I could hear sobbing inside, and wondered if I would be welcome. I briefly thought about turning around and leaving the person sobbing in piece, but decided I had walked too far not to at least knock on the door. So I knocked. After a few moments she answered the door, eyes still wet. The smile on her face when she saw me let me know I had made the right decision. “Lisa!” she exclaimed, “Come in, the others have just left.” I went in and sat down at the kitchen table, while my host put the kettle on the range above the fire. I could see some old grey blankets kicked off to the side and wondered if they became her bed at night. “Where are the others tonight?” I asked
“They’ve gone to the big ball up at the castle. Apparently the Prince is looking for a bride and every girl in these parts wants to be the new Mrs. Charming.”
“How come you’re still here?” I asked my friend, “You’re beautiful, you’d beat them all hands down.”
Cinderella just laughed off my compliment, and explained that she’d had to finish the housework and even if she wanted to go the ball, she didn’t have a ball dress to wear. The kettle started whistling and she got up wearily and started pouring out tea for us. I looked at my friend and saw how red her hands were, probably from scrubbing laundry all day, and noticed how clean the house was and how it all smelt of furniture polish and floor cleaner.
“Right,” I said, and stood up. “You need a break girl. Don’t worry about the tea, do you have any hard spirits in this place?”
Cinderella just looked at me like I was mad. Though she did stop pouring tea. “Where’s the liquor cabinet?” I asked. She didn’t say anything, though I saw her glance quickly to her left. I followed her eyes and found a well stocked cabinet. Perfect. “Here’s the plan”, I said, “I’ve just been doing an inn keeping course in the next village and I know exactly what I’m doing. I’ll mix us some drinks while you go and get ready, there’s a new nightclub just opened down the road from here.”
I took stock of the liquor cabinet – it had just about everything I needed. First I mixed some honey liquor with pinkberry wine and a bit of salt. I poured two out, and got to work making the next set. Cinderella came back into the room just as I was pouring out the third set of cocktails. She was wearing the same ripped and torn dress she had been wearing before, but her face was cleaner and her hair was brushed. “I only have one dress” she said. “Never mind,” I replied, “just drink up. This first one is called a Mobster.” We swallowed the shot of sweet pink drink. “Next!” I cried theatrically and lined up the next two drinks. A blue one and a yellowish one. “First, for our drinking pleasure, we have a Fairy Godmother, and then, a Baby Duck.”
By the time we got to the club we were both swaying slightly as we walked. We had finished the cocktails in record time and helped ourselves to a few straight shots from the various bottles from the cabinet. I hoped the guards on the door would let us in; Cinderella’s dress really did look a bit old. We got in, and it turned out her dress, with its uneven hem, faded old pattern and strategic tears, was perfect for the club. The room noisy, crowded and smoky, and there were people with strange hairdos and bizarre outfits…
To be continued.
