Everyone in this story is over eighteen.
Until I was old enough to grow tits, my Dad was too busy beating the shit out of my poor Mum, who had given birth to me when they were both still at school, to even notice me. But when he turned his attention to me, that was one step too far for her, and she called the police. He was arrested, a Court Order was issued, and the last – hopefully – we saw of him, was when we saw him with a mousy blonde in the shopping precinct one Saturday, way over at the other side of the city.
Through college, I suppose my father's leering brutality cast a shadow over my occasional attempts at relationships with boys, and they never prospered, beyond a kiss and a furtive grope in the back row of the cinema.
My Mum, still, I thought, quite beautiful, with long sleek auburn hair and big dark eyes, and still slim, didn't seem to go in for dating either, so it was a surprise when, one evening when I returned from the estate agent's office I worked in, I found her sharing a glass of wine on the sofa with a well-dressed guy of around forty, whom she presented as Phil. I was even more surprised when they went out together, leaving me a meal ready to microwave. Mum came back after I had gone to bed, and I thought I heard sounds, and at first wondered if she had brought Phil back with her.
The sounds went on, and curiosity got the better of me. I went to the bathroom, the wall of which adjoined Mum's room, and it was then I realised that the sounds were not love-making. My Mum was sobbing her heart out.
Hesitantly, I knocked on her door. 'You alright, Mum?'
After a while, still crying, she managed to blurt out, 'Yes, Tanya, darling, go back to bed, I'll be OK.'
'You sure, Mum? Nothing I can get you?'
'No, love, good night.'
Still hesitant, I went back to bed, but couldn't get to sleep for some time, wondering what on earth had happened to the only person I loved in the whole world.
Next morning, Mum's eyes were red-rimmed, but she smiled wanly as she took coffee with me, and we both went off to work without me being any the wiser.
When I got home that evening, she was sat at the kitchen table, smoking a rare cigarette – she said she'd given them up months before. She looked ready to talk.
'Well?' I asked, 'What was that all about? You and Phil...........'
'Didn't work out, of course,' she said, with less bitterness than acceptance, I thought.
'I know, Mum,' I said, with feeling, then with the sudden flash of an idea: 'Why don't we go out for a night on the town – just the two of us?'
'You don't want to be lumbered with an old bag like me,' she said.
'Oh, Mum, you're.....what, thirty-six? And you scrub up well. Christ, we'd pass for sisters if you make the effort.'
'Scrub up well, eh?' she said, and at last that managed to get a laugh out of her, 'Okay, then, we'll do it, you condescending cow!'
I took a bit of time getting ready, slipping on a spangly short silver dress to show off my best feature, my legs, then brushed my long, straight black hair until it shone, before working on my make-up. By this time, my Mum was all ready and waiting.
'You can't seriously think of going out in trousers, Mum!' I said, when I saw that she had put on a pair of black tailored trousers and a cream silk blouse, 'It's nice and warm, do yourself a favour and change into a nice little skirt.'
'I haven't got anything,' she said lamely, so I found her a pleated navy miniskirt from my own wardrobe.
'But......I can't wear a miniskirt!'
'Why on earth not – you've got great legs.' Reluctantly she changed into it, and, both wearing strappy stilettos, we called a taxi to take us to the part of the city where all the clubs and night-spots are.
'Let's go and have a pizza first,' I suggested, 'I'm hungry.'
'But it's late.'
'Mum, it's only just after ten, and nothing gets going for a while yet.' My Mum was out of her depth, but relaxed visibly as we drank a bottle of Lambrusco with our pizza, and said, 'Look, Tanya, let's drop the "Mum," eh? Can I be plain "Jan" from now on? As you said, we could be sisters.'
'It'll take a bit of getting used to,
Jan
, but Okay.'
We went on to a club I had been to many times before, and no sooner had we got there than we had a couple of fairly obnoxious guys hitting on us.
'I don't know about your's, M..Jan,' I whispered, 'But mine's got halitosis.'
'Mine's got hands like a fucking octopus,' said my Mum, who never swore, 'Let's move on, shall we?'
As we stepped outside I suddenly spotted a friend from the office, Madeleine, dressed in a tight black dress she must have been poured into.
'Hello, darling,' she said, 'Who's your lovely friend?'
I introduced her simply as Jan, and Madeleine suggested we might like to go with her to a club she knew. 'Very exclusive,' she said, 'But I can get you in, for sure.'
We called a cab, and I saw my Mum looking curiously at Madeleine as we were disgorged at a posh-looking entrance.
'Is she Okay?' she whispered to me. I wasn't sure what she meant, but before I had time to consider a reply, we were ushered through a reception area, where Madeleine seemed to know the two girls on duty, down some steps and onto a vibrant dance floor.
She led us to a crowded bar, and there introduced us, with hugs and kisses to a slim girl with short, platinum-blond hair, wearing a microscopic miniskirt and peasant blouse, as Niki. She had a lovely smile, which revealed – just – a silver stud in her darting tongue. Fascinatingly, she also had a glinting stone set into one of her front teeth.
We all soon had short drinks, then I had the chance to look around, and it was only then that I realised that everyone present was female. All the couples dancing, even some who were intimately close, despite the rapid beat of the music, were girls – of all ages. I nudged my Mum, and whispered, 'Do you realise we're in a Dyke Club?'