Leggings - out in the evening...

"Not very well today," reported Kitty on the phone to me, somewhat sadly, "So I can't come round tonight. Have a good one though! See you soon!"

I put the phone with a smile, it was a pity, tonight was only a private party for the shop staff. To celebrate their success and comiserate over the years failures. To show the new designs for next spring.

Phyliss was first through the door, slightly red in the face, "Hi," she called, "You know about Kitty right?"

I nodded and pastsed her a glass of red wine. "Never mind," I replied, "She's emailed me a copy of her new designs. Said she'd been ill and can't risk tonight."

"Yes got the bug," answered Phyliss absent mindly, tossing her long hair back over her shoulder. "I got mine with me, want to have a look? You got yours ready too?"

I grinned, feeling somewhat sick, "I've left the shop," I said hesitantly, "And the college course too, I couldn't hack it. I did do some drawings – I don't expect you to feel that they are good enough for the shop." There I'd said it. It made me feel a little better that it was out in the open. I knew each design day, that mine were never up to scratch.

She stuck out her tongue at me. "You got an inferiority crisis going on?"

Then, after a pause, in which I went bright red. She suddenly laughed. "Come on," she said grabbing my hand, "Let's live a little tonight. A bit like old times. What did you have planned?"

"Just a quiet evening, so we could talk."

"Lets go out, Norwich is ours!"

I followed her out into the winter evening. The sky overhead was overclouded and I could see no stars. The city lay before us in a glitter of lights.

"I'm a bit old for nightclubs," I said quickly.

"So am I," she said dancing down the path, "Have you brought your designs along?"

My nightmare was apparently not over yet. "Give me two minutes to pick up the folder."

Outside she was peering down the street, listening to the beat of the city. "Where you want to go?" she asked plucking at my sleeve. "Quiet or noisy?"

"How about the Vine, the smallest pub in the city?" I suggested, "I'm not into large or noisy much these days, and we'll be able to waltz around the city from there, and find other places to go."

"Great!" I said doing up my coat, and feeling around for the keys to lock the doors.

"I haven't heard of any queer things happening to Kitty recently," she continued slowly as we found our way through the city.

"I think she's still having a few moments, it's more about noticing what's going on around her now. They are still trying it on. Trying to make her out to be guilty of something."

"Such as?"

"Like yesterday, when she saw this woman again, the police officer's wife or is reputed to be, claiming in some charity shop that someone was maligning her husband, weird."

"Yeah!" exclaimed Phyliss, "Did they agree?"

"No! Kitty said she wished she'd stopped and asked what it was all about, only she realised that a confrontation was what they truly wanted."

"Did something happen today? Before work?"

"She was fascinated, not upset before work, she was in the city, and some girls were being complained of by the store staff. They were collecting. Apparently from the shops – for someone else. One of the store staff told his assistants that it had nothing to do with her – she always paid for her stuff."

"I wonder what was going on?"

"We did too," I said as I opened the door to the pub. "Let's go look over the new designs."

"Yeah!" Phyliss said contentedly, "Over another glass of wine, which makes them all look better."

I had to laugh. "You might need more than one!"

She spread the table with her work, so that we could both look them over, as I went for the drinks. The table was dripping with material dribblets, so that I might comment on the way they might hang. Some days I missed the shop, the concentration needed for a brighter future. I envied them both their energy, their drive and their determination.