Chapter 3
Mary stood in front of the full-length mirror, applying glitter to her face and body. At her feet sat Marlene applying her red lipstick, peering round Mary’s legs to do so. They sat in silence, the sound of Fleetwood Mac filling their shared bedroom.
Rent in London was astronomical. Like really expensive. And three young women earning barely above minimum wage couldn’t even afford a two-bed flat on their own, never mind a three. Hence, Alice Fortesque, had moved in with them. A nice girl, a few years older than the girls had answered their desperate ad for a roommate. She was a police officer and spent a large amount of time at her boyfriend’s house. But she paid her rent on time and kept the flat tidy.
Speaking of, as Marlene had begun to touch up her eyeliner the door banged open and Lily shouted,
“That’s us back!”
As Marlene had been, side tracked, Lily and Alice had gone out to pick up the rest of the shopping.
“Great, we’re in our room!” Mary called back, as Marlene grumbled and fixed her slightly smudged liner.
Lily and Alice arrived a few minutes later with their makeup. Despite already sharing a flat, the girls always got ready in the same room. Mary and Marlene sharing the mirror, and Alice and Lily on the beds with handheld mirrors Alice had found in a charity shop.
“I’m going home with Frank tonight, so you’ll have the room to yourself.” Alice told Lily, applying a dusting of blush to her already rosy cheeks.
“It’s serious then?”
“I love him, Lils, I love him so much.”
Lily grinned at Alice and grabbed her free hand squeezing it.
“I invited James.” Marlene interrupted the moment.
“Potter!? As in the Marauder!? The James Potter!?’ Mary yelled.
“The very same, and I said he could bring his pals.”
“Why would you do that!?” Mary looked really angry.
“Because, Mary, I’ve known him since I was 3, and if people find out they’re here then they’ll come!”
“You can’t be serious! We don’t want a flat full of Marauders fans when we’re trying to celebrate our music!” Mary had turned round and was glaring at the other girls, her face hot. “You read that article, they’re our competition, we can’t be all buddy-buddy with them!”
“But Ma-” Marlene started
“NO” Mary interrupted, her hands curling into tight fists, “You just, you just don’t get it!”
“Mary, I understand but,” Lily tried
“NO, YOU DON’T, YOU DON’T GET IT.” She stormed out, heading for the loo.
When she was little, Mary’s house was constantly filled with music. From her mother practicing the piano, and her father the guitar, to the constant noise of the little yellow Roberts radio, that now found a home next to her bed. Whether it was Beethoven and Mozart or Aretha and Sinatra or even ABBA, the MacDonald household was seldom silent.
It was, therefore, only natural that Mary should pursue a career in music. And when her choir teacher told her she had the voice of an angel, at age six, Mary knew she had to be a singer. Then when, 10 years later, she got guttered and confessed her dream to her two best friends and instead of laughing at her like so many had, they promised to help her, she knew she had found her place. Mary MacDonald would be the lead singer and bass player, with Marlene as her guitarist and Lily as her drummer.
Marlene was easily convinced, upper middle class with a large ISA meant money wasn’t a worry for her. Lily on the other hand, took some convincing. Mary understood, financially her family sat closer to Lily than Marlene, but she didn’t understand why Lily couldn’t see the goal. Regardless, the girls moved to London, got day jobs and began their soon to be world-famous band, The Valkyries. The name came from Lily’s obsession with mythology, Mary and Marlene thought it sounded cool, so they went with it.
At every step Lily had got cold feet. Mary thought that maybe releasing and album would help but she was wrong. Once again, Lily refused to see the bigger picture.
A knock at the bathroom door startled Mary out of her thoughts. Lily’s head peeked in.
“You’re supposed to wait for a reply.” Mary grumbled, pretending to fix her eyeshadow as Lily entered.
“I’m sorry.” Lily’s green eyes bore into her through the reflection.
“Whatever for”
“Everything.” At this Mary snorted. “Seriously. I know how much this means to you and I’ve only been thinking about how this impacts me.”
Mary just looked at her, so Lily began to ramble.
“I mean my parents barely speak to me, and Tuney hasn’t since, well, but I knew the risks when I said yes, and it can hardly be easy for you what with, but I just,”
Mary smiled sympathetically, turning round. “I know, I’m sorry too” and she opened her arms, welcoming the redhead into her embrace.
Ironically, Lily smelled of roses, and Mary breathed in the fresh scent as she buried her head in her shoulder. Lily gave a light sniff and took a deep breath in before promptly choking on Mary’s curls. The girls separated with a giggle. Looking into each other’s eyes, something in the room shifted and Lily drifted closer, her hand rising to Mary’s cheek. Their lips, almost touching, eyes fluttered closed and carefully, as though too much and the moment would shatter like glass, they connected. Mary sighed into the kiss, and her hands drifted to Lily’s waist. Before they could get lower the doorbell rang, and Marlene shouted through from the sitting room.
“Right Lads! Its show time!”
Lily jumped away from Mary and ran out of the bathroom like she’d been electrocuted.