The crowd parted to let Brad through, except the young girls who thronged around him eager for selfies. Crystal could see how animated Candice and Emily were becoming and she smiled at them. Once Brad had worked his way through the crowd, Crystal stepped forward and shook his hand.
‘Deanna!’ she called, and her manager came over to join them.
‘This is Brad. Brad, this is Deanna. She’s going to take care of the lights once I give her the OK.’
Out of the corner of her eye she could see Candice and Emily staring open-mouthed at Brad, both suddenly silent in the presence of their idol.
‘Oh, and this is Candice, my daughter,’ she added. ‘And Emily, her friend.’
Brad turned and shook the hands of each of the girls who blushed furiously, then he spoke to Candice. ‘Lucky you, having a mother with such a fabulous fashion brand.’
Crystal could see that Candice felt a bit awkward and didn’t know what to say so she quickly stepped in. ‘And we’re very lucky to have you here today, Brad. Thanks for coming. Oh, by the way, would you mind posing for a quick piccie with the girls?’
He beamed a captivating smile. ‘Sure. No problem.’
Once the photo had been taken, Crystal asked, ‘OK, should we get started then?’
She spent a few moments giving out instructions then Deanna ducked underneath the red ribbon that was draped across the shop doorway and went inside. Crystal pulled her mobile out of her handbag and opened the texting function.
‘OK, when I say ready,’ she said to Brad, passing him a pair of scissors.
She brought up Deanna’s details on the phone screen and typed now into her phone. ‘OK, Brad, ready.’
Crystal quickly hit the send button as Brad cut the ribbon. The shop lights lit up showing a fabulous window display of all the latest fashions in coordinating colours. The backboard was covered in a glittery paper so that it sparkled under the lights that surrounded it on all sides.
Above the shop doorway, the signage was also lit up, showing the business name, Crystals of Altrincham. The letters were large and formed from glass in a 3D effect. Inside them numerous tiny bulbs glowed like crystals in sunlight. The effect was dazzling.
Just as Crystal was about to tell Ruby that she was going to change the signage in her other two shops to match this one, a loud cheer went up from the crowd. She looked around at all the happy faces and couldn’t help but feel emotional. For Crystal it was a big day. She had just opened her third store and this one was bigger and better than either of the other two. It felt so good to be going from strength to strength.
10
September 2015
Amber was surprised as well as wary when Cora joined her and Sapphire at their table in the Rose and Crown the evening after their disagreement. As Cora pulled up a chair, Amber began to subconsciously chew her bottom lip, a nervous habit that had persisted since childhood.
But Amber wasn’t going to hold a grudge and it seemed that Cora wasn’t either because the three of them chatted amicably for half an hour.
It was while Sapphire was at the bar that Cora struck. ‘How long is it since you’ve seen Crystal? I mean, before yesterday?’
Amber shrugged. ‘I dunno. A year, maybe more.’
‘And what about Ruby?’
‘I dunno, even longer I suppose.’
‘Then why the fuck are you still defending them? They don’t give a shit about you anymore.’
‘Because they were friends. And I was close to Crystal. She helped me a lot.’
‘Yeah, only ’cos it suited her own purposes to get you working for that fuckin’ seedy pimp, Gilly.’
‘Crystal didn’t get anything out of it.’
‘Course she did. He was her fuckin’ fella, wasn’t he? He was always giving her money. Money that you and the other mugs fuckin’ earnt for him.’
Cora was starting to wind Amber up and she retaliated aggressively. ‘You don’t know fuck all, Cora! Crystal hardly got anything out of him.’
‘You believe that if you want, Amber.’
‘I believe it ’cos I know it’s true.’
‘You’re such a fuckin’ mug, Amber, defending people who don’t give a toss about you, like that Angie. She’s such a fuckin’ loser. Everybody gives her a wide berth but not you and Sapphire.’
‘Shut the fuck up!’ yelled Amber. ‘It’s nowt to do with you.’
In a repeat of last night’s performance, Cora got up from her seat. ‘Who the fuck are you telling to shut up?’
She was about to thump Amber when Sapphire returned from the bar. ‘What the hell’s going on?’ she shouted, drawing not only their attention but that of the landlord too.
‘Turn it in!’ he shouted, rushing towards the table to find out what all the commotion was about.
Cora’s eyes shot momentarily to Sapphire then she lashed out at Amber. Before anybody had a chance to stop her, she landed a punch on Amber’s nose. By that time, the landlord had reached the table and he jumped in front of Cora to stop her doing any further damage.
‘Right, you’re barred!’ he yelled, grabbing hold of Cora’s arm and dragging her towards the door.
‘Get your fuckin’ hands off me!’ shouted Cora. ‘I can walk on my own.’
The landlord let go for a moment and Cora grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair and put it on, glaring menacingly at Amber as she did so. ‘You’ve not fuckin’ heard the last of this,’ she yelled as she turned to go.
‘You alright?’ Sapphire asked Amber once Cora had gone and the landlord had resumed his duties behind the bar.
Amber rubbed her nose, which was throbbing. ‘Yeah, think so. I’m glad you and the landlord stepped in though. She’s a fuckin’ lunatic.’
‘What caused it?’
‘Oh, she was just going on about me sticking up for people like Crystal, Ruby and Angie, and I lost it. She was really pissing me off and, when I had a go back, she went and fuckin’ smacked me
