‘I really think that suits you. It brings out your pale colouring beautifully and shows off that lovely neat waist.’
Susie was speaking in her professional voice. Effie was tempted to burst out laughing but didn’t. The girl was far from funny. She really was a beauty with lovely straw-coloured hair, fine features and a slim figure. The sort of looks that were difficult to fault, if a little bland. Her father was sitting on one of Susie’s delicate white chairs, tipping it back as he contemplated his daughter. Effie feared he would topple over. He, too, was good-looking and she could see where the daughter got it from. Thick gray hair, a strong nose and regular features, fashionable glasses and what looked like a well-honed figure. I bet he goes to the gym regularly. Can’t be much less than 60.
It was 10 past 5 on Friday afternoon and Effie had been ensconced in Susie’s boutique since 2.30 anticipating Kenneth’s arrival so that she was by now filled to the brim with coffees and teas which were producing a strangely bouncy feeling. Indeed, as she watched Kenneth’s chair momentarily teeter she found herself leaping up almost throwing herself at him.
‘Oh do be careful - you’ll fall.’
He turned and smiled benignly at Effie as the legs of the chair returned safely to the ground.
‘Sorry. A bad habit of mine. Tilting chairs.’
‘Oh, I tilt at lots of things... I mean lots of bad habits.’ Effie felt awkward and knew her face was getting hot, damn it, which undoubtedly meant red. The parts of the body one can’t control. But the dad was not looking at Effie for the moment. He was looking at his daughter who was posing for him in the dark green dress Susie had picked out for her. Susie was right: the colour suited her and she could carry off the neat fit. She twirled round for her father to admire: yes, she knew she looked good in it.
‘Well, what do you think, Dad?’
‘Oh, I think you look good in all of them.’
‘So, why don’t you try on the others, my dear,’ suggested Susie. ‘You might just prefer one of them when you see it on.’
The daughter, who to Effie seemed amazingly compliant, duly disappeared into the changing room with Susie who could be heard helping ease her out of the tight fitting outfit. Effie could not imagine either of her daughters caring a damn what she thought of their clothes, let alone their father, but this man was taking a kindly interest and clearly price was not the primary consideration, not for Kenneth Lennox. So far, they had exchanged very few words since the focus had been on the girl, Julie, and her dress search. Susie had introduced Effie as ‘my colleague who has a designer’s eye for what suits the young’ so that Effie felt obliged to make some attempt to play the part of being in the know about design. She had heaved herself into a skin-tight pair of black trousers a size too small, supplied by Susie, with a fitting matching black top over which she wore a long loose emerald green cardigan in a fine silky material that flowed rather nicely when she moved, or so Susie assured her. Effie was grateful that it at least partially covered her thighs.
‘Height of fashion,’ asserted Susie.
‘Height of agony!’ complained Effie. ‘I’ll be lucky if I don’t burst the seams in these things. Honestly, Susie, don’t pretend you don’t know my size.’
But that was a few hours earlier and Effie had both survived and adjusted somewhat to the constriction of her outfit which together with the thorough soaking in caffeine added to a sense of unusual lightness. Hence the leaping up to catch Kenneth Lennox as his chair tipped.
In the absence of his daughter - wasn’t Susie taking a long time in the changing room? - he turned to Effie and smiled giving her a first proper glimpse of a pair of dark brown eyes behind the glasses. What did they convey? Interest? He appeared quite at ease, telling Effie about his daughters, joking about their predilection for shopping – ‘probably worse since their mother died. I know I spoil them dreadfully.’ Effie filled him in on her three, avoiding any reference to ages. He mentioned where he lived – not so far away - and obviously had a large house with a garden in which he took some pride. She told him about her house which she described as ‘big enough for someone who’s out a lot.’ Was she apologising? The conversation moved on to food and favourite restaurants in the area, a topic dear to Effie’s heart. ‘Have you tried the Carping Cod in East Coresham? Best ever fish and chips’ or ‘the Gluttinous Pig in High Street Hennington? Fantastic roasts, lamb to die for.’
Julie appeared at this point as Effie’s stomach began to rumble audibly at the consideration of all this tasty food which she realised was not surprising since she had eaten nothing since a small plate of cereal at breakfast. The girl twirled around to be admired, firstly in dark blue to be followed by an equally stunning pale pink, then a taupe, a beige and finally back to the dark green, or ‘deep viridian’, as Susie insisted on calling it, by which time it was after 7 o’clock and Effie caught Susie looking at her watch. Julie was humming and hawing between the pink and the green, unable to decide until her indulgent father resolved the issue by declaring that since she was being just like her mother, never able to make up her mind, he would solve the problem by buying them both, at which point Susie visibly relaxed, smiled broadly, and Effie gasped ‘lucky girl’.
Still on something of a high from the caffeine and the empty stomach Effie’s thoughts raced ahead inspired by this display of paternal generosity. She flew to an image of herself and Kenneth Lennox living together in blissful harmony, he, bringing her home bunches of flowers when it wasn’t even her birthday, taking her out to dine, bringing her tea in bed. His world would be ordered but relaxed, a man at ease with himself. There would be no tension, no arguing about who took the rubbish out, no leaving greasy pans for her to wash up like Jack used to do, no carping at her predilection for double Devon cream...
‘Well, I think we all deserve a drink after that’ said Kenneth, getting up to insert his credit card in the slot of Susie’s machine. Back to reality, Effie squinted to see what the total came to for not only the two dresses but a silk scarf and a darling little handbag the same shade as the green dress which were somehow neatly added by Susie at the last minute. She couldn’t quite make out the total. Kenneth barely glimpsed at the bill before he tapped in his pin. Julie appeared in her jeans and sweater and popped a kiss on her father’s cheek.` Thanks, Daddy, I love them.’
And well you might, young lady, thought Effie as she gathered her stuff together. But her mood was light, even excited. It all seemed so easy. The four of them left the shop with Julie clutching two smart bags tied together with Susie’s exclusive black and gold ribbon.
Susie was purring to Kenneth like a contented cat. ‘I think your daughter looks quite stunning in those outfits. A very good choice if I may say so, and I’d love to join you for a quick one – mustn’t be long – Fred gets fretful if he’s left on his own on a Friday night.’
‘Fine, my dear lady. But I would like to show you my appreciation for all your help with my girls. They are not easy to please, I can assure you’ he said as he patted his daughter’s bottom affectionately. ‘And Effie – I can call you that can’t I? - I hope you can spare ten minutes or so.’
‘I might just manage that.’
The ten minutes turned out to be twenty minutes, then forty minutes, when both Susie and Julie left leaving Effie and Kenneth, neither of whom seemed to want to or need to go. Kenneth sat back after kissing his daughter goodbye.
‘Effie, I must say when Susie mentioned last week that she had a friend who was a clothes designer who might be helpful with the girls I had no idea she would turn out to be such an agreeable lady.’
‘Well, I’m not actually a professional designer. More of an amateur’ she lied.
For a moment Kenneth looked serious.
‘You know, some of the best designers started up stitching things in their kitchens’.
‘Kitchens?’
‘Oh yes. My grandfather was actually a tailor in the East end. That’s how he started, or so goes the family story’ he laughed. ‘My grandmother always complained that her husband couldn’t boil an egg or roast a piece of meat but he could make mutton look damn like lamb in one of his creations. Not that she’d have said ‘damn’, being a bit proper. Suits too. He looked a bit of a scruff himself but could put together an extremely smart suit for rich city gents. ‘Afraid it’s a bit lost on me, but the girls certainly love clothes as you can see.’
Effie was curious and didn’t want to distract to the girls. So how had he made his money? It didn’t sound as though he had followed in his grandfather’s footsteps and carried on the tailoring business. Was he Jewish with a story like that? He didn’t sound or look it. Like the Irish, Effie had a bit of a soft spot for Jewish men, not that Jack was.
Kenneth was looking at his watch. ‘Effie, I’m afraid I have to go. I’ve got a bit of business needs attending to. And you must be starving. But I wonder if you’d be up to trying one of those restaurants we were talking about? Another night?’
Her stomach contracted in excitement. ‘Oh yes, very much.’ Yes, she did want to see him again. She jotted down her ‘phone number and he gave her his card.
‘I’m away a couple of days next week, but how about next Friday? It seems like a good day for things to happen.’
So they parted with Kenneth promising to confirm time and place when he returned from whatever he had to do. Effie refused a lift, preferring to walk to her house which was not far away, wanting some fresh air and exercise to clear her mind. He gave her a peck on the cheek much as he had kissed his daughter earlier and he was off, waving cheerily. Effie took the path through the park and pulled out his card, smiling to herself. It was a smart business card which gave his name and that of what she presumed was a company, Lennox Enterprises, which didn’t really tell her anything. Maybe Susie could fill her in. She could certainly tell her what the outfits had cost. Dear Susie. She mentally hugged her friend for having pushed her in to the meeting as she slipped Kenneth’s card into her wallet. A smart card. A smart man.