The Exciting Life (23 page)

‘
Chelsea 29402,’ he said.

‘
It’s Iris. Can I come and see you?’

‘
I’m just popping out darling. Felix Donohoe is taking me for
drinks at French’s.’

‘
Who’s Felix Donohoe?’

‘
Literary agent. I was at Harrow with him. He wants me to write
a chapter in a book about my time in Egypt in the war. Good money
for a load of old crap.’

‘
I see. I’ll see you another time.’

‘
No. Come along in a couple of hours. I’ll get rid of Felix and
we’ll finish the evening on his tab. How about it?’

‘
Okay. I’ll come over at about seven.’

‘
Great. See you then.’

Even
though she was feeling awful – both physically and emotionally,
Iris knew she’d better get dressed up if she was going to French’s.
It was a pretty exclusive bar in South Kensington and they wouldn’t
appreciate her in her Capri pants and shirt. She bathed and changed
into a burgundy two piece she’d picked up on the one day she and
Leo had gone shopping in Cannes. She did her hair and put on her
make up and left the flat. She didn’t even have enough money to pay
for a cab to take her into town and instead had to catch a 49 bus.
She concentrated on anything rather than think about her
conversation with Patrick. If she thought about how heartless he’d
been - not understanding how she didn’t want to know the mother
who’d abandoned her when she was just thirteen; she would start to
cry and her mascara would run.

She made
it to French’s at just gone seven; and seeing as it was a Sunday
evening, it was half empty and she immediately spotted Leo sat at
the table in the middle of the floor. There were two wine bottles
on the table and the white table cloth had a red wine stain on it.
He was so debauched, but she couldn’t deny that she felt more
comfortable with him than she ever did with Patrick.

‘
Iris darling,’ he said, standing up and staggering a little as
she joined him. He kissed her on both cheeks and ushered her into
her seat. He pointed to the bottles on the table.

‘
Red or white?’ he asked.

‘
Red please,’ she replied.

‘
Red it is.’

He
poured her some red wine in a glass that was stained with
fingerprints – she presumed belonging to Felix Donohoe. But Iris
didn’t care. She picked it up and gulped it down; hoping
drunkenness would take away her misery. But instead it made her
feel sick.

‘
You alright Iris?’ Leo asked, reaching out and stroking her
face. ‘You look pretty peaky old girl.’

‘
I need to borrow some money off you Leo,’ she said
quietly.

‘
How much?’ he asked, reaching for his wallet in his inside
pocket.

‘
Probably more than you have in your wallet.’

A waiter
came up to the table and before he could speak, Iris waived him
away.

‘
I’m pregnant,’ she whispered once the waiter was out of
earshot

‘
I see,’ Leo said. ‘Am I the one?’

‘
To be honest, I don’t know. It could be you or Patrick. I’ll
pay you back, I promise.’

‘
How far gone are you?’

‘
A couple of months I’d say. I was pregnant years ago and I
went to this woman who almost killed me. I want it done properly
this time.’

‘
You could always keep it. How do you think Patrick would
feel?’

‘
Patrick’s got no time for me. I did something stupid. I tried
to get rid of Norma by robbing the club and framing her. But Pat
had given her the day off and he found out it was me. I had to tell
him the truth as to why I did it.’

‘
Everything? About Annie and Kenneth too?’

‘
No. I couldn’t go that far. I just said I couldn’t bear her
being around. But he wouldn’t budge. He reckons to sack her he’ll
have to tell Annie.’

‘
What a pickle,’ Leo said, laying his chin on his hand and
giving her a hapless smile. ‘Tell you what. Why don’t we spend the
money on a honeymoon instead?’

‘
What?’

‘
Marry me. I can’t promise you I’ll be faithful or if it’ll
even last. But we could have some fun until we start hating each
other.’

‘
Are you serious?’ Iris uttered. ‘You want to marry
me?’

‘
Why not?’ he shrugged. ‘I’ve done wilder things.’

‘
You’re only saying it because you’re drunk.’

‘
Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not. I like you a lot Iris. I have fun
with you. You’re dark, like me. You’re not scared of the seedier
side of life. Muriel was never like that.’

‘
Muriel?’

‘
My first wife. Have I never mentioned her? Sorry old girl.
Yeah, we were married for a few years just after the war. I was a
bit battle scarred and thought the old ball and chain would be the
thing to tame me. By 1950 I was bored and I divorced her. She’s
married to a high court judge now.’

‘
I don’t know what to say,’ Iris said. ‘No one’s ever proposed
to me before. But what about the baby? It might be
Patrick’s?’

This was
met with another of his shrugs.

‘
Father was always convinced my sister Lavinia was the
gamekeeper’s, but he still brought her up. I guess I could do with
an heir. Even if it is ginger.’

He
laughed but Iris didn’t. A part of her wanted to say yes. Leo was
rich and funny and cared for her more than Patrick did. But he was
also drunk and spontaneous and what he meant tonight, could be
completely different to what he intended tomorrow. Could he really
love Patrick’s child? Strangely, she could imagine he would be more
accommodating to another man’s child than Patrick would. He might
have been a gangster’s son, but underneath it all he was so bloody
straight-laced and wouldn’t appreciate a kid who wasn’t a proper
little Collins in his family.

‘
I’m going to have to think about it,’ she said. ‘And ask you
if you mean it when you’re sober.’

‘
Not a problem. And of course if you can’t face the prospect of
being Mrs Andersson, of course I’ll pay for you to have that little
trip to Harley Street.’

‘
Thank you Leo,’ she said, swallowing her tears. ‘I’m so glad
I’ve got you in my life.’

The
following day was Iris’s last day working for Annie as a shoe
model. From then on, she was going to work with Ralf over in Mile
End. It wasn’t exactly Regent Street, but at least she wouldn’t be
treated like a brainless mannequin and spoken down to by her own
sister. What was worse today was that she was modelling for her own
cousin. She’d discovered that the man who’d accompanied Alice to
the party had been Max Tanner, Alice’s son. His daughter Lauren, or
Tawny as she was known, was starting Rodene, and Max wanted Annie
to make her a pair of shoes she could wear for special occasions.
Max Tanner was very good looking, but his wife Miriam was an
overweight Jewish woman with curly hair and bad skin, and Tawny had
taken after her. The child was at least two stone too heavy and sat
awkwardly, chewing gum and fidgeting whilst Iris paraded up and
down in a pair of dainty peeptoes that would look ridiculous on the
end of her fat, sausage-like legs.

It was
strange knowing that she was related to three of the people sitting
there, looking at the shoes and going on about them, but treating
her as if she didn’t exist. She hated the thought of having a child
as ugly as Tawny and was grateful that either of her baby’s
potential fathers was good-looking.

‘
What do you think of the shoes?’ Alice asked Tawny.

‘
I hate them,’ she moaned in her annoying, Californian drawl.
‘I want sneakers.’

‘
You can’t wear sneakers to Rodeane honey,’ Max laughed
nervously, in that same mid-Atlantic accent as his mother. ‘You
need to start dressing as a lady.’

There
was a knock on the door of the salon and Annie got up to answer it.
As soon as Iris heard Patrick’s voice, her heart leapt into her
throat. She wished she could stop having that reaction when he
clearly cared so little about her.

‘
Hello Patrick,’ Annie said. ‘What can I do for
you?’

Iris
crossed her fingers and hoped he was going to say he'd come to see
her. They hadn’t spoken since the row the other day and she wanted
to tell him she was sorry. Deep down it was Patrick that she
wanted. Not Leo. While they were more compatible, Patrick was her
chance at leading a more decent life.

‘
Dave managed to get those tickets for My Fair Lady,’ he
smiled. ‘Four front row seats.’

He came
into the salon and gave Iris the briefest and coldest of smiles;
before turning his attention to the others, as Annie introduced
them.

‘
Patrick this is my cousin Max Tanner, his wife Miriam and
their daughter Tawny. Everyone, this is my business partner Patrick
Collins.’

They all
shook hands and Iris was left standing like a spare part. Until
Annie remembered she was there and looked at her.

‘
Could you get everyone a cup of tea please Iris?’ she
asked.

‘
Of course,’ she smiled politely. As she went she heard Patrick
say to Annie.

‘
Can we have a quick word in your office?’

Iris
didn't hear anymore. She just went into the dressing room and put
on her own shoes before going into the kitchen. As soon as she
entered, she could hear Patrick's voice coning from Annie's office.
The two rooms backed onto each other, and the window was open, so
Iris could hear every word that was being said.

‘
I thought you felt the same way,’ he said to Annie. ‘It was me
who played it cool the next morning because I didn't know what I
wanted. But I do now. I want you Annie. I don't love her. She's
cold and twisted. And I'm sure she’s a liar.’

Every
word was like a knife to Iris's heart. She'd had no idea that
Patrick had slept with Annie. And how could he talk about her like
that? The bastard. She'd told him why she was bitter. She'd told
him what Norma had done and still he had no sympathy.

Heartbroken and unable to hold it back any more, Iris put
down the kettle and stormed round to Annie's office. Patrick and
Annie both looked up and gasped in shock as she entered the room
and slammed the door behind her.

‘
Iris!’ Annie cried ‘This is a private meeting.’

‘
I heard every word you said!’ she yelled to Patrick. ‘You
bastard. You went to bed with her!’

‘
This isn't the place,’ Annie sighed. ‘Lets talk about it
later.’

Annie's
coldness just enraged Iris all the more. But her hormones made her
anger turn to tears. It wasn't that Patrick had been unfaithful to
her - after all, she'd been seeing Leo. It was who it was with. She
knew Annie had always had his heart, and now he had given her his
body.

‘
Isn't it enough that you got everything?’ she sighed. ‘You had
everything handed to you on a plate and never had to want for
anything and I had to suffer.’

‘
What are you talking about?’ Annie asked arrogantly. ‘I'm
nothing to do with you.’

‘
Oh how wrong you are,’ Iris laughed wanly. ‘You're my sister
you stuck up bitch.’

‘
Get out Iris,’ Patrick said. ‘I've had enough of your
lies.’

‘
How can you be my sister?’ Annie uttered. ‘What are you
talking about?’

‘
Ask Norma,’ Iris said. ‘She'll tell you
everything.’

‘
That's it,’ Patrick said, grasping her arm and man-handling
her out of the room. His grip on her arm was painful, and the more
she tried to wriggle free, the tighter he gripped her.

‘
Why have you chosen her?’ she cried. ‘Why don't you love me
anymore?’

‘
Because you're sick in the head. Why are you lying and saying
you're Annie's sister?’

‘
Because I am. Norma's our mother.’

Patrick
ignored her and threw her into the revolving door, squeezing in
behind her to make sure he pushed her out onto Regent
Street.

‘
Now get out, and if you ever come here or to Bruno's again
I'll call the police.’

Iris
stood up straight, composing herself and ignoring the stares of the
people walking past. She wondered what she was going to do now. It
felt as though her whole life was disintegrating around her. She
didn't even have her handbag - she'd left it in the dressing room.
But she dare not go back in. Patrick would call the police. Her
legs ached too much to even think about walking all the way back to
Streatham. She needed money and fast, and so walked all the way to
Oxford Street, tears streaming down her face; hurt by the people
who passed her but didn’t stop to ask her what was
wrong.

She made
it to Levine’s, a little pawn shop on Argyll Street, and took off
the only thing of value she had – the gold locket she wore around
her neck that an old madam called Bessie Kelly had given her when
she was fifteen. Bessie had been the person to rescue her from
Maurice, her mother’s pimp, and even though she put Iris to work in
her brothel in Drury Lane. She always made sure only the young,
nervous lads went to her, and if anyone ill-treated her they were
banned for life. She was the nearest thing Iris had to a
grandmother and it broke her heart to part with the present Bessie
had given her for her sixteenth birthday.