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emotion which, while conducted at ninety miles an hour, slowed down to almost nothing under the onslaught of the throbbing strobes and jerky break-beats. Lorraine and Yvonne. Yvonne and Lorraine.
    A mass scream went up from the crowd as the music left one crescendo and changed its tempo to build up to the next one. The two women, danced out, collapsed into each other’s arms. At that point Glen knew that there was something wrong in their body language. Lorraine and Yvonne were kissing, but Yvonne, after a while, started to resist and was pulling away. So slowly, under the strobes. It was as if she had snapped: as if she had gone beyond the range of her emotional elasticity. She jerked free from what at first seemed a symbiotic hug with a violence the strobes couldn’t disguise, and stood in cripplingly uncomfortable rigidity as Lorraine appeared to look at her with a brief, odd contempt, then ignore her.
    Yvonne headed from the dance-floor, making her way towards the bar. Glen looked at her departing, then looked at Lorraine. Lorraine. Yvonne. He went after Yvonne. She was standing at the bar drinking a mineral water. On the night his life changed he tapped her on the shoulder.
    – Yvonne, innit?
    – Yeah … she said slowly, then, – you’re Glen, aintcha? From the hospital.
    – Yeah, Glen smiled. She was beautiful. It was Yvonne. Yvonne was the one. Yvonne, Yvonne, Yvonne.
    – Didn’t know you wos into this, she smiled. It was as if her big white teeth burrowed through his chest bone and ate a hole into his heart. She is so fucking beautiful, Glen decided. This is a woman to die for.
    – Oh yeah, said Glen, – Most definitely.
    – Having a good one? she asked. He was gorgeous, Yvonne thought. He was a fucking hunk. He’s fucking well noticed me big time.
    – I’m having the best ever, and what about you?
    – It’s getting better, she smiled.
    This was also the night Yvonne’s life changed.

10 Rebecca’s Recovery
    Lorraine was taking Rebecca’s temprature when her illustrious patient’s distinguished visitor arrived. – Angel! announced Freddy, – How goes it! Oi wos supposed to be down ere to zee you yesterday, but this vund-raisin meetin dragged on and on. Ow be you?
    – Mmmm, Rebecca began, and Lorraine withdrew her thermometer, her hand trembling and unsteady. – Freddy! Darling! Rebecca outstretched her arms and gave Freddy a theatrical hug.
    – That’s you, Rebecca, Lorraine forced a smile. She was on a bad comedown and Yvonne had the hump with her. She’d let things get silly, out of hand. No,
she
had got out of hand. She consciously stopped the psychic self-mutilation before it gathered momentum. Now was not the time.
    – Thank you, Lorraine darling … have you met darling Freddy?
    – Naw … said Lorraine. She went to shake his hand. Freddy gave her a lusty shake followed by a kiss on the cheek. Lorraine winced at the cold, wet feel of the greasy saliva that Freddy’s lips left on her face.
    – Oi’ve been hearin all about you, that you’ve been doin a great job lookin after the Angel here, Freddy smiled.
    Lorraine shrugged.
    – Oh Freddy, Lorraine’s been perfectly darling, haven’t you, sweetheart?
    – No really, it’s jist ma joab, eh.
    – But you do it with such style, such
savoir faire
. I absolutely insist, Freddy darling, that you bring all your considerable influence to bear on advancing Lorraine’s career within this health authority.
    – Oi think you’re overstatin the influence of a zimple Zomerzet varmer’s boy ere, Angel, but ah’ll obviously be puttin the roight wurds in the roight lugs, zo to speak.
    – Oh, but you must. It’s due to my Nursey Lorraine that I’m going home next week. And I’ve lost over a stone. Oh Freddy darling, I
had
let myself go in recent years. You must promise to tell me when I’m overweight and simply not indulge me. Please, darling, do say you will!
    – Anythin you say, Angel. Great newz about you gettin out though, Freddy