“Why didn’t he call for a taxi?” asked Frank.

“He should have done,” agreed Gladys, “but he never saw one and didn’t have the money to ring for one.   Of course, he should’ve called me reverse-charge and I’d've phoned a taxi for him.   But he’s just a kid so he didn’t think of it.”

“Thick as a plank in other words!” said Jack.

3.

“Here let me give you a hand,” offered Debbie Williams.   She pushed back her chair from the kitchen table and walked the three steps across to where Norma stood near the kitchen sink.

“No, no, love, you go on ahead into the lounge,” said Norma, as she began to pour the scolding hot water into the stainless steel teapot.   “I’ve got everything under control.”

“All right,” said Debbie walking out into the corridor.

*      *      *

“Help yourself to the bikkies,” said Norma, placing the plastic tray upon the small cane coffee table half a metre in front of the sofa.

As Debbie helped herself to two chocolate biscuits from the red tin, Norma sat beside Debbie upon the green vinyl sofa and began to pour the tea.

“You only like it weak, don’t you?” asked Norma.

“That’s right,” agreed Debbie.

The two women were complete opposites.   Debbie Williams was one hundred and eighty-five centimetres tall, lean from driving herself at work all day, with hard features seemingly chiselled out of marble, and close-cropped platinum-blonde hair.   Norma Smith was one hundred and sixty-five centimetres tall, plump from eating too much fatty food, with soft features and shoulder length auburn hair.

“Business doing so well that you can afford to take a day off?” asked Norma, helping herself to a Monte Carlo biscuit.   “Or are your staff so efficient they can run things without your supervision?”

Debbie sipped her tea, helped herself to a third biscuit, and then asked, “What staff?”

“I thought you employed a young girl three days ago?”

“I did,” agreed Debbie, “and a young girl two days before that, and a young bloke a week before that.”

“Then what’s happening to them all?” asked Norma.   She reached for a second biscuit as Debbie reached for her fourth.