Getting my third slice out early as am jettin east for a couple o weeks n don’t know if I’ll be able to access the interknit while I’m away. Thanks again for all the wonderful comments n PMs on the second slice, I just hope this one tastes as good, can’t believe it’s still Friday…. Take care my baby.

Joseph smiled because he realised he’d added “necessarily” to his “Not in a dress” thought. He knew this was the other way around of saying: “Possibly in a dress. Maybe in a dress. Perhaps in a dress.” Was it possible that Seren had a future? Was it possible that he wanted Seren to have a future?

Seren Dee Petty: Chapter 3

“You might have fooled the agency and you might have fooled a hassled Ms Wilson who was in desperate need of an agency girl. But you don’t fool me,” said Julie. “I’ve been watching you very closely and I’ve worked out your little secret.”

Joseph froze, holding in front of him a beautiful lilac party gown, in just the right size. If he was standing in front of a mirror, his reflection would be jumping up and down screaming: “Buy it!” But he was standing in front of Julie and she was looking him straight in the eye and sporting the wickedest of smiles. He felt the heat of his rising blush, beginning at the top of his sternum, racing up his neck, hiding beneath his make-up and then popping out on both ears at the same time, rushing to a pulsing red at their tips. He tried to swallow but his mouth was dry and instead he croaked. “What do you mean?”

“Like I said, I’ve been watching you closely. Real close. Ok the outfit’s perfect and the make-up’s done pretty well, but it’s way too thick and that foundation is for oldies. Bet it’s you mum’s. That lipstick shade is from last year, those eyelashes are too long and beautiful to be anything other than false and what teenage girl is gonna be wearing false eyelashes to work. And you’re doing pretty well on those heels, but I saw you wobble more than once when you were picking up dresses. So come on Seren, just admit it.”

“Admit what?” whispered Joseph, feeling the first prickle of an embryonic tear.

“That you’re not really 15. I can see right through it Seren, for all your grown-up mini-dress, heavy make-up and adult shoes, I bet stripped right down you’re not much older than me. Might even be younger?”

“Oh!” said Joseph, regaining muscle control and hanging the lilac dress on the rail.

“You don’t need to worry, I’m not gonna tell anybody. Least ways not ‘til we get all these dresses sorted and out on the shop floor tomorrow morning. Anyway, I like you and it’s nice to be working with a girl my age for a change, instead of all those mean-queen karaoke cumquats that I usually have to put up with. And yeah, I agree, that lilac one is so you. You’ll have to try it on if we get time in the shop tomorrow.”

Joseph smiled. He felt as if he had just survived a barefoot walk across hot coals and had now been initiated into the club. Was that the girl club? Did girls have clubs? He knew boys did because he’d been told by several boys, at his old school, that he was not part of their club and so couldn’t join the game, be let into the den, have a quick swig from the bottle or look at the magazine.

Joseph smiled because he had been holding a beautiful lilac dress, had recognised that it suited him and had that opinion verified by a real-life girl. A girl that liked him and, despite her most intense scrutiny, thought he was a girl too.

Joseph smiled because he was not wearing false eyelashes, they were his own and Julie thought they were long and beautiful.

Joseph smiled because he was enjoying his work. He was doing a good job, getting it right, not damaging anything, not getting things mixed up, not getting into a panic. His co-worker was enjoying working with him, his boss was impressed by his skills, he was not getting shouted at.

Joseph smiled because he was able to concentrate on what he was doing, here and now. He was not gazing out of the window or watching his back or dreaming he was someplace else. He did not get caught up in the conversation, allowing Julie to rabbit on nineteen to the dozen, pretty and soothing, like a babbling brook on a sunny afternoon. He just dropped in the occasional word of agreement or reply and that seemed to satisfy Julie.

Joseph smiled because he was surrounded by dresses. Beautiful dresses, fancy dresses, practical dresses, gaudy dresses, ugly dresses, sexy dresses and for every style and colour there were several in his size. He never knew dresses could feel so wonderful, could make him feel so wonderful. He didn’t know what Seren’s future might be, but he knew, there and then, that Joseph’s future would be in dresses. Not in a dress, necessarily, but in dresses for sure. He wondered if Mr Stevens, Brian, who was at this very moment upstairs interviewing his mom, had experienced a similar revelation in his own childhood. Or had Brian just been organically and irretrievably absorbed into the family business, like a cherry stone into a melting sundae.

Joseph smiled because he realised he’d added “necessarily” to his “Not in a dress” thought. He knew this was the other way around of saying: “Possibly in a dress. Maybe in a dress. Perhaps in a dress.” Was it possible that Seren had a future? Was it possible that he wanted Seren to have a future?

Joseph smiled as he realised, looking around at the piles of boxes still to be sorted, that Seren did have an immediate future. There was no possibility they would finish tonight so it seemed he was already committed to returning in the morning. Both Julie and Ms Wilson had made that clear.

Of course, he could skip it and they’d have a hard job tracking down a non-existent teenage girl called Seren. But then he thought of his mum and the impact his absence might have if the interview proved successful and she got the job. “I’m sorry Mrs Petty, I know we made you an offer, but you see, your daughter let us down and well, you know what they say, ‘Like mother, like daughter.’ We just can’t take the risk you might do the same.”

Then there was Julie’s enticement to consider, the dangled promise of trying on that lilac dress. If there was time? Joseph, who was beginning to tire a little, found a new reserve of energy and picked up his pace.

Julie was smiling because she thought Seren was smiling at her, with her. She was really enjoying working with Seren, with someone who was actually good at the job, seemed to delight in the job. Who was there to work not whinge and was a help not a hindrance.

Julie was smiling because it was a great conversation, even though she was doing 95% of the talking. If she was to be truthful, maybe it was because she was doing 95% of the talking. Rather than being interrupted, or talked over, like the older girls always did.

Julie was smiling because she was sure she held Seren’s secret, no way was that girl 15. Julie hoped to turn out to be the elder of the pair, but even if not, a secret meant power and she liked being in charge.

Julie was smiling because with the real help Seren was giving, they would easily finish their task in the morning, Mary would be pleased and her daddy would be proud of her. Julie wondered why Mary was taking so long upstairs, whether the new lady had turned up on time, how the interview was going and whether daddy had remembered all the questions he was supposed to ask.

Mary was sitting at her desk in reception trying to understand why Brian was so interested in the whereabouts of Seren and what business it was of the new woman, who wasn’t even on the payroll yet. “She’s the best girl we’ve had from the agency in a long while,” explained Mary. “A bit late arriving, but surprisingly well-mannered for girls these days, nicely dressed too. Not particularly practical for this job, mind you, but a credit to her mother nonetheless, and I’d have no worries about using her in the shop.”

“What agency?” asked Pamela, trying to remain, and look, calm. “What job?”

“The Maiden Helps Temp Agency,” said Mary. “We use them for all our casual labour, although with the girls they’ve been sending lately we had plans to go elsewhere. But we were in a bind tonight with all our holiday stock arriving so late and had urgent need of an extra pair of delicate hands.”

“Delicate hands?” Pam groaned.

“So Seren’s downstairs with Julie, hard at work sorting all the new dresses?” realised Brian.

“Oh gosh!” Pamela put both hands to her face. “How many has h-she torn? I’m sorry, um, I’ll pay for the damages, well, if I can. Otherwise, we can work something out to take it from my paycheque.”

“Hard at work is right,” Mary replied to Brian, ignoring Pam. “She has a real knack for it, her and Julie are making great headway between them and if they work through until seven tonight as we planned, they should easily get finished tomorrow morning.”

Pam looked confused. “A knack?”

Brian laughed. “So, one interview, two employees. Mother and daughter. Now there’s value for money.”

Mary looked confused. “Seren’s your daughter?”

“No, Seren’s my s-s-second daughter,” Pam saved.

“So why send her through the agency?”

“She didn’t come through any agency, she came with me, to the interview?”

“Sure she did. They promised me two girls for the afternoon so we could get the job finished by six. When they hadn’t turned-up by three I called Maidens again and they said there was a sickness going round, the only girl they had available was Seren and they’d send her straight over.”

Brian looked confused. “That can’t be, Mary. I met the two of them together in the car-park and brought them up with me. In fact Seren was still sitting in Pam’s car when I first saw her.”

“No, the agency distinctly said they would send Seren and she’s been absolutely fabulous. Not as quick as Julie of course, so we’ll definitely need her back in the morning. But she’s polite, hard-working, follows instructions, wonderfully gentle with the dresses and has a fantastic eye.”

Pamela looked confused. “Are you sure you’re talking about my s-Seren?”

“No, I’m talking about my Seren, my angel from the agency. To be honest they seemed reluctant to send her at first, only agreed when I started to make a fuss and I did wonder quite what was going to walk through the door. Maybe it’s because she looks …. a ..... bit …… young.” It was finally dawning on Mary that something was not quite right. “How did she get through the door?”

“I already told you, I brought Seren and Pamela up together,” said Brian. “Maybe it’s just coincidence that the agency sent her here at the same time as your interview Pam, so she cadged a lift.”

“But Seren’s not with the agency, she’s not old enough. She’s not even a g-g-good worker,” exclaimed Pam, nearly giving it away for the fourth time in as many minutes!

“Agreed,” said Mary. “She’s an excellent worker and you should be very proud of her. She even beat her mother in getting a new job, if only by an hour or so.”

“You don’t suppose she signed up to the agency without telling you,” suggested Brian. “It’s just the sort of trick Julie would pull, to prove her independence and show she’s ready for greater responsibility. I do believe she’s got her eye on your job Mary, so watch your back.”

“Works like a Trojan, got a good head on her shoulders and knows what she wants from her staff. She might be the first female of the family to take over the top job when the time comes,” Mary quipped.

Pam had been about to deny any possibility of Seren’s secret signing to Maiden Helps, but as she thought through the strange events of this crazy Friday afternoon, she wasn’t absolutely sure she could rule it out. She said the best she could: “I think it’s pretty unlikely.”

“As unlikely as the possibility of there being two Seren’s, in one small town, heading for the only independent dress shop in the district, on the same day, at the same time,” Brian laughed.

“Well I’m sorry, but there is only one Seren here,” said Mary.

“And I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to take her away,” Pam said looking at her watch. “I’m due to pick her sister Sally up from Norton’s at six and I’m already cutting it fine.”

“Oh, you can’t do that,” said Mary. “The agency promised I’d have her right through until seven tonight and back again at seven-thirty tomorrow morning. Julie’s agreed to that too, it’s the only way we can get things done in time. Mark and James should be here in the morning, but I daren’t let those two oafs anywhere near the new stock if I want to keep it in saleable condition.”

“But ..”

Brian interrupted: “Come on Pam, let’s get you out of here, you don’t want Sally left waiting on the street. Seren’s in safe hands and it’s an opportunity for her to get to know Julie. Mary, I have to shoot off too I’m afraid, so would you mind locking up when you’re done? And could I trouble you to run Julie and Seren home, we both live on the same side of town so it’s not much out of your way?”

“That’ll be fine and well worth it for what we’ll get done by seven.”

“But ..”

Brian interrupted, taking a couple of twenties out of his wallet: “Take this Mary and treat the girls to supper in the food court. They’ll be more than ready for food by the time you’re locked up and it’ll save Pam and Sally having to hold up dinner until Seren gets home.”

“But ..”

Mary interrupted: “Great idea Brian, it’ll save me cooking too, it’s been a long day and another long one coming. Pamela, I hope you don’t think me interfering but, would you mind sending Seren in with no make-up tomorrow? It’s just that she’s likely to be in the shop, at least some of the time and what she’s wearing today is too thick and, to be honest, more than a bit dated.”

“But ..”

“Oh don’t worry, we won’t leave her face naked, we are a fashion shop after all. It’s just that we have a bit of a corporate look and it will be quicker to start with a clean canvass. And judging by what I’ve seen of Seren so far, I’m sure she will want to fit in with the rest of the girls.”

“But ..”

Brian interrupted: “That reminds me Pamela, just before we realised that Seren was missing, you mentioned there was something really important you had to tell me about her. I think your exact words were: ‘A crazy mix-up that has to sorted before things get out of hand.’ So, I’m all ears!”