The following evening, Ewelina sat on the edge of her bed painting her finger and toenails with coral pink. A radio played chart hits softly in the background. She dried the little brush on the lip of the bottle and applied the polish carefully. A girl has to keep up appearances. Even down to the tip of her toes.
'Lina wanted to think and couldn't do that downstairs with the wide-screen blaring away and Artur and Marta laughing away like stoned hyenas. Was she just being jealous of Narcisa for finding a fella? I mean, Marta had Artur, now Narcisa had found this Nicu Caramarin. Yet she was without a man of her own at the moment.
Her Mum back in Warsaw was always Facebooking or texting her to find out if she was with anyone. Probably, no make that certainly, she wanted to become a Grandma. Mum couldn't understand that since she'd split with that loser chef from the hospital's kitchen, Krzysztof, earlier in the autumn, she was having a break from fellas.
Mum was always wondering why, as she worked at Manchester Royal Infirmary, she wasn't going out with a Doctor. 'Lina knew it was not like she wasn't attractive. With her pretty heart-shaped face and blue eyes she could have almost any man she wanted. But at the moment, she just wanted a rest. Maybe after the New Year she'd have another look.
Actually, there was the New Year's party to look forward to. She'd have to go shopping soon for a new dress. And some shoes and a bag to go with it. Maybe she'd take Narcisa to the Trafford Centre mall with her. Take her out like ladies who lunch.
If there was a good looking single Doctor there at the party, who knows? But she'd never take an attached man. No way. Girls should stick together, that was her motto. Not stab each other in the back. Men were bad enough at keeping it in their pants without women encouraging them to stray and break another girl's heart.
'Lina's thoughts turned to her friend. But what about Narcisa? To 'Lina, the girl seemed happy at the moment. Should she let the girl have her pleasure or warn her again? 'Lina knew the girl had a few bad relationships behind her. Not recently, to be sure. Before she'd met Narcisa, before Narcisa had moved in with them, 'Lina knew that she'd been with a man who'd treated her like a doormat.
He'd sit about her flat all day while she worked long hours. Man didn't bother looking for a job, just happy to sit back claiming British welfare money. Got by with selling a little dope and a few tabs of E of a weekend. Wouldn't even keep their flat clean, just sat there with his stoner, dosser mates eating pizza, watching TV or playing shooting games on the X-Box.
Then he'd forced himself on her one Friday night. One of his mates had brought back a couple of bottles of cheap bath-tub vodka and they'd had all had a bit too much. Not rape as such, just a bit quick. Took her before she had time to insist he used a rubber.
Poor Narcisa found herself pregnant. She told her Auntie 'Lina she'd thought and thought. But her decision was made for her when her man found out her condition and vanished one day. She come home and found her flat cold and empty. No fella or his no account mates. Small loss in 'Lina's opinion.
But the bastard had even swiped her TV, DVDs and stereo. The man's cell just went to voice-mail and Narcisa never heard from him again. Just left a pile of debts for her to sort out. No, that man was no loss as far as 'Lina could see.
But Narcisa hadn't lost her baby. In the end she'd chosen an abortion. As a good Catholic girl, 'Lina couldn't approve of that but sometimes God gives women choices that are too hard for this world. She hoped and prayed that God would understand the difficulties Narcisa was under at the time. Narcisa never said what the baby would have been; but once, late one night, she'd tearily called it 'she'.
Afterwards, one drunken evening when all the fellas were out of their house, Narcisa had confessed that after the abortion, she'd let herself go. Nightclubs, one night stands, drinking too much. Waking up next to men who'd abused her body then tossed her aside soon afterwards.
Ewelina knew enough to understand that some of it was a reaction to the stress of the abortion and also feeling isolated and friendless in a foreign country. Narcisa had come to her senses after less than a year of that life. Woke up one sunny day after one too many useless fellas and decided that was that.
She finished with her little flat, looked around some then moved in with the girls here. The room rent was much cheaper and she was able to start paying off her debts again. Although Narcisa was Romanian, she was a country girl and she'd fitted in well with Marta and Katja who were both from small towns back in Poland and they all loved her. But those farm girls still needed a city girl from Warsaw to show them the ropes.
And now Narcisa was with this Caramarin. For a start he was more than ten years older than her. But that didn't matter as much as the fact he was so obviously trouble with a great big capital T.
Now her nails were all painted and dried, Ewelina capped the bottle. She tiptoed along the passage to use the bathroom. On the way she heard the bed bouncing in Narcisa's room. Ewelina hoped Narcisa would be happy. She hoped it would work out but if it didn't, or when it didn't more like, she and the others were here to pick up the pieces.
Girls have to stick together.