Chapter 12
It was a little after 2pm on the Saturday when the doorbell rang: Eleanor had decided to come over after lunch. Callum answered the door.
"Hey, Eleanor, great to see you, come on in! The girls are working on something down in the music room. Want a coffee?"
"Oh, yes please! Boy, the roads are busy today, so a coffee will be VERY nice! My bag's in the car, shall I bring it in now?". Eleanor was looking around: from outside she had realised that the house was fairly big and impressive, and the inside was similar.
"Yes, if you like... I can show you up to your room. I'll be in the kitchen - making your coffee - which is through THERE... just drop your bag here, and come on through."
Eleanor went out and got her bag, which she left in the hall, then joined Callum in the kitchen.
"Nice place.... Dianne jokingly called it 'CJDL Mansion' when she called me, and from what I can see, it's not that far off..."
"Yeah, we have eight bedrooms, although one of them's a small office at the moment, and an acre or so out the back. The main reason we bought it was because of the music room: the previous owner had an informal recording studio built, although we don't do that, we just use it as a very nice rehearsal space. Anyway, do you like your coffee black or white? Sugar?"
"White with one sugar, please...". The coffee making machine was gurgling away, making the second of two coffees, and Callum added milk and sugar to the first. When the second one was done, he led her back to the hall, putting the two coffees on the table. He then grabbed Eleanor's bag, and led her upstairs.
"So, your room is this way" explained Callum, as they went right at the top of the stairs. "That's Jenny's room... then there's Dianne's...". Finally they reached an open door. "You're in here."
"Thanks. Where's the bathroom?"
"Ensuite, that door over there. Just leave your bag for the moment, you'll have plenty of time later."
"Ok, just need to go in there a moment..." explained Eleanor, popping in to use the loo. Callum waited outside the room, and didn't have to wait too long.
"Come on, let's go meet everyone else!". Callum took Eleanor downstairs, then along the corridor to the music room. With the music room's door closed, you could hear just a bit of noise: the room had been well designed to keep the noise in. Callum opened the door: the four girls were actively working on a new song, so were able to stop pretty quickly.
"Hey, Eleanor!" shouted out Linda. "Come on over and say hello!". As Eleanor walked towards them, she saw Dianne sitting at the drums, wearing headgear, and couldn't help staring at her. She knew as well as all the other fans that all four of them had braces, but they hadn't said anything about Dianne wearing headgear!
"Yeah, it's headgear, have a good stare!" said Dianne. The comment was made half-jokingly: whilst she was pretty relaxed about it in close company, she was still a bit embarrassed about it when someone new saw her in it. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that, should I? I'm still getting used to it. I will admit that my respect for Jenny went up hugely when I started wearing this!"
"Sorry, I shouldn't have stared like that in the first place, it's just strange seeing an adult in it. My little sister had headgear for a bit, she hated it, only ever wore it at home, and even then, not if we had visitors. How's it feel? I'm guessing you must be pretty used to it by now..."
"Used to it, yes. Still self-conscious of it though. The stupid thing is that I had headgear when I had my first lot of braces, over 10 years ago, so you'd think I'd be ok with it!" replied Dianne.
"Yeah, she's a LOT more relaxed about it than when she first got it." commented Jenny.
"So, you all have braces now... what's the REAL story behind that then?" asked Eleanor.
Jenny explained how the three other girls in Northern Girls had got braces to support Meg. "So, We all decided to do the same for Dianne!"
"So, Carol, I'm assuming your braces aren't really doing anything?"
"That's right, just acting as retainers."
"Ok, Jenny already has braces, so what about you, Linda? Your teeth always looked ok."
"They weren't all that bad, actually, but I do have a slight issue. Although I wouldn't have bothered getting them if it weren't for wanting to support Dianne. So, we're gonna be 8 girls, onstage, in braces!" said Linda.
"That is going to be worth seeing!"
"Well, I think Eleanor deserves to be allowed to take a selfie with us four," suggested Jenny, "You know, maybe it's time for you to go public with your headgear: what do you think, Dianne?"
Dianne gave Jenny a bit of a dirty look. "Look, Dianne, one day someone will catch you in a picture, maybe in the background without you realising it. That's the whole reason I went public about mine: it was done on MY terms... I was in control."
"I'm not really convinced..." said Dianne. Eleanor was about to say something, but realised that it would be better to just leave it to the girls.
"You know, Dianne, it's not really THAT big a deal. Hell, I remember when you had bright pink hair for a while..." said Carol.
"Yeah, well THAT was a fashion statement!"
"So make THIS a fashion statement too!" suggested Linda. "Hey, I have an idea: when Eleanor posts the picture, she could ask others who have headgear to post pics of themselves - in their headgear - to show their support..."
"I'll bet no one will...." commented Dianne, still being a bit negative.
"You won't know if you don't try, and I'll bet they will!!" said Linda, being far more positive.
In the end, Dianne let Eleanor take a picture of them all, with Dianne in her headgear. Of course, the fans were a little surprised, but with Jenny having historically 'set the trend', there were no negative comments, and a small number of fans DID post selfies with headgear.
So, what were you guys playing, I didn't recognise it."
"We've been writing quite a bit of new stuff, you'll probably spot of few changes of style, because Linda has been writing some of the songs... So we're practising the stuff we're pretty happy with, and actively working on some others. Plus we've been working on some songs for all eight of us to play: Northern Girls are coming over again in a couple of weeks, so we want to have something to work on with them!"
For the next hour or so, Eleanor watched and listened as the four girls continued to work on some of their new stuff.
[4498/18]
