Amber by Heather Burnside (great novels of all time .TXT) 📗

about the clothes she had been wearing, a smartly tailored skirt and a formal three-quarter-length coat. Maybe they were a bit inappropriate for the schoolyard. When she tried to recall what the other parents were wearing, she realised that most of them had been wearing jeans or tracksuit bottoms with casual coats. Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to raid her wardrobe and drag out the couple of pairs of jeans she still possessed. It wasn’t her usual style, but she knew that if she wanted to make her life easier in this neighbourhood then she needed to fit in.

*

October 1993

A few days later, Loretta needed to buy some more groceries. Her instinct was to get on the bus and go to her nearest Marks and Spencer. It was a habit of hers as she’d always shopped there. But then she remembered how the other mothers in the schoolyard had criticised her for her choice of shop.

She’d passed a discount supermarket along with a discount frozen food retailer in the local shopping precinct but had avoided going inside, assuming that the food would be of a lower standard. But now she thought that maybe she should give them a whirl. Why not? She had nothing to lose.

She felt uncomfortable at first, especially when she heard the bad language that a couple of the other shoppers were using. Loretta had rarely heard those sorts of words being spoken by young women and she was shocked. For a moment she was tempted to ask them not to use such language in front of Nathan, but she didn’t want to make any more enemies.

Ignoring the two foul-mouthed women, she looked at the products lining the shelves. She hadn’t heard of any of the brand names on the tins but what she did notice were the prices. They were unbelievably cheap! The fresh food was cheap too and surely that couldn’t be much different to what she normally bought. Figuring that it couldn’t hurt to try them, especially at those prices, she loaded her shopping trolley with meat, fruit and veg, and threw in a couple of tins of beans and soup. If the food tasted a bit bland then she could get creative with herbs and spices, which were also inexpensive.

Emerging from the supermarket, Loretta was delighted to find that she had saved herself a small fortune. And with her finances in their current dire state, she couldn’t really afford to be too choosy. Looking down at what she was wearing, a pair of jeans and the only anorak she possessed, Loretta felt a sense of achievement. She had taken the first step in adapting to her new surroundings.

5

September 2015

It was several days since the session with Bill. Amber had been glad to get it over with, subsequently deciding that she would never again offer her services to him and she’d probably run a mile if anyone else suggested she should dress up as a schoolgirl.

Since then she’d tried to put the experience out of her mind and carry on as normal, or what passed for normal in her life. She was taking a day off work and had decided to go shopping before having a few drinks with some of the girls in the Rose and Crown, a run-down city centre pub frequented by prostitutes and the criminal fraternity.

She had just come out of one of the major stores and was turning into Market Street when she spotted a woman she thought she knew. Could it be Crystal? But it was hard to tell as she was a few metres away and surrounded by hordes of people who crowded Manchester’s shopping areas.

Amber thought fondly of her old friend. They’d shared such good times together. She was a bit older than Amber and had acted like a big sister, always making sure she was looked after. Delighted at the prospect of chatting to Crystal, Amber stopped and watched as she approached.

As she drew nearer, Amber knew for certain that she hadn’t been mistaken; it was definitely her old friend. She looked different though; smarter and more groomed. She was wearing a pair of skinny jeans, low-heeled expensive-looking shoes and a smart jacket, and she had changed her hairstyle again. It was still that nice mid-brown colour that she had swapped to from the fiery red she’d sported during her days on the game, but instead of the straight bob she’d previously opted for, it was now shoulder length and wavy.

Remembering how harsh and chaotic Crystal’s hair used to be, Amber was amazed to see the wonderful condition of it now. She watched, mesmerised, as it swayed lightly in the breeze and bounced about Crystal’s shoulders as she walked towards her. It seemed to underline the newfound confidence that Crystal displayed, her head held high and a smile painted on her flawless face as she chatted to the young girl who walked alongside her.

Amber hadn’t seen Crystal for over a year and, although Crystal had changed her image a while before that, it still took Amber by surprise. She somehow seemed even more attractive than the last time she’d seen her. Maybe it was the wavy hair that did it or perhaps she used expensive products or treatments to give her such a radiant glow.

It seemed that with the new image and lifestyle came progressively less frequent visits to the Rose and Crown. So, whenever Amber thought fondly of Crystal, her mental image was of the woman she knew when she had been on the game. The woman who was a real character with wanton red hair, skimpy clothing, a coarse complexion and language to match.

Amber realised that the girl with Crystal must have been her daughter, Candice. She would have been about fifteen by now, but Amber had never seen her. It was surprising really considering how long they had been friends and how much Crystal used to talk about her daughter.

Candice was really pretty and resembled Crystal. Her