The Look of Love

by David George Richards

  Louise nodded, and Angela gave her a peck on the cheek before she and Andy headed for Pizza Hut.

  Louise smiled and then hurried after Jo and Victoria. When she caught up with them, she quickly linked arms with Victoria.

  Victoria looked up at her and grinned. “It’s Louise!” she called out. “Look, Jo! Now we’re three!”

  Jo looked across and said, “Where’s Angie?”

  “She’s gone for a pizza with Andy,” Louise said.

  “Gone for a pizza? Wimps!” Jo exclaimed. “No stamina!”

  “Maybe we should call it a night, too,” Louise suggested.

  “Nah!” Victoria said. “It’s too early!”

  “But you don’t look too well.”

  “I wanna dance! I want to go to a club with you and Jo! And I want to go now!”

  “Yeah!” Jo agreed. “Let’s party!”

  “But what about Angela and Andy?”

  “Oh, forget them!” Victoria said. “Forget all of them! I know just the place! Come on!”

  Chapter Nine

  Dreams

  Scott caught up with Chrissy on King Street.

  “Hold on a minute!” he called out as he ran up to her. “It wasn’t my fault!”

  Chrissy stopped and spun round to face him. “It was your fault!” she said, angrily. “You didn’t have to fight with that lad! You could have walked away! But you just had to show everybody how macho you were!”

  “He was trying to chat you up!”

  “And so have you! All fucking night!”

  “But I thought we were passed all that!” Scott pleaded. “I like you, Chrissy, and I want to see you again!”

  “Well, I’ll take my knickers off! What a surprise!” was the tart reply. “I suppose that’s alright then! Because all the other lads were only interested in my body, while you obviously only want to get to know me for my mind!”

  Scott looked hurt. “Alright, so I’m normal. I have to admit that when I first saw you, and when that Victoria turned up later, I thought all my Christmas’s had come at once. Yeah, it was lust at first sight. But there was something else about you, and I think I saw it right away.” He paused to take a deep breath before plunging on.

  “You’re a real beauty, Chrissy. Real classy. But you’re smart, too. And you’re more grown up and together than any of the girls I’ve ever met. They’re all like Jo and Victoria, just air heads who think larking about is all that life has to offer. You’ve gone way past all that. Max was right. He might have said it wrong, but you’re damn difficult to get to know. I’ve tried hard all night, and I’m not giving up now. I like you, Chrissy. I like you lots. And I don’t think I could find anyone else better if I spent the whole of the rest of my life looking.” He suddenly held up his hands in front of her. They were trembling. “Just look at me! I’m shaking all over because I’m so nervous of losing you! Come on, Chrissy! I’m pouring my heart out here! Give a poor dumb guy a chance will you!”

  Chrissy stared at him, as she had stared at him all the while he was talking. She looked stunned, and her anger had quickly faded. Finally she sighed, and shaking her head, she said sadly, “It won’t work.” Then she turned and walked away.

  Scott hurried after her and began to walk alongside her. “Why not? We were doing alright until Victoria interfered. You would think she was jealous by the way she kept trying to split us up.”

  “It’s nothing to do with her!” Chrissy said in annoyance. She began to hurry down King Street towards Cross Street.

  Scott kept up with her. He looked across at her as they walked along. He looked at her face, and at the way it was framed by her long, jet-black hair. Even with an angry expression she was still very beautiful. And she had a beautiful body too. He looked at her stomach and navel, and at the way her chest bounced as she walked briskly along. He couldn’t lose her, not now.

  “Then why won’t it work?” he said.

  “Just because!”

  “You do like me, I know you do!” Scott insisted. “If you didn’t you’d just come straight out and say so! You’re damn quick with the put downs, but not once tonight have you told me to my face to get lost. So you must be interested!”

  “Don’t push your luck!” Chrissy warned him.

  “Why don’t you want to give it a try? What’s wrong with me?”

  “Just leave it!”

  “So you’re telling me Max was right after all? My wallet isn’t big enough for you, is that it? But maybe you just can’t say it to my face!”

  “Alright! So I’m selfish!” Chrissy exclaimed emotionally. “So what if I want something better than a council house, six kids and a husband that’s in the pub all night? Why shouldn’t I be selfish? Why should I live out my life as Mrs Average-and-ever-so-fucking-normal just because everybody else wants me to?”

  “It doesn’t have to be like that!” Scott argued. “And what’s wrong with getting married and having kids? Don’t you want to have kids?”

  Chrissy shouted him down. “I want something better! I want a bit of money behind me! I want a big house by a beach with lots of sunshine! And I want to live my life instead of having to work through it!”

  They reached Cross Street, and Chrissy ran across without waiting for Scott. She kept running when she reached the other side. Scott chased after her, catching up with her again outside Georgio Armani’s, and pulling her to a stop. To his surprise, she looked tearful.

  Scott could see that Chrissy was far more emotional than he realised. He tried to calm her down. “Everybody has a dream like that. But it’s just a dream. You have to live in reality, Chrissy. Dreams cost money, and not many people make enough of it in their lives to make their dreams come true.”

  His remarks just made Chrissy more determined. “It’s not a dream!” she insisted, rubbing at her eyes. “I’m going to make it happen! And if I can’t get it on my own, then I’ll fucking marry it! And nobody has the right to tell me I can’t do it!”

  Scott was appalled. “You can’t base a relationship on money!”

  “Oh yes I bloody can!” Chrissy laughed humourlessly. “Men do it all the time! They get rich, ditch the old wife, and marry a blonde bimbo with no brains and big tits! So why should I lose out just because I’m a brunette with brains? I look just as good, and I can do far better things with the money than they do!”

  “But what about love?”

  “Why is it that men only ever talk about love when they want you to give up everything you want to do and do what they want to do? Love! Ha! The only things you men love are beer, football and sex! And if you’re lucky, you can get all that at the pub while the wife’s at home looking after the kids!” Chrissy waved her hands dismissively. “No way is that for me! My mum is as smart as hell, but she has no life! I am not going the same way!”

  Chrissy turned and walked away and Scott followed alongside her again. He tried a different approach as they walked along more slowly now.

  “Alright, you want something more out of life. I can understand that. But there has to be a better way than marrying someone for their money. Why don’t you become a model? You said yourself that you look just as good. And I think you’re miles more beautiful than some of the ones I’ve seen on telly.”

  Chrissy shook her head. “I’ve tried that! I freeze up in front of the camera. Anyway, I’m not a stick insect, so the only work I could get was with my tits hanging out, and I wasn’t getting into any of that!”

  “So what are you doing at University?”

  “Computer Graphics. If I can’t work in front of the camera, I’ll work behind it.”

  “Well, that’s good isn’t it?”

  Chrissy didn’t answer his question. Instead she asked one of her own. “How much do you earn, Scott?” The question came out of the blue, and her words were harsh and abrupt.

  Scott shrugged. “With overtime and the shift pay, about eighteen to twenty thousand a year. It’s good money, but it’s hard work.”

  “Yo
u work in the same factory as your brother, don’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “So what do you want in life?”

  “You!” Scott said instantly.

  “Don’t piss me about! You know what I meant!” Chrissy told him. She stopped walking and turned to face him. “Where are you going, Scott? Do you have a dream? Or are you going to be working in that factory until you drop?”

  “I guess I hadn’t thought about it,” Scott replied sadly. He knew what was coming and he was resigned to the inevitable.

  “No, I guess you hadn’t,” Chrissy replied sternly. “And that’s why it won’t work. Because while your happy woman is looking after the kids, doing the dusting and going out to work, you’ll be in bed. And while she’s at home, feeding and putting the kids to bed and doing the rest of the housework, you’ll be at work on shifts. By the time you both reach forty, she’ll be at the bingo and addicted to soaps, while you’ll be just another over-weight beer belly at the bar. Not very close to my dream, is it? In fact it’s not a very good scenario for any kind of relationship, is it, Scott? But you haven’t bothered to think that far ahead, have you? But I have.

  “Yes, you’re right. I do like you, Scott. You’re tall, you look pretty fit, and you can handle yourself, a bit too much for my liking, but I’ll put that down to enthusiasm. You’re good looking too, and you have the sweetest eyes. And you’re pretty charming when you want to be. Jo was right; you are the best man to come my way in ages. She knows my type, the devious cow! And that’s probably why she invited you tonight. She probably has visions of double weddings with her best friend and her future hubby’s brother. But it’s not going to happen, because even though I like you, you’re everything I’m trying to avoid. You’re a trap, Scott, nicely presented but still a trap. And if I let you, you’ll snare me and squeeze the life out of me. Call me selfish, call me mercenary, call me a bitch, even. But I am not going to let that happen.

  “Earlier you said I hadn’t told you to get lost straight out. Well, I wanted to, but after what you said to me I couldn’t. And thinking about it even made me cry. But that’s all part of the trap. That’s why it’s so deadly. I know I might regret this later, and I’ll probably cry buckets, but now I am going to tell you. And I mean it. Get lost, Scott.”

  Chrissy turned and walked away again, and this time Scott didn’t follow her. He just stood in the middle of King Street watching her walk away.

  Chapter Ten

  In Distress

  42nd Street was a club like any other in Manchester. It was just off Deansgate, and the entrance led down into the club which was in the basement of an old textile warehouse. Most of the old warehouses in Manchester had long been converted into offices, and those that hadn’t were now being converted into hotels or apartment blocks.

  It cost a fortune to get in, and Louise had to pay for Victoria. Inside, the place was packed and the music was very loud. As soon as they were in, Jo headed for the bar while Victoria headed for the dance floor. At first, Louise went with her, but as soon as she saw Victoria dance; she quickly retreated to join Jo at the bar.

  Louise quickly realised what Angela had meant about Victoria ‘strutting her stuff’ on the dance floor. When judges talked about dressing and behaving provocatively, they were talking about Victoria. There was no denying that Victoria did what she did on purpose. She would deliberately pick out groups of boys and dance among them. She would dance very suggestively, moving from one boy to the other, letting them dance close to her. The boys would cheer her every move, whistling in appreciation. Every so often she would move against one of them and let him touch and even grope her. Then she would get a few drinks out of him, and just when he thought he was in, she would move back to one of the other boys, or even head for another group entirely.

  Jo handed Louise a drink. Louise took a gulp of it without looking as she stared at Victoria in fascination. It was vodka and orange, and it made her gasp.

  “I thought I said orange juice,” she said hoarsely to Jo.

  “It is orange juice!”

  “But there’s something in it!”

  “So? Live a little!” Jo indicated Victoria. “She’s a one, isn’t she?”

  “She’s going to get into trouble.”

  “That’s half the fun! Come on!”

  Jo dragged Louise onto the dance floor. Jo was a good dancer, and Louise prided herself in the fact that she was good too, but in comparison to Victoria, they were both amateurs.

  It wasn’t long before they caught the attention of some boys on the dance floor. Jo responded, smiling and laughing, but Louise retreated back to the bar. She could have had a good time, if it wasn’t for two things: She wasn’t interested in the boys who approached her, and the fact that she was always keeping one eye on Victoria. Louise hadn’t thought it possible, but her behaviour was getting worse.

  Victoria wasn’t just picking on groups of boys on their own any more. Now she was deliberately dancing near a girl with her boyfriend, distracting him until the girl would get angry and the arguments would start. Victoria would then move quickly away, leaving a trail of angry girls and ex-boyfriends with slapped faces behind her.

  Louise got more and more worried as the shouts and arguments started on the dance floor. But Victoria didn’t seem to care. Finally, Louise could stand it no longer and she went to Victoria and grabbed her arm, pulling her towards the bar.

  Victoria was having none of it. She resisted, and a tug-of-war with her arm developed.

  “What are you doing? Leave me alone!” She spoke with a slur, she was hot and sweaty, and her breath stank of alcohol.

  “You’ve had too much to drink! You have to stop this!” Louise insisted, pulling harder. “Come back to the bar with me!”

  “No! I wanna dance!” she hissed back through clenched teeth. “I want the boys to see what they can’t have! Get off me!” She broke free and went back to the dance floor.

  “But what you’re doing is dangerous!” Louise called after her. It was no use. Victoria was already dancing close to another girl and her boyfriend.

  Louise went to find Jo. But Jo was in the arms of another boy, they were kissing passionately, and the boy had his hand up Jo’s short dress.

  Louise backed away. She didn’t know what to do. Victoria’s behaviour was bound to cause a backlash, and it wouldn’t be long in coming. She returned to the dance floor, but Victoria was now no where to be seen. In desperation, Louise went back to Jo and pulled her away from the boy.

  Jo was surprised by the intrusion, she was also heavily drunk. “Wha–What’s-a-matter?”

  “I can’t find Victoria!” Louise had to shout over the noise of the music. “Have you seen her?” She knew as soon as she spoke that it was a daft question, but she was worried sick.

  Jo shook her head in annoyance. “No, I haven’t bloody seen her! She’s probably having a piss!”

  “I hadn’t thought of that! I’ll go and check!”

  “Yeah! You do that!”

  As Louise hurried away, Jo muttered, “Daft cow…” Then she turned back to the boy she was with and said with a smile, “Now, where were we?”

  As Louise approached the ladies toilets, she knew she was heading in the right direction. There were several girls gathered around the door, and Louise could hear the shouts from inside. She pushed through the girls, seeing their faces filled with a mixture of delight and anger. Inside the toilets there was a circle of girls all shouting and screaming. Louise joined the circle and looked down in horror.

  There were three girls pinning a fourth girl to the floor. Two of them seemed to be sitting on top of their victim, holding her wrists and punching her repeatedly in the stomach. The third girl was kneeling across her chest, banging her head up and down on the floor. All Louise could see of their victim was her legs sticking out, kicking and waving around. The girl had bare feet, and even though she couldn’t see her face, Louise knew instantly that it was Victoria.

  As
she watched, mesmerised by the whole seen, one of the other girls in the circle suddenly darted forward, grabbed Victoria’s long hair, and began to tug on it.

  Louise looked around in panic. There were too many girls, what could she do? And then she saw a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher hanging on the wall. She grabbed it, pulled out the pin and fired it at the girls.

  The result was instantaneous.

  As soon as the ice cold carbon dioxide hit all that hot, sweaty, and bare skin, there were screams of terror and a stampede for the exit. Two girls were bowled over, and one of them was trampled in the rush.

  Only one of the three girls attacking Victoria was reluctant to leave, but a blast from the extinguisher right up her skirt sent her howling after the rest. The toilets were suddenly empty.

  Louise threw down the extinguisher, grabbed a very battered looking Victoria, and half dragged her and half carried her to the door. As soon as they were back in the main part of the club, Louise hoisted Victoria up and headed for the exit.

  There were a few cat-calls and comments from some of the girls they passed, but no one stopped them or attacked them. Two large men in suits who had been approaching the toilets stopped and watched them go by. One of the men, obviously Bouncers, went over to the ladies toilet and pushed the door open. He then turned to his partner and nodded. The second man then followed Louise and Victoria all the way to the exit. It was clear that they were no longer welcome.

  Victoria could hardly walk. She leaned heavily on Louise, holding on to her tightly. She was doubled up in pain, her head down, and dragging her feet. She kept trying to arrange her inadequate skirt and top, pulling them back into place as she staggered along. Louise still had her jacket, and although Victoria was all wet from the water (or worse) on the floor of the toilets, Louise covered her with it.

  When they reached the street, the cool night air was an instant relief from the hot smoky interior of the club. Louise breathed in deeply, calming down from the shock of what had happened and what she had done.