They wrote it all in a small notebook they carried around. The notebook was for writing things down in. They kept a list of everything they spent money on. That was about their money stuff, not their drinking stuff. They were money drunks as well. They needed to put everything they spent in the notebook so they could tell how much money they had left and where all the money went. They didn’t have much money. They needed to get used to that. There was the sleeping with men for money but both of them and Diane agreed that probably couldn’t go on for ever. It was hard and messed with their heads and they often felt like the only way to keep doing it was to get drunk and often the guys were drunk or liked them to play drunk. When they were well and truly done with it they would have even less money.

Or maybe something would change in them and the work would get easier and they would find a way to do it without getting drunk and start to pay taxes and it would be like Dell’s job in the shop. It was illegal, but they could set themselves up as contractors and say they were in the entertainment business and pay taxes. People did that.

It would all become clear. That’s what Diane said, not because she was any kind of expert, just because that was what had happened for her. Peggy and Greta had thought maybe they were the only ones sleeping with people for money but when they talked to Diane and the other women they realised most women were doing it in some form or another. Or had done it in some form or another.

Talking to women was good. Before they got sober, Peggy was the only woman Greta talked to and vice versa. They didn’t trust women. Women were competition and scary and reflected back a little too starkly what they were and who they could be. But being sober was different. Women were great.

All sorts of people came into the shop. Sometimes their old friends would come in and that could be a bit disconcerting. They would ask what Peggy and Greta were up to and they’d both shrug and look around, maybe at their hands holding a T-shirt or a scarf or something.

‘You know,’ they’d say.

‘Yeah, ’cause I haven’t seen you around.’ Sometimes the old friend was sizing them up. Did Peggy and Greta get paid for working in the shop? Could Peggy and Greta loan them some money?

‘Yeah. You know,’ they’d say. Knowing that there was no way their old friend could know. Knowing what they would have thought if the shoe was on the other foot. Knowing they would know nothing.

‘You finishing soon?’

A look at their watch or a look towards the counter, where the clock was. ‘Nah.’