44

Now began another very happy time in Jamie's life. She was sleeping with another young woman that she loved dearly. They didn't have sex every night, but it was wonderful just feeling Michaela's warm silk-clad body next to hers that she could snuggle up to. She was happy working at the jazz club too and was earning almost as much money as she had a Lewy's and without having to sell her body to get it.

One day while she was relaxing in the flat before heading off to the jazz club, her mobile phone rang. It was a woman's voice but at first, she was crying so hard Jamie couldn't make out her words or who she was. Finally, she realised that it was Eve.

In between sobs, Eve told her that Tommy had suspected she had money he wasn't told about and searching everywhere he had come across twenty pounds in her lingerie drawer. He accused her of being a whore and after giving her a vicious beating had thrown her and young James out on the street.

“I'm sorry to ring you Jamie but you told me once that I could if there was an emergency and I don't know where else to go. Otherwise, I've got no option but to beg Tommy to take me back because he's taken all the money I had.”

Jamie was shocked. “No, don't do that Eve. Have you got any clothes with you?”

“Yes. I hid around the corner until I saw Tommy go out, probably to the betting shop or pub. Then I went back into the house and filled a suitcase with clothes and other things for me and James. I was so frightened he'd come back that I'm sure I've left things behind. I'm at the underground station now.”

“You can't manage a suitcase and James,” said Jamie. “Take a taxi and I'll pay him when he arrives here.” She gave Eve the address, and after she hung up, she rang Michaela and work and explained the situation.

“I hope you don't mind if she sleeps on the couch for a couple of nights until I can find somewhere for her to go.”

Michaela was very understanding. “Of course not. Make her feel at home and I'll get home as soon as I can before you have to leave for work.”

When the doorbell rang and Jamie answered it she was shocked at Eve's appearance. She had a black eye again and a livid bruise on her cheek. Jamie suspected that there would be other bruises too. She took her purse and went out to the taxi driver. “It may not happen, but if you hear of someone called Tommy trying to find out where his wife is, no-one knows, o.k.?”

“Is he the bastard who gave her those bruises?” asked the cabbie.

“Yes he is and he'll do worse if he finds her.”

“Leave it to me, love; nobody knows anything about her.” Jamie thanked him, paid the fare and added a generous tip. To her surprise, the cabbie handed the tip back. “Give it to your friend, I imagine she'll need it,” he said.

Jamie asked for his card. “Anytime I need a cab, I'll call you first,” she said.

She went back inside and saw Eve standing there in the loungeroom looking lost.

“You're safe now, Eve. He won't find you here.” She hesitated. “Look I'll be straight with you, Michaela and I sleep together so we only have one bed, and the flat only has one bedroom. I'm afraid you'll have to sleep on the couch. Did you have a cot for James?”

“Yes, but it was too big to bring as well as the suitcase,” said Eve, and her eyes filled with tears again.

“No matter, we'll see about getting one tomorrow,” said Jamie. “Michaela will be home before I have to go to work, so you won't be on your own. I should explain that she dresses as Michael for work and then changes when she gets home.”.

If Eve was surprised to hear of Jamie and Michaela's sleeping arrangements, she didn't show it. “Please don't worry about a bed,” she said. “This couch is fine. I'm just so grateful to you and Michaela for taking me in. I'm sorry to put you to all this trouble, but I had no idea where else to go. Tommy knows where my parents and friends live, so I couldn't go there and get them in trouble too.”

“You mustn't keep worrying about it, Eve. This is what friends are for. We'll find you somewhere to live. London's a big place, and if we find somewhere well away from Tommy, he won't find you.”

Before Jamie had to leave for the club, Michaela arrived home in Michael mode as Jamie had explained. She had never met Eve before, although Jamie had already told her about her low opinion of Tommy, and she too welcomed Eve with a hug for her and a kiss on top of his head for her little boy.

“Well now, you must be hungry, I know I am,” she said and set about making a tea of chops and vegetables. When they sat down to the table, Jamie ate sparingly as she always did, determined to keep her slim figure, but Eve wolfed down everything she was served. It was obvious from how thin she was that she hadn't been eating properly for some time, no doubt to make sure that James was properly fed. Both Jamie and Michaela did their best to look like they weren't noticing how hungry Eve was.

When she'd finally had her fill, Eve looked at Jamie and Michaela. “I have to tell you something, you're probably wondering why I didn't ring my parents first and ask them to take me in, well I did.”

“So they weren't home?” said Jamie

“Yes Mum was, and she told me to go back to Tommy and beg him to take me back. Her exact words were “You've made your bed, now you must lie in it.'

She looked at the two shocked faces. “You have to understand something about my parents; they are very strict churchgoers, and Mum, in particular, has not been slow in making her feelings known when someone in the congregation makes a mistake. Now, having a daughter who got pregnant without being married, and somehow the news got around very quickly, the people she had been quick to criticize lost no time in spreading the news to everyone they knew. Mum was furious.

“Jamie, you know my parents didn't come to the marriage ceremony because it wasn't in the right church, although she didn't want it in her church anyway, They felt they were being very generous in even coming to the reception.
So that's why I rang you because I couldn't think of anyone who might help me and I know you are good people.

“I don't know about that, but we are glad to help you. Now I must get ready for work,” said Jamie as she left the room. When she returned in about forty-five minutes, Eve stared in astonishment at the woman in a fabulous gown, perfect makeup and sophisticated hairstyle who had just appeared. Even though she'd seen Jamie in a dress before, it was so hard to compare this glamorous woman to the Jamie she had worked with not so many years ago when he delivered groceries.

“How do I look?” said Jamie, Eve was lost for words but finally came out with “You look amazing!”

Jamie smiled. “Thank you, Eve. It's always good to get a second opinion. Tomorrow we must get you a camp bed and a cot for James. Then we must find you somewhere permanent to live.”

Eve's face crumpled. “But I've got no money, Tommy took every last penny. He even emptied my purse. I can't go back to work at the grocer's, he'd find me”

“Don't worry about that,” said Michaela. “We can help you out for now. Call it a loan if you like.”

“We can go to an Oxfam shop if you like,” said Jamie. “We might find suitable things there and at a fraction of the price of new. Well, I'm off to work now, wish me luck.”

Around two o'clock in the morning, Jamie quietly closed the front door of the flat, slipped off her heels and tiptoed quietly through the flat in her stockinged feet. She looked in on the lounge and saw Eve, fast asleep on the couch. Next to her in a nest of pillows, James was fast asleep too.

She smiled to herself as she walked into the bedroom and undressed, slipping into a silk nightdress. As she got into bed, Michaela stirred. “Everything go alright?” said Jamie.

“Fine,” whispered Michaela. “She's such a sweet girl. Why do so many of them marry total bastards?”

“I'm not sure,” replied Jamie. “Maybe they're afraid of being left on the shelf and end up marrying the men every other woman rejects.”

The following morning, Jamie awoke early for her and by eight o'clock she was in the kitchen where Eve was busy.

“Are you ready for some scrambled eggs?” said Eve. She was already looking better than the previous day even with the black eye and cheek bruise. She had had a shower, brushed her hair and added a little makeup which made a huge difference to her both physically and psychologically.

As they ate their breakfast, Eve looked like she wanted to ask something but didn't know how. When Jamie finally persuaded her to speak up, she said:

“Well, I understood you were living with someone called Michaela who chooses to live as a woman, but the person who came home last night and left this morning was a man called Michael.”

Jamie laughed. “Michaela has a very responsible job in an old-fashioned City firm. There's no way she can go to work as Michaela, so she goes as Michael and usually changes once she gets home. She didn't do that last night out of respect for you.”

“Oh, but she mustn't do that. I'm a guest in your home and she must do whatever she usually does. I'm a big girl, I'm sure I can cope with her changing.”

“Very well, I'll tell her,” said Jamie.

After breakfast, they drove in Michaela's car which she had kindly loaned them, to the nearest Oxfam shop, and spent a couple of happy hours rummaging through the stock. They found a suitable cot for James, complete with a mattress at a bargain price, and also a pushchair. They didn't find a camp bed, but Eve said she was perfectly comfortable on the couch. They also found a few more useful items like blankets and clothes for James. Eve had left in such a hurry that she only had a chance to grab s]as many items as would fit into a suitcase. Then they went to a local cafe for lunch.

It was while they were eating that Eve's mobile phone rang. It was her mother. Jamie watched Eve's face as the call progressed and was saddened to see that Eve was looking more and more worried. She had phoned her mother the previous evening but didn't tell her where she was so that if Tommy asked, she couldn't tell him how to find her. Now it seemed that Tommy had been around to her mother's house making threats.

“He's told Mum that if I'm not back home in forty-eight hours, there'll be a brick through her window and it will get worse the longer I take to come back.”

'That would serve her right,; thought Jamie, but aloud she said: “But I thought he threw you out.”

“Yes he did, but now he wants the money I bring in so that he can gamble it away. Oh, Jamie, I've got no choice but to go back or he won't leave Mum alone! I know she treated me badly, but she is my Mum. It's no good ringing the police; they'll just treat it as a 'domestic'” With that Eve burst into tears.

Jamie was furious. Just when things were starting to look up for Eve, this had to happen. Then she had an idea.

“Eve, if you don't want to go back, there is another way. Tommy is a bully and bullies are usually cowards. I can arrange to frighten him so badly he won't bother you or your Mum again. Just tell me the address where you lived.”

Eve complied with Jamie's request, but she stared at her with an expression of wonder mixed with a little fear: “You, you're not going to get him hurt are you?”

Jamie smiled, but it was a smile without humour. “Not unless he tries to be violent first. Will you excuse me while I make a phone call?”

When Jamie had returned to the table, she told Eve that she had phoned a friend. “I don't think you'll have any more trouble from Tommy,” she said. Eve stared at her in awe. This was Jamie as she had never seen her before.

That evening there was a knock on Tommy's door. When he opened it swaying slightly and carrying a half-empty bottle of cheap scotch, there was a man-mountain standing outside. “Tommy Harris?” he growled

“Who wants to know?” said Tommy with an unnecessarily aggressive tone.

“ I want to know,” said Mike, the bouncer from Lewy's nightclub. He was actually quite a gentle giant, but something of an actor and Tommy was already starting to think that he should have been more polite.

“I've heard that you kicked your wife out and now you're giving her mother a hard time.”

“She's my wife and she belongs here,” said Tommy truculently.

Mike stepped forward and grabbed Tommy by his shirt collar. His face was inches from Tommy's as he growled. “If so much as a pebble hits her mother's window, or anything bad happens to Eve or her family, you'll be eating through a straw for a few weeks. Do we understand each other?”

Tommy was starting to shake, and he dropped the bottle which smashed on the floor. He wanted to say that he'd call the police but he didn't dare. This stranger was seriously scary. Where on earth had Eve found him? She didn't have any money because he'd taken it all, although most of it had already disappeared at the betting shop and the pub.

“Understood,” he mumbled.

“Good,” said Mike, releasing Tommy and shoving him back into the hallway. “And one more thing, don't try to find her or the same thing applies, o.k.?”

When Tommy had shut the door on his visitor, he walked down to the kitchen and with a shaking hand, poured himself a generous tumbler from another bottle of scotch and took a deep swig. He had no wife, almost no money and he didn't doubt that the stranger meant every word he said.

A week later, Jamie called in at Lewy's club on her way to work. She wanted to thank Donny for lining up her audition at the Blue Note club, and tell him she had a job there. Donny was pleased to see her, and when she produced a gift-wrapped bottle of single malt scotch from a carry bag, he was even more pleased.

“I really didn't do anything Jamie; it was your talent that saw you through. I'm so pleased for you,” he said. Jamie wasn't finished. She produced a second bottle and asked Donny to pass it on to Mike.

“What's Mike been up to?” asked Donny.

“Nothing much. He just put the frighteners on the shitty husband of a friend of mine. Mike didn't have to do anything but talk to him and that was enough. She won't be having any more trouble from that quarter.”

Donny smiled. “I can imagine. I don't think I'd like to get on the wrong side of Mike myself.”

To be continued

Next time: Miss Wilshire