(Author's Note: Many thanks to everyone who has read my stories so far, I really appreciate it and welcome any feedback. This is a standalone story for Chloe, based on a recent experience I had. It's not necessary to have read Chloe's Introduction in order to enjoy this one, but i would dearly love you to, all the same! All the best, Chloe xxx)
The pouring rain on the M1 motorway seemed like a harbinger of doom for Chloe, a dark portent for what the next couple of days had in store for her.
It had been two weeks since she received the phone-call.
"Chloe, dear, it's your mum" - which she already knew from the caller-ID. Mum had never really grasped modern technology.
"Hi mum, how's things?"
"Not good, your uncle Bernard... he died in his sleep last night."
This wasn't a complete surprise, as Bernard had been ill for a while, and in and out of hospital, but still the news struck Chloe hard, and she felt her heart drop.
"Oh, bless," she said softly.
"Your father and I are helping get things arranged. The funeral date is likely to be in two weeks, will you be able to come?"
"Of course, mum! I'll be there."
Of course.
On the phone she hadn't the chance to consider what she was going into, but in the two weeks leading up to the long journey north, it had hit her. Chloe was going to her hometown for the first time in twelve years.
Chloe had left for the University of Bristol to read Law, at the age of 18. She knew little of the world, really, having been brought up within a strict Catholic household, along with her older brother and sister. She had studied hard, partly in order to be allowed a University of her choosing rather than one foretold by her parents, which would have been the nearest to home.
She left home still a virgin, something which didn't change until her second year at uni, when she moved out of the halls of residence and into a house-share with two other girls, Hannah and Tracey. These two were a right pair, she mused. It wasn't long before they were inviting boys over and shagging them, and Chloe was listening and finding herself aroused by what she heard. Her new friends were quick to take Chloe under their wing and help her explore and enjoy her sexuality.
Looking back on those two years, Chloe felt like she had been a shackled beast, finally released back into the wild. It was a very hedonistic period. That's the polite version, she mused. The fact was she was a proper slut during that period and did some pretty wild things, some best kept in the darker corners of her memory.
She remembered her first visit home, after she had cut her hair. Hannah had given her a makeover appointment at a well-known salon in Bristol. She'd cut her hair to just below her shoulders and had it coloured in autumnal shades of red and brown. When her mum saw her, she went white as a sheet. She was almost silent for the whole first day she was there, which ostensibly was to celebrate her birthday.
"I knew there would be.... changes, dear, but...why? Why do you look like that?"
"Like what mum?" Chloe had been very confused by her reaction.
"Like a... a strumpet! A whore!" This left Chloe open-mouthed in shock, while her mum ran upstairs and locked herself in her room. She'd looked to her dad who could only give a sort of half-apologetic shrug.
"Sorry, darling. You know how old-fashioned she is."
It turned out that in past centuries -- Centuries! - prostitutes would don red and ginger wigs to show that they were women of negotiable virtue, and Chloe's family had some deep-rooted ideas about such things. Eventually her mum calmed down, but she still found it difficult to look at her own daughter during that weekend.
Her uncle Bernard was a different kettle of fish. He was Chloe's mum's brother-in-law, married to her sister, Alison. He often worked in Bath, which was very close to Bristol, and they used to meet up often for a meal. Bernard had been very supportive of her life choices and had provided sterling advice about her degree and career prospects. When she started work in London, she would often pop back to Bristol to see friends and meet up with Bernard. When things got rough with her long-time boyfriend, David, he had given her advice which quite possibly saved her life.
It was he who encouraged her to switch careers when she confessed to him her love of hairdressing and also suggested that she move out of London to be able to afford a more comfortable lifestyle, which is how she ended up at Edwina's salon.
Chloe had been at the salon now for over a year, and a lot had changed for her. She had fit in well with the owner, Edwina, and her main stylist, Tracey, and had garnered her own set of regular customers. Then one day she suddenly discovered the salon had a very sexy secret -- it was the hub for a ring of dommes and subs who all had an interest in hairdressing. It had been like someone had read her secret fantasies and made them a reality.
While Chloe's reputation as a hairstylist grew, so did her sexuality. She had always considered herself to be a submissive person, and even when at college, she had gone with the flow rather than instigate anything directly herself. Now, she had discovered a whole new side to herself, one which was still developing but had willing lovers to explore with.
A blaring horn startled Chloe. She had drifted so deep into her mind that her car was starting to drift into another lane. She blinked hard and corrected her course. At least the rain had stopped, she thought, as she ploughed on.
It was the day before the funeral, and Chloe had booked into a hotel, rather than stay at her parents. She needed the space, time to decompress, before the morning's ceremony. After a quick shower and change, she made her way to her aunt Alison's house, where her parents were going to be.
As if having her husband die after a lengthy illness, Alison was virtually blind and losing her memory. Chloe's mum and their other sister, Claire, were on hand to help, while Chloe's dad tried to make sense of Bernard's financial affairs, which were unfortunately in disarray and no will could be found.
Chloe arrived wearing a light grey skirt suit, a left-over from her days as a contract manager, with a red blouse. Her hair was in its current bleach-blonde bob.
"Who's that?" said her aunt, as Chloe walked into her living room.
"It's Chloe, Alison," she said. She felt silly using the term "aunt" now.
"Ohh Chloe. Thank you for coming." She stood up and Chloe suddenly noticed how diminutive she'd gotten.
"Have you been growing?" Alison asked.
"No, I'm afraid it's you whose been shrinking!" she chuckled lightly.
Chloe's mum, she noticed, remained distant again. Since that visit home with her new hairstyle, their relationship had splintered irreparably, with other factors of her life compounding the issue. It seemed to Chloe that she could accept her only at the end of a phone call and was having difficulty being in the same room. Chloe took a deep breath and decided that was a fight for another day. Her dad was pre-occupied with trying to access Bernard's computer records, so Chloe spent the evening catching up with her aunt. It went about as well as expected.
"So, how's life in the City, dear?"
"Oh, I don't work in London any more Alison. Haven't done for well over a year, now. I moved to Nottingham."
"Oh! Are there many contract jobs there?" she asked.
"Actually, I changed professions, as well as towns. I'm now a hairstylist."
Chloe could almost see the cogs inside Alison's head jarring to a halt as she tried to digest this.
"A... hairdresser. You were a commercial manager and now.... a hairdresser."
"Yes. And I've never been happier."
"But what about.... you know, your fella, what's his name...."
"David," chimed in her mum from the kitchen.
"We....split up."
"But you were engaged... "
"Yes. It.... it didn't work out. It's complicated Alison, and I don't want to go into it right now."
"Oh, of course dear," she said, smiling, a little puzzled.
"SHE'S A LESBIAN!" cried her mother. "That's why. That's why!"
Chloe closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. She opened them and smiled at her aunt.
"I better be off, Alison. I'll see you at the church tomorrow." She waved at her dad, looked sadly at her mum who had her back to her, and left.
On her way to the Church, the next morning, Chloe took what could charitably be called the scenic route, through her old hometown. Blackhall was an old mining town, which had virtually died when the coal pit was closed down. Unemployment was rife, the only chance for escape was prison, the military or university. Chloe had known of people from school who had chosen the former two. She had always yearned to escape and had studied hard not just at the behest of her parents but for her own agenda too.
The town consisted of a single, straight main road, with houses built either side. The sea could always be seen between the gaps of the houses and shops, a large grey sheet which met the sky on the horizon. As she drove up the main street, she couldn't help but notice how many of the shops were closed.
The funeral itself went as well as expected. The service was light, and the burial a bit bizarre. Chloe had to admit feeling a bit queasy stood at the side of the grave, looking down at the coffin. Standing there amongst the mourners, wearing a black pinafore dress, Chloe felt a sudden moment of clarity wash over her: that, one day, she would be the one looking up. However, the moment only strengthened her resolve that she had made the right decisions, to follow her heart and her passions.
The reception was being held in an old country manor which was now a classy hotel. Chloe hadn't managed to get a room there, instead had spent the night in a small bed and breakfast which had been comfortable enough. The reception itself... wasn't very receptive of Chloe. Clearly, there had been a lot of gossip over the past couple of years about Chloe. Adults who Chloe had grown up around were having whispered conversations whenever she passed, and she had decided that she was going to have a quick drink, some food, pay her respects to her aunt and leave. She couldn't wait to put this place in her rear-view mirror.
As she stood at the buffet table, it was her aunt who found her first. She walked up to her with an attractive looking woman on her arm.
"Now, who's that" asked her aunt. She could only make out shadows and outlines of people.
