BooksBarbecue
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Chapters (57)
  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Dedication
  4. Dedication2
  5. 1994
  6. 1
  7. 2
  8. 3
  9. 4
  10. 5
  11. 6
  12. 7
  13. 8
  14. 9
  15. 10
  16. 11
  17. 12
  18. 13
  19. 14
  20. 15
  21. 16
  22. 17
  23. 2006
  24. 18
  25. 19
  26. 20
  27. 21
  28. 22
  29. 23
  30. 24
  31. 25
  32. 26
  33. 27
  34. 28
  35. 29
  36. 30
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. 37
  44. 2018
  45. 38
  46. 39
  47. 40
  48. 41
  49. 42
  50. 43
  51. 44
  52. 45
  53. 46
  54. 47
  55. 48
  56. 49
  57. Acknowledgements

Dell knew but, they all agreed, desperate times called for desperate measures. What Heidi did fell on Dell. Their boss needed to think they were both doing great. Dell and Heidi always used to look beautiful when they went to work. Dell still did. She had a full set of make-up on by the time Peggy and Greta were up, and her clothes were often new and always fashionable. She was sipping coffee – it was too hot to drink. They all gulped everything, waiting for a hot drink to be cool enough that they could swallow the whole cup in one. While it was hot they’d worry at it the way Dell was now. One day Peggy swallowed an instant coffee in one gulp and one of the guys said, ‘You can take Peggy out of the pub but you can’t take the pub out of Peggy.’ He was handsome. And right in the head. Peggy and Greta both liked him. They were having sex with each other and the only other people they were having sex with they were having sex with for money so it wasn’t proper sex, but, they agreed, if he asked, they’d have proper sex with him. He wouldn’t look at them, though. Not this guy. He was well enough to see what it was to prey on vulnerable people. He didn’t want to be that person, so he didn’t look at them like that. Not at all. But he was handsome.

Peggy suddenly said, ‘Did you say yesterday that Heidi called?’

Dell looked up but didn’t take the coffee cup away from her lips. She said, into the cup, ‘Yeah.’

‘What did she say again?’ Peggy and Greta must not have been listening at all yesterday. Greta tried to sound like they had been listening but just not completely, so that Dell would tell them what Heidi had said again.

‘She said we needed to stay away from her stuff.’ Dell was blowing on her coffee. It made her cheeks shine.

‘So, she was here?’ Greta looked around like she expected Heidi to be there. Their memory was shot. Neither of them could remember the conversation until Dell said, ‘I don’t know. Remember, we weren’t sure. We thought she might have guessed.’ Then they remembered the whole conversation – the trying to work out if it was a game. It was hard to tell. It always felt like a game with Heidi.