Home Front Girls

afford a new pair of shoes to go with it, but I certainly can’t afford a coat and a handbag too.’
    ‘All right then.’ Knowing when she was beaten, Annabelle shrugged. ‘I dare say I have a coat and a bag you could borrow,’ she said generously. ‘You’re a bit thinner than me but with the suit underneath I’m sure I’ll have a coat that will fit you. We are going to get your hair styled though. I’ll make an appointment at my hairdresser’s for Thursday afternoon when we’re off work. And I’ll come with you to make sure you have something fashionable,’ she added with a twinkle in her eye. ‘It’s high time you got rid of that ponytail, it makes you look about fourteen. But come on now, if we don’t get a move on we’ll be late back to work and there’ll be blood on the moon. Go and pay for that suit and then we might just have time to get you some shoes on the way back upstairs.’
    Twenty minutes later, Dotty hurriedly shoved the suit along with a very smart pair of black wedge shoes into her locker before rushing off to her department. She could never remember spending a quarter as much on one single outfit as she had today, but as she thought of how she had looked and felt in the suit she was very glad that she had.
     
    That weekend, Lucy and Dotty went to Annabelle’s for tea and Miranda gasped when she caught sight of Dotty. Annabelle had indeed accompanied her to the hairdresser’s and now she sported a very becoming shoulder-length bob that was parted at the side, with a fringe that made her look very grown up.
    ‘Why, you look completely different with your hair like that,’ Miranda said approvingly, then, ‘Did you bring your suit with you? Annabelle told me how nice it was.’
    Dotty waved a bag at her. ‘Yes, I did. Annabelle is going to let me borrow one of her coats. She says I’m not allowed to go in this one.’
    ‘Well, I certainly agree with her on that point but I don’t think you’ll need to borrow one. She told me what colour your suit was and I think I may have the very one. I never wear it any more so if you like it you’re more than welcome to keep it.’ Miranda disappeared to return minutes later with a very smart swing coat in navy blue folded across her arm. ‘Here, try this on,’ she encouraged and Dotty slipped it on.
    ‘It’s just perfect,’ Miranda told her. ‘And I have to say it looks so much better on you than it ever did on me. Take it and wear it in good health.’
    ‘But I couldn’t ,’ Dotty spluttered. ‘It must have cost a fortune and I really can’t take it.’
    ‘Of course you can,’ Miranda said. ‘What good is it to me, hanging in the wardrobe and never seeing the light of day? You’ll be doing me a favour taking it out of the way and I thought you might like this handbag too.’
    She then produced a lovely black leather handbag that matched the shoes Dotty had bought perfectly. ‘I’ve got far too many,’ she assured the girl with a guilty grin. ‘I’m afraid handbags have always been my weakness. Richard was always scolding me about it. Take it – I promise you I won’t even miss it. And now Annabelle tells me she’s going to show you how to apply a little make-up. You don’t need much with that lovely complexion, but you’ll be surprised to see what a difference a little mascara and lipstick can make. We’ll have a full dress rehearsal then before we have tea, shall we?’
    Half an hour later they all stared at Dotty admiringly as she emerged in her new outfit. She was beaming like a Cheshire cat and hardly recognised herself in the mirror.
    ‘I don’t know how to thank you all,’ she said, but they brushed her thanks aside.
    ‘You don’t need to,’ Miranda told her kindly. ‘Just go to London and do us proud. One day when you’re a bestselling author, I want to be able to say, “I knew her when . . .”’
    ‘Hmm, I doubt there’s much chance of that ever happening,’ Dotty answered. ‘And now I have to try and persuade the head of my department to let me have the day off on Wednesday, and that will be no easy task with us being short-staffed. I don’t think she’s going to be too impressed at all.’
    Annabelle tossed her head. ‘Well, you just stand your ground and tell her you’re going whether she likes it or not,’ she advised. ‘You might never be offered a chance like this again. Who knows what will come of it for the future?’ And then they all went off to the kitchen to enjoy the