NAME THAT TUNE WINNER
The Leather Coat
BY SARAH KINGSLEY
Sarah Kingsley is a freelance writer living in London. She is currently editing the first draft of her first novel and has also written many short stories but this is the first one she has entered into a competition. When she’s not reading or writing, she enjoys Tai Chi, crafting and country walks.
Tara
I was working in a cocktail bar when I met Adam. I often wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t swapped shifts with Liza McDonald. Was I ripe for picking? If it hadn’t been Adam, would it have been someone else? Of course, I must not blame myself. So my counsellor said. But she never understood the full story. No-one did, not even me.
Coconut Grove was the cocktail bar in London back in 1986. All we had up until that point were dingy, smokestained pubs, carpets choked with spilt beer and trampled peanuts. Coconut Grove was a beacon of pink and chrome, with floor-to-ceiling mirrors and a menu of sexed-up cocktails.
I’d just left secretarial college, but it was obvious to everyone I wasn’t secretarial material with my short, peroxide-blonde hair, frothy fringe and cluster of earrings. Yet parents think they know best and my yearning to be a fashion designer had been vetoed from the start.
I was still at the stage of life where consequences hadn’t dented my confidence and I sweet-talked my way into a waitressing job at Coconut Grove, despite my lack of experience. I didn’t even like cocktails. I wasn’t keen on the gimmicky uniform either - the pink cheerleader skirt and branded t-shirt weren’t my style - but I customised it with a black studded belt and oversized jewellery.