Joe and Dianne Through The Looking Glass

Chapter 7 - Foxtrot Week

The lead up to Halloween had taken Alice by surprise. Never before had she noticed that the culture in her own country had changed so measurably. When her own children had been small she had barely any recollection of marking Halloween at all – perhaps they had carved a pumpkin face or bobbed for a few apples but somewhere in the intervening years the whole country seemed to have adopted an almost American zeal for the event. It was with resigned acceptance then that she found herself tasked with stringing decorative threads of paper pumpkins in the window of the café that morning. It wasn't an easy task, requiring her to balance on a low stool and she was vaguely aware of the potential catastrophic consequences of someone her age slipping and falling but at the same time unwilling to use her age as an excuse for leaving such a simple job undone.

It was a cold day and the wind was whipping the fallen leaves into brief excitable spirals of energy. Most people who had come into the café that morning had been wearing coats and there had even been some hats and scarves in evidence, a sure sign that winter was on its way. As she stood wobbling precariously, her arm dangling a chain of lurid orange grinning faces and stretched to its full length, a couple wrapped up against the weather rounded the corner at the end of the street. It took Alice a few seconds to recognise them and it was only the flash of red caught out of the corner of her eye which made her take a second look and realise who they were. Normally they were instantly recognisable, especially when they arrived as a pair; they seemed to bubble over with vitality and enthusiasm for life. Always laughing together over some shared joke, the eye was drawn to them, to the energy which seemed to light up the world around them almost as if they were performers on a stage. The girl in particular usually oozed a comfortable kind of confidence with every step, her head held high, back straight and red hair flaming she seemed mostly oblivious to the stares of admiration and curiosity she often attracted, happy instead to reflect back the smile of the floppy haired boy who seemed to have become her almost constant companion these last few weeks. But not today.

Today their coats were pulled tightly round their bodies, fastened up to the neck and almost over their mouths, the girl was wearing some kind of fluffy hat pulled low on her head and all but covering her striking hair while the boy wore a cap, the peak angled down to partially shadow his face which also sported dark sunglasses. However, it was their demeanour that had changed the most. Today they weren't bouncing along the pavement together as if the world was their oyster. For once they weren't so caught up in each other that it was as if the rest of the world ceased to exist for them, today they seemed almost too aware of their surroundings, as if they had suddenly realised just how much attention they attracted. Her arm was linked through his and she appeared to cling to him as they hurried towards the café, their heads down and shoulders hunched. Occasionally he would glance back over his shoulder as if checking for someone and increase their pace all the more. It was nothing like the easy happy go lucky stroll with which they usually approached the café and immediately Alice knew something must be very wrong. Quickly, she hopped down from the stool but before she could even approach the coffee machine the café door was flung open and the two of them hurried through the door. He quickly shut it behind them before glancing about and pointing away from their usual space and instead towards the table at the back of the small room. Taking her hand, he all but dragged the girl to the rear of the shop where she plonked herself down in a chair. He sank down into the chair opposite and Alice saw his shoulders relax a little. The petite red-head looked almost fearful as she sat hunched over the table, her body turned a little towards the back wall of the café but there was something altogether sterner in the boy's expression. He looked angry, deep lines furrowing his brow as he glanced once again towards the door of the café and Alice caught a glimpse of the strength that perhaps lay underneath the boyish exterior. She hoped it wasn't his beautiful companion he was so angry with, he had certainly seemed masterful hurrying her along and dragging her into the café like that and for a fleeting moment Alice felt a swooping sensation in her stomach as she wondered if she had been wrong about the loving connection she thought she had witnessed developing between them. But her fears were relieved when he turned back to study the girl huddled in the chair opposite him. Reaching out his hand and cupping her chin in his, his thumb stroking her cheek, he gently coaxed her to look at him and began speaking to her in a low, reassuring tone.