Page 2 of The Summer That Changed Us

‘Grey is a lovely colour,’ said Katie, ‘I wear a lot of grey myself.’

‘Maybe, but most of mine were once white. Anyway, I fancy something bright and beautiful.’

‘Something just like you then,’ she replied, causing Mel to pull a face. ‘I mean it. Look at you. You manage to look glamorous in jeans and a ponytail.’ She gestured to Mel’s outfit.

‘You are kind.’ Mel ventured further into the shop. ‘Sorry. The last thing you want to hear is my whinging.’

‘If you want to get something off your chest,’ Katie grinned at Mel, ‘pardon the pun – feel free, you can tell me anything. I promise, I won’t tell a soul. Coffee?’

Mel accepted her offer and Katie poured them both a small cup from the machine. Freshly brewed coffee was something she’d introduced recently. Not only did it smell wonderful, it made everyone feel like a special customer – which to Katie, they all were.

Katie sipped her drink and waited.

‘My ex came to collect the kids for the day yesterday and after they’d gone, I moped about feeling sorry for myself. I just felt … ’ Mel sighed.

‘It’s OK to feel whatever you feel,’ Katie encouraged her.

She chewed her lip, saying finally, ‘I felt obsolete. Oh God, it sounds so lame and pathetic.’

Katie had a sudden flashback to coming home from sixth form one day to find her mum hastily drying her tears. I used to look forward to having more time to myself once you’d grown up, Mum had admitted sheepishly, but now it’s actually happening and you’re so independent, I miss being needed. But Katie had needed her, and at twenty-eight, still did. Even though they lived three hours’ drive away, her parents were her support system.

‘Mel, I doubt your children could manage without you for very long. Not to mention your clients at the salon. Can you imagine the state of our hair if anything happened to you?’ Katie tugged at her own thick mane. It had a bit of a kink to it – neither straight nor curly – and she felt it looked messy whatever she did with it.

Mel managed a lopsided smile. ‘True. And by the way, I don’t remember seeing you in the salon for a while.’

‘I know, it’s on my to-do list, promise.’ Katie hated sitting in the hairdresser’s chair feeling exposed when surrounded by so many mirrors and bright lights. ‘What I’m saying is, you’re a long way from obsolete. Why not see it as an opportunity for some me-time?’ she suggested. ‘Do the things you don’t get a chance to do when the kids are with you.’

Mel drained her coffee. ‘Good coffee and good advice. Thanks.’

‘You’re welcome.’ Katie ran her eyes expertly over Mel’s body and made a quick assessment of her new size.

Katie might be young to be running a well-established lingerie shop, especially one which catered to the needs of an ageing and ample population, but she’d been doing this job for ten years and she was good at it. Half of her customers came in wearing the wrong size and were amazed how much better they looked with a narrower strap or a bigger cup.

‘Now, why don’t you go and undress while I select some options. We’ll have you feeling like a goddess in no time.’

‘OK.’ Mel gave Katie a wobbly smile on her way to the changing rooms. ‘The window looks very enticing, by the way. I love spring colours, so much nicer than all that red stuff for Valentine’s Day. Which I totally ignored this year, for obvious reasons.’

Katie sympathised; she tried to avoid Valentine’s Day herself, but it wasn’t that easy in her line of work. More men came through the door of Auntie Small’s in the run-up to February the fourteenth than in the rest of the year put together. Whatever her views on their purchases were, she couldn’t deny it was good for the shop’s takings.

‘We celebrated Galentine’s Day here too,’ Katie said diplomatically. ‘And it wasn’t all red.’

‘Hmm. You don’t splash out on fancy knickers for the gals though, do you?’ said Mel from inside the cubicle.

‘No,’ said Katie firmly, ‘we do it for ourselves. Because we’re worth it.’

Mel popped her head back out of the changing-room door. ‘Thanks for listening. I have people in and out of my hairdressing chair all day long telling me about themselves. It’s nice to do the talking for once. But you won’t mention my woes to anyone, will you?’

Katie shook her head. ‘Wouldn’t dream of it. Nula and I are keepers of many secrets; from nursing bras to naughty nights away, there’s not much you can hide from us at Auntie Small’s.’

Mel’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Blimey, I never thought of that. Who’s been buying sexy undies?’

‘Couldn’t possibly say,’ Katie said primly, with a sparkle in her eye. She slid a froth of satin and lace through a crack in the door. ‘Here, try these on. Trust me,’ she said, as Mel started to argue that she’d given her the wrong size. ‘I’m an expert.’

Ten minutes later, Mel had left with an Auntie Small’s bag containing some pale pink satin wrapped in scented tissue paper. Katie had made her promise faithfully not to save it for best and in return for a discount, Mel had booked Katie in for a trim free of charge.

For the next hour, Katie sat in the small space she’d carved out as an office at the rear of the shop, working through her admin jobs methodically, whilst keeping an ear trained for the sound of customers at the door and enjoying the peace. Nula started at ten o’ clock and was a complete extrovert. The job in the shop was absolutely perfect for her; she was great at putting customers at ease, but Katie found concentrating on the accounts quite tricky when her employee was in full flow.

At five to ten, Katie stood, stretched and put the kettle on ready for Nula to brew her ginger tea as soon as she arrived.