The Red House,

Barleyfield Way

‘Oh, Ingrid!’ Charlene giggles and smoothes the skirt of the dress she is wearing ‘I look dead posh’ She grins at herself in the mirror.

‘You do look lovely and that’s a fact. Turn round’ Ingrid  instructs, pulling the fabric at the waist and adjusting the shoulders. ‘Hmm…maybe needs a tuck, you’re slimmer than I thought’

‘No..please…’ Charlene crosses her arms protectively over the dress ‘It’s great. I don’t want to have t’hold me breath in all the time, it’ll be fine, honest’

‘What about shoes?’ Ingrid looks down at Charlene’s multicoloured striped socks.

‘I got some shoes’

‘Some that will go?’

Charlene turns from the mirror to give her a withering look. ‘I might be stupid but I know what looks right with summat. Me Mum’s got some I can lend and a handbag what’ll go just in case you thought what I was gonna use this one’ She toes the tote bag at her feet.

‘Whoa! I was only checking. Rosie had some to match the dress, that’s all… I didn’t know if they’d fit. They’re around here somewhere if you wanted me to look’

‘Sorry’ Charlene mumbles.

‘I should think so too’ Ingrid smiles and gives her a quick one-armed hug. ‘And stop with all this ‘I’m stupid’ lark, you’re not stupid, okay?’ she says, turning Charlene to the mirror and fussing with the back of the dress.

‘I am. Everybody says so’

Ingrid looks over her shoulder ‘Have I ever called you stupid?’ she asks Charlene’s reflection.

‘No…but’

‘But nothing, how can you be stupid and do what you do? And you drive a car. That takes some doing. They don’t give passes out for nothing, do they?’

‘Yeah…I know…but’

Ingrid lifts her head again. ‘But what?’

‘I don’t know nothing!’ Charlene spreads her hands.

‘Don’t be daft!’

‘See?’ Charlene spins round ‘You do think I’m, stupid’

‘Noo… it’s the idea you think you don’t know anything that’s daft. You do…Look how far you’ve come since you started work for Nathan. You’ve really got that job off pat now’

‘I know…but..’

‘What is it you want to know, Charlene?’

‘Everything!’

Ingrid laughs. ‘Nobody knows everything, Charlene. We just have to know where to look to find out about things if we need to, that’s all’

‘So where would I go then?’

‘For what?’

‘Finding out everything I need to know’

‘Flipping heck, what a question! Books…the internet…I don’t know what it is you want to know about, so I can’t really tell you any more than that’ What is it you’re after?’

‘How d’you mean?’

‘ I don’t know what it is you want. You’re doing really well in your job, you’re good with people, you can talk to anyone from the big bosses down to that little lad that helps out on the recycling lorry…’

‘The one that’s a bit…’ Charlene taps the side of her head

Ingrid nods ‘And they all love you to bits. I really don’t understand what it is you think you don’t know. Aren’t you happy?’

‘Yeah…I guess…but..’

‘Come on… tell me what’s going on in that head of yours’ Ingrid sits on the bed, giving up on the idea of making any alterations to the dress. She waits while Charlene fishes in her bag for a tissue, deciding it best to ignore the blinking of sudden tears.

‘I never knew what I could do stuff until I come t’work for you’ Charlene says eventually. ‘It didn’t matter if I din’t know nothing before…now it does’

‘Oh…I see’

‘No you don’t! Bet you’ve never been called thick and stupid’ She wipes her nose.

‘No, can’t say I have..’

‘It didn’t matter much before’ she shrugs ‘Nobody expected me t’know nothing…but now…what with you showing me me job …and not getting mad if I gets it wrong first off…I’m learning all sorts… I can do things….but…’

‘What, sweetheart?’ Ingrid prompts gently.

‘It notices, don’t it?’

‘What does?’

‘How thick I am. I’m always saying daft things…cos I don’t understand what people are on about. I’m right proud of me job and I do do it alright, don’t I?’

‘You do’

‘You’re not gonna laugh, are you?’

‘What about?’

‘Tell me you won’t laugh first’

‘Okay, I won’t laugh’

Charlene groans and looks up at the ceiling, the tissue balled in a frustrated fist. ‘I sort of feel excited and scared, all mixed up at the same time. I know I can do stuff now so I want to do some more’ She looks directly at Ingrid. ‘Is that silly? You can laugh if you want’ she sighs.

‘Nooo’ Ingrid assures, getting up from the bed.

‘I dint get on much at school…I missed loads cos I was…poorly. I can read and write and do sums and that…but…it’s …all the other things…and…’

‘Mmm? Go on, I’m not laughing, sweetheart’ Ingrid smiles encouragement.

‘I want to have a bit of paper what says I can do summat!’ Charlene stares hard, daring Ingrid to find the idea funny.

‘A qualification, you mean?’

‘Yeah’ she confirms in a voice made more confident by Ingrid’s reaction.

‘What in?’

‘I dunno, do I? Anything!’

‘You could do that’ Ingrid says, walking behind her to get to the back of the dress.

‘I could?’ Charlene turns.

‘Of course you can… ‘ Ingrid turns her round again. ‘That’s once you’ve made your mind up what it is you want a qualification in!’ she grins into the mirror. ‘You can do anything…go to college…take exams’

‘But I got to have me job! I can’t do without no money and me Mum needs what I give ‘er an’ all’ Charlene groans, the tissue pummelling her nose.

‘There’s evening classes…’ Ingrid soothes. ‘Or if you did something like Business Studies, I’m sure Nathan would be okay with you having time off to go’ she says, leaving Charlene to go to the chest of drawers. ‘That’s what a lot of companies do’ She opens each of the drawers in turn and eventually finds what she is looking for. ‘You work for them…and they pay for you to go to college, usually one day a week or something. I can look into that for you if you want me to’ she says, returning with a box of pins and a determined look. ‘I don’t think you need anything more basic. There’s nothing wrong with your reading and writing is there?’

‘They teach grown ups how to read and write?’ Charlene gapes.

‘If they want to learn, yes, of course they do’ Ingrid pinches spare fabric into a narrow dart

‘I dint know! And sums?’

‘Uh huh’ Ingrid mumbles and takes a pin from between her teeth. ‘But you don’t need that either’

‘I didn’t get me exam though’

‘You want to take a GCSE in Maths? You could do that’

‘I could?’

‘Charlene, you could do anything you want…’ Ingrid pushes the pin into the fabric and pinches an equal dart on the other side and does the same to mark where to sew. ‘Anything you fancied. It doesn’t have to be to do with work if you didn’t want it to be. You could learn a language…how to mend your car…anything!’

Charlene sighs ‘But…’ She looks over her shoulder and giggles at Ingrid’s wagging finger ‘What about all the other stuff…the things I don’t know…ordinary things’

‘You can’t beat reading, not for everyday things’ Ingrid says as she adjusts the darts. ‘Charlene….’ She hesitates, not wanting for Charlene to become tearful again. ‘I’ve seen you when you’ve not understood something I’ve said. You ask and that’s fine, I don’t mind that at all…but…’ She moves to look at the front of the dress and glances up at her face. ‘I’ve seen you when it’s been someone else….and you sort of…close up.  I’m really pleased you feel you can ask me, that’s nice…but you need to do something when other people say things…’

‘I couldn’t ask them!’ Charlene looks terrified ‘I don’t want them thinking…’

‘You don’t have to ask directly’ Ingrid gives her a playful slap and grins ‘Make a note and look it up…that’s all I’m saying. Nobody need know what you’re doing and the next time it crops up, you’ll know, won’t you?’

‘Where would I look?’

‘The library….or the internet, like I said before. Have you got a computer at home?’ Charlene shakes her head. ‘Then use the one at work’

‘That’d be alright?’

‘Of course it would! Soo….shall I ask Nathan about you going to college?’

‘Ohh, Ingrid! I got butterflies. I think I’m gonna be sick’

‘Not down this dress you aren’t!’ Ingrid laughs and reaches for the zip. We’ll get a prospectus and have a look, okay? …’

‘A what?’

Chapter Eleven