Read Online Forgotten Dreams by Katie Flynn - Free Book Online Page B

his seaside trip until the following day, though he had submitted with a good grace when she had explained that her mother would give them both a carry-out and their fares on the overhead railway. ‘And you can go today anyway, just in case it rains tomorrow,’ she had said persuasively. ‘You don’t mind going two days running, do you?’
    Kenny agreed that he didn’t mind and Lottie had dashed back to No. 2 just as her mother had emerged from the house. ‘Kenny says thanks very much and we’ll go tomorrow,’ she had said breathlessly, falling into step beside her parent. ‘Can I have an ice cream in the interval, Louella? Because the theatre’s going to be like a perishin’ oven.’
    And now here she was, standing in the wings whilst Jack went through his comic routine. She had been right as well, for it was extremely hot on stage and not a lot cooler in the wings. From where she stood, Lottie could see beads of sweat running down the back of Jack’s red neck, but that did not prevent him from giving his usual excellent performance, and the waves of laughter which greeted all his jokes made Lottie feel quite guilty for her earlier rebellion. Louella had been right: if Jack was prepared to do his act and the audience were prepared to spend a sunny afternoon in the stuffy auditorium, then she should be happy to go through her songs and dances and grateful that the management were prepared to pay her to do so.
    Jack finished his act and bowed deeply, so deeply that the panama hat he had perched on his head fell off. He caught it adroitly, however, waved it at the audience, and headed for the wings. He grinned at Lottie as he passed her. ‘It’s perishin’ hot out there; wish I could prance around in a frilly pink skirt and satin slippers,’ he whispered, making Lottie giggle as she pictured Jack in such a costume. And perhaps that was what he intended, for as she ran on to the stage to join Louella, coming on from the opposite direction, she was smiling as brightly as anyone could wish.
    The audience began to clap as the orchestra struck up their first number, a dreamy ballad during which she and Louella faced each other holding hands and singing alternate lines of the verses, though they sang the chorus together. When it was over Lottie performed her skipping dance whilst her mother sang, and then Lottie disappeared into the wings for a moment to change into her tap shoes. She ran back on to the stage to the opening bars of ‘Tiger Rag’ and they began to dance. It was a brisk number and the orchestra always increased the pace as it neared its end. Lottie felt sweat trickling down her back and was grateful when Herman, the conductor, kept the tempo slower than usual. Then it was time for her to sing her last song, during which a large paper moon was lowered from on high, a cue that the act was about to end. Louella and Lottie held hands and ran towards the footlights, smiling and blowing kisses, and then – oh bliss – the tabs were lowered and mother and daughter were able to return to their small dressing room and pour themselves two tall glasses of lemonade, which they gulped down thankfully.
    ‘No curtain calls for a matinée,’ Louella said, unbuttoning her tap shoes and kicking them off in order to wiggle her toes. She smiled across at Lottie who had collapsed on the small pouffe in one corner of the room. ‘Only one more performance, sweetheart, and you’ll be off to the seaside. Oh, I do envy you.’
    ‘You could come as well,’ Lottie said, but she knew that Louella would not dream of accompanying them. Her mother’s idea of a restful break was to stay in bed late before going to the nearby public baths where she would lie for ages in steaming hot scented water, and then spend even longer curling her hair, painting her nails, and generally titivating.
    So it was no surprise to her when Louella said immediately: ‘Darling, I wouldn’t dream of it. I don’t want to cramp your style. You and