Marianne stood close by Chris, looking at some of the prints he was sorting through. Caroline was bouncing from one foot to the other.
Chris, noting Caroline's nervousness, changed his mind about what sort of photos to take instantly. Instead of a shoot involving skimpy bikinis against a blue-sky-and-clouds background he decided to do some simple portrait work first, to include both girls.
As the first pictures were taken, Caroline began to thaw a little. Chris then took some of her on her own.
Eventually he'd managed to shoot two rolls of film, some of Caroline solo, some of the two sisters together. The whole time Caroline had been supported, not just by her sister, but by Simon and (to Caroline's surprise) by Linda as well.
By the time they left the studio Caroline had decided that although she wasn't sure she wanted to be a model, it wasn't such a nerve-wracking experience as she'd feared it would be. She'd even agreed to work with Marianne on a shoot early next week. While she'd been surprised at the offer of fifty pounds for that, she'd noted Marianne's calm acceptance of the offer and, caught up in the spirit of the moment had agreed.
"It's just some bikini work, Caroline, and some summer tops. I promise there'll be nothing too revealing, and it'll be a nice, quick, simple job. A great way to earn a little holiday money, if you like," Chris had told her.
The other news was that Chris would be going to Knebworth as well, in an official capacity. He was on a job for a magazine, tasked with getting shots of the stage and the crowd. "Pearl will be going with me," he told Simon, confiding in him, man to man. "Never hurts to put a beautiful woman into the shot when you have to do stuff like that. But mainly it's going to be a great excuse for me to go and watch the 'Floyd. Hopefully I'll be able to get into a good party, too."
- - - - - - - - - -
After the summerwear shoot a few days later Chris pulled Marianne to one side.
"No offence, but I doubt if I'll be able to use Caroline a lot. She just doesn't have 'it' in front of the camera. You
do
."
"Are you sure?" Marianne protested, but in truth she'd already seen it. Try as she might Caroline just couldn't
give
of herself in front of the camera.
Marianne sighed, but she knew Chris was right. "Oh well, it's been good for her anyway," she told him. "She's a lot more confident about herself already. Maybe she'll improve as she relaxes more?"
"Possibly -- but I doubt she'll ever become a natural," he told her.
- - - - - - - - - -
That night Simon and John were relaxing at the station when the alarm went off. Quickly they responded, Simon quickly getting the large appliance moving while John received instructions via the radio.
"House fire, St. Helena's Park Road. People trapped!" he told the crew. They would be the second appliance to respond -- one was already on the way, and John's crew would be under the orders of the Station Officer there.
Although it was a dry night there was a lot of cloud around, the extra darkness adding to Simon's sense of foreboding as he manoeuvred the large vehicle along the narrow road. He caught sight of a burning building up ahead, but he had to concentrate to send the appliance between the cars parked on either side, as quickly as possible. Simon managed to get past without damaging anything and hurriedly drew up outside the front of the burning house.
Number One appliance from the West Hill station had just arrived, and John moved smartly to find out what the SO wanted his appliance to do. He ran back and ordered the crew to get set up and get water onto the roof and into the top window. "There's a mother and two young children trapped in there. Simon, you and I will be going in to get them out."
"I hope that roof holds…" Simon heard John mutter not quite quietly enough as they all busied themselves with getting ready.
It seemed to take forever, but finally the ladder was correctly positioned. Water was playing on the roof, and more was being pumped into the floor below. John was at the top of the ladder, while Simon would be his backup and partner.
Simon could feel the heat, smell the smoke, see the flames but his concentration was on John and the window. It was an almost cinematic experience as his awareness tunnelled into just that small space.
He watched as John turned to him, gave a 'thumbs-up' and entered through the already shattered window. Simon climbed to the top to see what was happening and to ensure that he could give help as required.
Smoke obscured his view, but he could see John move rapidly to the far side of the room. He could see a lady there, gesturing frantically. He watched as John picked up a small bundle from the floor -- Good God, it was a baby! John hurried to the window and handed his burden to Simon who took it carefully and began stepping down the ladder towards safety. He was careful, but knew he had to be quick -- the room was already full of smoke and the roof would surely soon fail…
At the bottom he handed the child over to an ambulance man who'd arrived and immediately climbed back up, as quickly as he could. He'd just reached the top and was about to take the second child from John when with a terrific crash and a burst of flame and smoke part of the ceiling came down. He was forced to duck and dimly heard a scream. When he lifted his head again John, the child and the mother had all disappeared.
Simon forced his body to act -- he climbed partially in through the window and saw John lying on the floor. He hurriedly climbed completely in, flinching away when a further burst of sparks and splinters came at him. He reached his friend and saw another bundle on the floor of the room. He noted also the mother, lying on her back, face turned towards him -- with a jagged piece of wood embedded in her chest. Her sightless eyes regarded Simon as he forced himself to act again. Dimly, he knew that image would haunt him for a long while, but now there was no time…
He checked John, saw that he was breathing, and made his decision -- the only one possible. He picked up the child and went back to the window. He gestured to the SO and saw him quickly give orders. While he waited he checked the child over. It was a young girl, aged maybe three. She was unconscious but came to as he was wiping her face clear of the fine blonde hair, and immediately began screaming. Simon hugged her to him, momentarily lifting his breathing mask to try to reassure her.
"What's your name?" he asked.
But the little girl was hysterical, and he couldn't blame her. He saw that his colleagues had rigged up a round mat for him to toss the child into, several of them holding it up in place underneath the window. Simon dropped her, anxiously watching her fall and be caught below. With satisfaction tinged with some relief he turned to the task of checking his fallen colleague. Blood was coming from a head wound and he showed no signs of coming round.
John wasn't tall, but he was well built and carrying a lot of equipment. Simon hauled him up and over his shoulder and carefully went to the window again, while the heat from behind him suddenly got worse. He was surprised but
very
pleased to find another fireman there to help him. Carefully, responding to the touches from him, Simon got onto the ladder and climbed down. He was glad they'd practised this before as he had to hold John, twisting his body at an awkward angle as he descended.
At the bottom Simon was met by the ambulance crew and Station Office Billings. He led Simon away from the crew working on John and asked "Anyone left in there?"
With a catch in his voice Simon answered, "The mother, I assume -- but she's dead, sir."
Billings patted him on the shoulder and told him, "Okay, son. Take a couple of minutes, then come and find me again. We're still going to need you."
Just then the roof of the house collapsed with a terrific crash and a shower of sparks and billowing smoke. Simon turned away, knowing that yet another family had been devastated.
- - - - - - - - - -
"Simon?" Marianne asked. "Are you still with me?"
He shook his head to clear it and said "Huh?"
