Kenny Wilson could have any girl in Keiller’s but he had asked her out, so why was she not delighted?

Fiona looked at him. “Do you fancy coming back for a coffee or something? We’ve got a fancy new coffee pot .... ” But the dismal look on Ian’s face made her drop the subject. She was getting annoyed again. What did she have to do to make him love her? Exasperated, she threw on her jacket and headed for the door. “See you next week,” she called as she left the hall. But Ian Brown wasn’t listening,

The next day at work, there was an envelope on Chrissie’s packing table with Maisie’s name on it.

“It was there when I clocked on,” she said, excitedly, as they waited in line for their turn at the tea urn, “hurry up and open it.”

“In a minute,” Maisie said, struggling for change from her purse, “I want to get a couple of scones first.”

Finally, they were at their table, tea and scones scoffed, before Maisie opened the envelope.

“Dear Maisie and Chrissie,” it read, “Rab and me want to know if you’ll come to the pictures with us on Thursday night. Psycho is on at the Broadway and we’ll meet you there at seven o’clock if that’s alright?

Wave if you agree. Kenny”

Beamed

Maisie looked up. “Do you want to go to the pictures with Rab and Kenny on Thursday?” she asked Chrissie. “Is that what the note’s all about?” Maisie nodded. And we’ve to wave to Kenny if we decide to go. Chrissie turned and beamed a smile at Rab and his heart went into overdrive. Maisie waved, queen-like to Kenny.

“They’re coming,” Kenny murmured to the smitten Rab as he waved back. “We’ve cracked it.”

“And you think this is all because we’ve joined the T.A.?” Rab asked in disbelief.

“I do,” said Kenny knowledgeably. “Girls love a man in uniform,” he said, “it’s a known fact. And speaking of the T.A.,” Kenny said lowering his voice, “maybe if we got our hair cut before Thursday, the girls would know for sure we meant business.”

Rab’s hand flew automatically to his Elvis quiff. “Haircut?” he breathed through gritted teeth. “Do you really think we need to go that far?”

Kenny sighed, “Rab my man,” he said patiently, “you heard the squaddie about needing to get a haircut so we may as well kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. How about it?”

Rab felt boxed into a corner. “If you’re sure,” he agreed, unsteadily, “really sure.”

“Never surer,” Kenny told him, “so after work we’ll stop in at Tony’s up the Overgate, for a ‘short back and sides.’”

With great misgivings on the part of Rab, the boys entered the barber’s shop.

“Hey lads,” smiled the proprietor, casting his professional eye over the two Teddy boys. “What’s you like today, huh?” he asked in his broken Italian accent.

Kenny pushed Rab forward before he made a break for it. “Short back and sides,” he said, “twice” he added pointing at Rab and then himself.

Tony’s eyebrows lifted as his eyes widened in surprise, but he wasn’t one to argue with two Teddy boys.

“Fine choice,” he said, ushering Rab to the barber’s chair and draping a large white towel over his chest. For the next 15 minutes the only sound was the scissors cutting off Rab’s treasured locks and the buzz of the clippers finishing the job. Pain of loss Rab had kept his eyes lowered the whole time but eventually he looked up at himself in the mirror. Who was this man with the big ears and white neck who stared back at him?

He looked at Kenny, the pain of loss evident in his eyes. “You look just like a real soldier now,” Kenny said unconvincingly, as he took his turn in the chair.

“Same again,” he told Tony. “We’ve joined the T.A.,” he added “and they don’t go in for fancy haircuts.”

Tony nodded wisely. “T.A.”, he said almost reverently, “what’s that?”

“Territorial Army,” said Kenny, “you know, in case there’s a nuclear war and stuff.”

Even Rab was impressed when Kenny put it like that. “I see,” the barber said, thoughtfully. “Long hair might catch on fire in nuclear war, right?”

“Right,” said Kenny, nodding at the shorn Rab, “don’t want burnt hair, do we?”

Even Kenny felt the chill of the night air on his neck as the lads made their way home.

“It’ll be worth it,” he kept telling the unhappy Rab “and when we get our uniforms,” Kenny’s imagination pictured the sight, “the girls will be putty in our hands.”

Thursday night came around and Chrissie spent a long time perfecting her look. She was seeing Rab with new eyes now and couldn’t wait to meet up with him at the cinema.

Tommy Murphy hadn’t bothered to even send her a postcard, but now it had stopped bothering her. She’d even taken off the silver bracelet he’d bought her and put it in her dressing table drawer out of sight.

“You look nice,” Mrs Dalton said, glad to see that Chrissie was getting back to normal after the distress she’d suffered with the departure of Tommy Murphy.

“We’re going to the pictures,” she said happily, unable to keep the smile off her face. “We?” said Mrs Dalton. “It’s a foursome,” Chrissie said, “me and Maisie and two of the lads from Keiller’s.” “No names?” “If you must know,” Chrissie said, “his name’s Rab, Rab Skelly.” “Do we know him?” “Questions, questions,” Chrissie replied. “We’re just going to the Broadway Cinema in Arthurstone Terrace and that’s not anywhere near Forfar.” Ashamed The barb hit home. “We didn’t know where you were?” Grace Dalton said anxiously, not wanting to have a rerun of that unhappy event. Chrissie bent to kiss her mother on the cheek.

“Well, that’s all over now,” she said feeling very grown up, “so stop worrying.”

Maisie wasn’t sure about any of it. She’d engineered the whole thing but for all the wrong reasons. Why was it that the ones you liked didn’t like you, she surmised and the ones you couldn’t care less about stuck to you like glue?

And even as she said it, she felt ashamed. Kenny Wilson could have any girl in Keiller’s but he had asked her out, so why was she not delighted?

She made the minimum effort in getting ready for the date and her mind kept wandering back to the Badminton Hall and Ian Brown. Why had he chosen Fiona over her? But the answer she knew already, Fiona had class.

She pulled on her coat and headed out to meet Chrissie and the lads at the cinema. After all, it was a free night out and she might even enjoy it. More on Monday.