Doreen, a widow, was always a fun one in our group . She enjoyed the stories and shrieked with laughter and pleasure along with the rest of us. But she was reserved and said little. Very generous, she was always prepared to share expenses, and although she didn't broadcast it, we know she had often helped others. When we heard her tale, we all both shocked and excited here it is for you, in her own words.
Doreen's Good Fortune.
Littlewoods pools, the Treble Chance, remember? Well I won it one week. That's right, seventy five thousand pounds, everyone's dream, and my dream came true.
First thing I did was to shed 16 stone (224 pounds), I wasn't fat or anything, I just got rid of my waste of space husband, the divorce was so sweet, useless lump, he wasn't going to go through my winnings.
Then I bought a house, I wasn't going to waste my money, I wanted to make the most of it. After a trip to America on the Queen Mary, and a bit of a tour, I decided that I needed something to keep me out of mischief, so I decided to buy me a little business.
A little bird told me that Madame Du Prè's Sewing Box, a lovely little haberdashery and ladies general store might be available.
I popped into the shop to speak to Madame Du Prè ( Brenda Harris) and discovered that she felt it was time to retire and was indeed in the market to sell, and I felt at a very reasonable price. What's more, as I didn't need a mortgage, and could go ahead immediately, she would be happy to stay on for a month to show me the ropes while she arranged the purchase of her cottage by the sea.
To be fair, I had often used the shop for my sewing bits and bobs, and I knew she offered a corsetry service, and sold an excellent range of very nice intimate linen as she called the underwear, why I don't know, because very little of it was linen, mostly silk, satin, nylon and cotton.
The price was good, the house, a very pleasant little detached place cost just under a thousand, my new Morris Minor about five hundred, I called her Daisy and now the shop, at again a very reasonable two thousand pounds.
The bank, and my solicitor sorted out the business of the money, and I started to working in the shop under the guidance of Brenda. What amazed me was that much of the corsetry and the "intimate linen" was quite pricey, although the bulk of sales were dress making fabric, paper patterns, Dewhurst's thread, and Beehive knitting wool. With a few bits of baby clothes and other things.
There was a further side to the business which I hadn't ever considered, offering more personal things, you know, sanitary towels, pessaries, and various odds and sods to do with contraception and you know, sex things.
I had a lot to learn, I discovered in the second week, just how much. It was inevitable, that Brenda and I in our conversations would get round to S.E.X. Brenda was quite a bit older than me and I wasn't immediately comfortable discussing sex with her, there was something in the way she spoke.
"You will get used to discussing such things." She told me, "Some of my customers, sorry, your customers, will ask your advice on things, and it's important you don't make them feel awkward."
"You do actually like sex, don't you?"
"Oh yes, just never been a great one to talk about it."
Our conversations went on and covered most things, including not being surprised or shocked at just who in this small town bought what.
"And that includes gentlemen coming in buying things for their wives, when you know darn well that they don't have a wife and have never been closer than six feet to a woman. Of course they pay a bit extra for my goods, but they don't dare complain."
Brenda winked. Her eyes sparkling behind her butterfly wing glasses.
"You will soon learn all the secrets of this small town. And, trust me, there are some interesting secrets to learn."
Brenda generally was a conservative possibly an old fashioned dresser, she would sort of resemble your granny, with odd sort of fashionable bits sort of thrown in. Like for instance the once fashionable butterfly wing glasses.
It was a bit of a surprise, when after the question about me liking sex, things turned in a somewhat odd direction.
"So; you do like sex, heeerm, well, it may surprise you to know, so do I! Tomorrow, half day closing, there is something different."
"Yes, tomorrow, afternoon tea with my girl friends."
"Weeeel, tomorrow, there is a rep coming in the afternoon, I would like you to see him, he is good for a bit of extra discount."
"I suppose I could put the girls off..."
"Good, now make sure you dress a bit special, it will be appreciated, trust me, extra discount on your next order may depend on it. Have you had oral sex, I can tell you, with the right set up, and I have that, it's very, what shall we say, satisfying."
"Talking sex, that didn't suggest satisfaction to me but I suppose I would get used to it."
I always, even before my big win, had dressed quite smartly, even stylishly, although I had sort of dressed down for my new job. I, as they say, picked myself up a bit and I dressed in a more business like way the next day. I always thought that dressing was from the skin out so under a smart managerial style dark suit, which would not be out of place in the shop, I went to town with very well fitted corset and brassier, and real silk knickers and slip, and a crisp white blouse unbuttoned sufficiently to expose what I considered just enough cleavage.
I was almost shocked when I saw that Brenda was dressed quite similarly, but with a fine lawn blouse and without the jacket that I had decided upon. The lawn blouse did nothing to conceal the very revealing lacy brassier which it self failed to conceal her darker aureoles and nipples. I couldn't help but think how sexy she looked despite her years.
The morning, as on other half days was fairly quiet and we did quite a bit of sorting of stock that would need to go in a new business sale when I eventually had the place to myself. Then paper work, soon it was one o'clock, the closed sign was put on the door and the window blind let down.
"He will arrive about ten past. When he knocks, you can let him in. Then let him wait in the shop. Call me. You take yourself to the stock room adjoining the office, I will take him to the office. If you move the bolt of Harris Tweed against the office wall, you will be able to hear and see the way I negotiate the discount, when business is done, I will call you, and introduce you and you can have a chat with him, and make sure you can get the same deal...or of course a better deal."
It was in fact fifteen minutes later that there was a knock at the door.
"We're closed."
"I have an appointment with Madame du Pre."
No one ever called Brenda 'Madame du Pre'.
"You had better come in. I'll call her."
I opened the door and admitted a quite striking, smartly suited, gentleman of about forty, slightly balding but very erect in posture. He entered almost timidly, and placed his samples case on the floor in front of the left hand counter.
"If you wait here I will let her know you are here."
I called to 'Madame' as I made my way as instructed to the stock room, thinking 'if all the reps are like him it can't be all bad' the 'Madame du Pre' thing was a bit odd, but each to his own I thought. I took down the bolt of tweed as instructed to find a small aperture in the wall affording an excellent view of the office.
Brenda nodded to me as she went into the shop.
"You're late. What the hell do you mean keeping me waiting?"
"I'm so sorry Madame, I didn't mean..."
"Stop your stupid snivelling."
"...the traffic Madame..."
"Don't give me that crap, the last time there was a traffic problem round here was when the big convoys went through the town during the Suez crisis. In the office. Now!"
"What about that other lady Madame?"
"Never mind her just get in there."
Now to say I was surprised would be an understatement, I suppose stunned would have been more accurate, I had never heard Brenda speak to anyone like that either in tone or words. If you know what I mean, I was sort of embarrassed.
I felt I was sort of intruding. I didn't want to move from my little window but equally I wasn't sure I wanted to see this poor man's discomfort. As if she sensed my feelings, Brenda looked past the man, his downcast eyes missing the wink she gave in my direction. I was very puzzled.
"Lets get down to it."
"Yes Madame, I have some new things for you this month, and I can give you some very good prices."
"You will need to make them very good or you will go away without any order. Now show me what you have."
"Madame, its very warm in here, may I please take off my coat?"
"Oh, very well, but get on with it. I haven't got all day."
He removed his top coat, and his jacket, in his shirt sleeves I got the impression that he had a large chest, well more that he was quite well developed, maybe a bit like Charles Atlas if you can remember him, you know the body builder chappie.
"May I sit down Madame?"
"You have your case there, it doesn't matter to me if you sit on the floor beside it or kneel."
The lingerie spilled out from the case, as item after item was handed to Brenda as she stood over him, to be examined before being cast back at him, usually hitting him in the face and falling back into the jumble of the case.
"Have you nothing else to show me this month?"
"There is one more item Madame, but you may not want to see it."
"Whether I want to see it or not, you had better show me."
Where I ask myself had I been all my life. I was going from one shock to the next. The man stood and started to disrobe what on earth had this to do with my new business.
In a very few minutes, he stood before Brenda, dressed in a most bizarre fashion. Highly polished black Oxford shoes, black calf length socks held up by, would you believe PINK garters, then a corselet, a flesh coloured one, the brassier of which was padded out with either falsies or handkerchiefs his outer clothes in a heap in the corner of the office.
"Is this what I am supposed to be buying, a blinking corset."
"Oooh Madame...please, please order something from me this month." He dropped to his knees.
"There's nothing I wish to buy." Brenda looked so haughty as she looked down at him.
"Please Madame, please, I will give you a good deal."
"You know what I want, No sweetener, no order."
"Yes Madame, I can give you the usual sweetener."
"You may need to give more than the usual sweetener if you want an order this month, you are a bloody nuisance, you know that don't you."
"I'll do anything, anything Madame."
The man was kneeling on the hard flag stone floor of the office, Heck my knees ached just thinking of it. I couldn't see just how I was going to get as good a deal as Brenda suggested was possible. Then thing took a different turn. Brenda sat on the corner of her, no, my desk. The man shuffled towards her. Brenda lifted one leg and rested it on the man's shoulder.
