Jessica shook her head. Well, this has made up my mind for me. Look at you,
covered in ... that.
You're a caveman, Bernard. My own little troglodyte!'
'I couldn't agree more,' agreed Babe.
Jessica smiled at her. 'I'm glad to see you've taken that filthy cap off, Babe. You
have such lovely hair. Women in France pay a fortune for curls like that.' Her
scrutinising stare travelled down over Babe's clothes. Baggy old sweatshirt and
jeans. Both encrusted with fish scales. There's still a bit of work to be done,
though.'
Benny frowned. This was going somewhere. Somewhere he didn't want it to go.
'So. I've made a little decision,' announced Jessica. Benny wondered would he
agree with the word 'little'.
I've decided that we're going to put on a play.'
Benny reeled. 'What?' 'A play, Bernard. A show. You, Babe, George and myself.'
'But, Mam! What did I do?'
Jessica smiled indulgently. 'It's not a punishment, Bernard. It's to help broaden
your horizons.'
'My horizons are grand, thanks very much. They're as broad as a ... broad thing.'
Benny's simile skills were letting him down again.
'Oh, stop being so selfish, Bernard. Think about someone else for a change. Maybe
Babe is fed up bashing a smelly ball around the place.'
'Babe?' scoffed Benny. 'Sure, she's worse than me! Babe loves smelly things, and
dogs and knives and all boys' stuff. Sure, Babe isn't like a girl at all.'
Once again Benny's tongue was operating independently of his brain. If he'd been
watching Babe's face, he might have realised that he was on the wrong track.
'Oh really, Bernard? Why don't we let Babe decide?'
Babe was already fed up with Benny for his comments, and now here was this
glamorous lady asking her to put on a play of all things. Now, generally Babe
would walk several miles in bare feet to avoid drama or poetry or reading of any
sort. But lately she'd been thinking more and more about the actual process of
being a girl. And though she'd endure torture before admitting it, she'd actually
had a go with her mother's lipstick. Added to this was the fact that Benny's