of the club at that moment and maybe I needed to use my initiative.

Just as I’d
decided to ignore them for one more day, I heard a sound behind me and turned
to see Betty coming through the door.  He was dressed in all his finery and
ready for his act.  Although he was resplendent in red sequins, with matching
boa and massive diamond drop earrings, I couldn’t help thinking that he was
lacking even more of his usual enthusiasm.  It was still Betty, but with less
wattage than usual.

My sixth sense
kicked in and I feared the worst.

So when I heard
him utter the words, ‘Can I have a quick chat, Perce?,’ I reached for some
medicinal brandy and prepared myself for the next bombshell.

Chapter
Twenty

‘It’s not for me
any more, Percy,’ Betty started quietly.

To begin with I
couldn’t quite figure out what he could possibly be talking about and then the
penny dropped.

‘Are you handing
in your notice, Betty?’  I asked with a feeling of dread.

He nodded and
pulled up a seat next to me.

‘I’m so sorry,
Percy.  I know things are really tough around here but I can’t do it any more.’

Oh, could things
get any worse?  For a fleeting moment I felt like grabbing my bag, locking up
the club and going home to hide under my duvet until the New Year.  But I knew
I couldn’t do that to Annie and Tittie.  I had responsibilities and I wasn’t
prepared to let people down.

‘Of course I’ll
work a month’s notice.  I won’t leave you in the lurch but I want to really
make a go of it with Stella and I don’t think that’s possible while I’m still
dabbling in drag.’

His mind was made
up, and I didn’t feel it would be fair on either him or his wife to try to
change it, but I did have some questions I needed answers to.

‘Won’t you miss
it?  Isn’t it a huge part of who you are?’

Betty shook his
head.  ‘No.  That’s just it.  I think the counselling finally made me see what
it was all about.  It’s almost like I was clinging to a little piece of my past
… the past where I felt loved.  My sisters were the biggest influences in my
life, so I was trying to recreate that feeling of security and being totally
blind to the fact that Stella loved me for
me … Dave! 
I’ve been a dozy
sod, Perce.  I could have lost her.’

I was pleased for
him.  He seemed calmer and more focused than I’d ever known him.  I had no
doubt in my mind that he was making the right decision.

‘Well obviously
we’ll all be sorry to see you go but I’m glad you’ve got yourself sorted.  I
have to say this place won’t be the same without you.’  I paused for a while
and added, ‘Well actually I have no
idea
how this place is likely to end
up right now, but I do know you’ll be sorely missed.’

‘Nah Perce, the
girls won’t miss me - they were always a bit wary of ‘the straight one’ - I
never quite fitted in.  Me and Lubov - we’ve always been the outsiders - just
the way it is.’  He shrugged his shoulders and then slapped his huge hands on
his sequinned thighs.  ‘Right, Sexy Legs, pour me a brandy and tell me what’s
going on with this place.  We need to get that slapped arse look off your face
and you might as well make the most of me while I’m still here.  A problem
shared and all that …’

*****

The shared
problem was
not
halved.  It was huge and we both sat in disbelief.

Dave (I couldn’t
go on thinking of him as Betty) had listened to all my concerns, made a quick
trip to the bar to grab a wine for me and a pint for him and then taken over.

‘Drink your wine,
Percy.  Brandy will make our brains sluggish but I have a distinct feeling we
might need a little Dutch courage to deal with what’s ahead of us.’

I looked at him
in confusion.  ‘What?  I don’t get it.’

He pulled his
shoulders back and cracked his knuckles.  ‘We’re going to tackle the envelopes,
Percy.  With or without Annie and Tittie.’

I knew that it
made sense but I couldn’t help feeling slightly sick and more than a little apprehensive
as I reached for the post in the drawer.

As we sat later with
our third round of drinks, the papers strewn across the desk and our hearts in
our boots, the full impact of our findings hit us.

‘Shit, Perce. 
It’s not good is it?’

I shook my head
slowly, trying to take everything in.  ‘Oh, Dave!  What am I going to do?  I
can’t
pay these bills until I get in touch with Annie and, as neither of them ever
answer their phones lately, my hands are tied.  I don’t even know if there’s
enough in the account to cover these.’

‘Well I guess the
first step will be to get in touch with all of these companies and offer them
some kind of excuse.  That should buy us some time.  I just don’t know how
much.’  Dave looked through the bills and began to make some rough notes.

‘I simply can’t
understand why Annie’s let it get this bad,’ I lamented.  And why would he just
turn his back on it all at a time like this?  This club is his life and he
seems to have walked away from it and left the whole lot to me.  It’s not fair,
Dave.’

‘
Life’s
not fair, Kiddo, but you’re not a whinger.  You’re better than that and if you
can just keep this place bobbing along in the short term, they’ll thank you for
it.  I’m sure there’s a good reason and it will all be sorted out in no time.’

He made it sound
so simple and for a second I believed him.  I’d make a few calls, tell a few
lies and hold the fort until Annie returned to the fold.  How hard could that
be?

We were just
replacing all the bills in the drawer with a list of numbers to call the next
day, when we turned and saw Tittie standing in the doorway.  He looked gaunt
and grey, his eyes were red rimmed and his shoulders slumped.

‘It’s Annie. 
He’s gone missing.  I haven’t seen him in three days.’

*****

Tittie told us quietly
and calmly that Annie had become more and more withdrawn since he and I last
spoke.

‘He didn’t want
to come back to the club, he didn’t want to go
anywhere
.  So I just
stayed at home with him to keep him company and try to cheer him up.  I’m sorry,
Perce, we’ve been complete bitches just leaving everything up to you but I
didn’t know what else to do.’

We managed to
find out that Annie had never suffered from depression before and that it was
uncharacteristic of him to just disappear.  It really was quite worrying.

‘I’ve tried all
our friends … even people we’ve not seen for years and I’ve had no joy.  I’m at
my wits’ end, guys.’  Tittie flopped in the chair, all of his usual elegance
discarded and an air of defeat around him.

I went to him and
knelt by his side, rubbing his knees and stroking his arm.  Suddenly I spotted my
watch. 
Shit! 
It was almost time for me to be out front and I hadn’t
changed or done my make up.

‘Dave, get Tittie
a drink and sit and chat to him for a bit.  I’ve got to get organised and give
the girls a shout.  It’s more important than ever that we keep this place
running like clockwork now.  I’ll be back, Tittie.  Have a drink and relax. 
Don’t worry, we’ll sort this.’

I grabbed my bag
and clothes - a very simple black shift dress with minimal jewellery and make
up would have to do for the night.  There were more important things to deal
with and my appearance was not top of the list.

It would be a
low-key but high voltage Percy on the door that night.  I needed to work the
crowds and get them all hyped up about the exciting new acts we had joining us.

I wouldn’t let
The Glove go down without a bloody good fight.

*****

I threw my clothes
on, flicked my hair, added the quickest slick of mascara and lip gloss and then
started to make my way back to the office via front of house.  Lubov was just
arriving - rather later than usual - and I saw him giving a fleeting wave to
the car that dropped him off.

There was
something about the driver’s profile that looked familiar and drew my attention
but I didn’t have time to process the information and it was instantly
forgotten as my mobile signalled a text.

It was from Tom. 
I clicked my mobile shut in annoyance.  He could bloody well wait.  I had
enough to contend with without silly school boy crushes from blokes who then
went AWOL because of their shame.  He had a lot of explaining to do and leaving
him to stew a little longer after all this time wouldn’t hurt.

Quickly checking
that the girls were dressed and ready, I heard Lubov humming to himself, as
usual, in the firmly locked loo.  His doleful songs had given way to more
upbeat tunes lately and I realised that most of the queens had no idea how bad
things
really
were.  I intended to keep it that way.  Low morale was the
last thing we needed and if I could protect them from the stark truth, that
could only be a good thing.

Returning to the
office to dump my bag and carry on my chat with Tittie, I caught a glimpse of
myself in the hallway mirror.  For someone who had thrown themselves together
in roughly five minutes flat and had the troubles of the world on their
shoulders, I’d scrubbed up pretty well.  It made me realise how ridiculous I’d
made myself look by attempting the complete set of beauty treatments.  Fake tan
and nails weren’t for me - what had I been thinking?  My look that night wasn’t
my usual ‘full-slap, glammed-up, on-duty’ look but I gave the impression of a
confident, capable woman who could take on the world.

Which was just as
well because my life was about to become a whole lot more complicated.

*****

I found Dave
alone in the office, finishing off his pint and running his hands through his
blonde bombshell wig.

‘Tittie’s left,
Perce.  He said he had to keep looking for Annie and promised he’d be back in
touch.  I tried to tactfully broach the subject of the outstanding bills but
he’s not thinking straight.  He just said he’d deal with it.’

I placed my bag
in the desk drawer and slipped my feet into my heels.  ‘Right!  Well let’s not
think about any of this crap tonight.  Let’s just get this show on the road and
give the punters a good time.  It’s all we can do for now.’

Dave high-fived
me, almost knocking me over with his strength, and we went through to open up. 
Most of the tables were booked for the night, with a few available for passing
trade.  It promised to be a reasonably easy night and for that I was grateful. 
Once the doors were locked I’d decided to try to work on my novel again to take
my mind off things.  The following day was going to be a toughie and I figured
I deserved a little light relief before I tackled what lay ahead of me.

By nine we were
just over half full and I was pleased to see a queue gathering at the door. 
Greeting them and taking their money, I realised that it was Luke’s crowd again,
this time with a bevy of beauties in tow.  At the back of the group was Luke
himself, looking as yummy as ever and seemingly trying to avoid engaging in
conversation with two overly highlighted Sloane Rangers.

‘Oh, Lukie.  Can
I sit next to you tonight?  We can chat about my skiing hols.  You’ve done Val
d’Isère heaps of times, haven’t you?’ Bimbo #1 simpered and fluttered as Bimbo
#2 looked huffy and sulky.

Luke caught my
eye and smiled.  It was a smile that was becoming quite familiar now.  As was
the feeling it gave me - a painful mix of longing and sadness.  He was out of
my league; there was no getting away from it.  The nearest
I’d
got to
skiing was sliding on my mum’s old tea tray down a hill in Richmond Park with Mia when we were thirteen.  And as for the sleek grooming and preening, I’d
had a go at that and failed abysmally.

I showed his party
through to their tables and as I made my way back through the door Luke leaned
over and caught my arm.  ‘Can I buy you a drink later?  If I join you front of
house?’

I nodded and
gulped, glad of the low lighting as I could feel the treacherous flush rising
from my chest to my face.

Once back at my
desk I took deep, calming breaths.  A quick check in my hand mirror showed that
I actually looked OK with my subtle make up and natural skin tone.