‘Why so upset?’ Jack asked, noticing her tissue-dabbing at her moist, blue eyes.
She leaned forward so she could whisper in his ear. ‘My stocks are down again.’
‘Shame,’ he said, brushing Glenda’s cheek with his. ‘Will you lose your shirt?’
‘Mmm, probably. But then it looks like everyone will,’ she said, in a voice so soft that no-one else could hear. She knew Perkins would hate to see her getting friendly with a customer, calling this ‘unprofessional’.
But then, Perkins would hate Glenda getting friendly with anyone who might distract her from doing what he really wanted, which was for her to become extra-friendly with him.
Meanwhile, Jack remembered this feeling; it had been just a few months ago, when Daisy from the next-door farm had been smooching with him at the annual hootenanny. They’d taken a turn around the barn, arm-in-arm, to enjoy the cool night air and one another’s company. But this girl was something different – she lacked the country innocence of Daisy, but had an added frisson of excitement that came with her expressions of warmth and openness.
The night was young and the drinks flowed freely.
Later, Jack and Glenda were found wrapped in each other’s arms, seeking an hotel where their warmth and passions could be sated and their frustrations assuaged.
Chapter Five: Sloppy Seconds
The economic crisis rushed upon the land and happened to arrive just as the last of Jack’s coins followed so many of the others into the coffers of a local restaurant, noted for high-class lobster served in a rich champagne sauce.
‘Is that it?’ Glenda asked, as he turned out the lining of his pockets to show that he really, genuinely was sheckelfree.
‘I am very much afraid that it is,’ he said, sadly.
‘Oh. Oh dear,’ Glenda murmured, as she stood. She took her handbag and coat, kissed Jack gently on the forehead and said ‘See you, loser.’
She was furious at him for promising the world and delivering just a few weeks of outrageous worldliness. Life in the Big City was tougher than she had imagined. She knew in her heart of hearts that she would have preferred not to return to Monobrow Perkins and fulfil his unspoken demands for her to flaunt herself nightly before the paying customers. But, she thought to herself, what choice did she have?
Jack found himself a job, after a lengthy search, at Old Demas’ Piggery, tending hogs.
They were given the most appalling slops to eat, all covered in mould and discarded rubbish. For a country in famine, it was remarkable that even these bits of refuse found their way here, and Old Demas had to settle for what he could get.
After just a short time, Jack began to feel so desperate that he even longed to eat the food the pigs were eating.
‘Oh, woe is me! These pangs wrack my body, which is wasting away and losing muscle tones daily. Surely my life will amount to more than this?’
Will Jack succumb to this desire to satisfy his hunger with pig food? Might he come to his senses and remember the catering arrangements back at Homestead Farm?
Can Glenda ever forgive herself for the shameful way she has treated Jack?
Could Mr Perkins ever discover what has become of Glenda and wangle his way into her affections? Or, failing that, persuade her to be friendly with him?
Will Old Demas’s Piggery survive the economic downturn?
Does Jack’s father die a broken man, or is there any hope of reunion or restitution?
Don’t miss next month’s thrilling final episode of this action-packed romantic drama!
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