Page 12 of The Good Neighbour

“Never mind that,” Josh replied.

Inside there seemed to be one garment of gigantic proportions.

What the hell has he got in here?

The man helped him haul the swathes of black material out. It was covered in soap suds.

“My bloody cape,” the man wailed. “It’s ruined.”

“No, it isn’t,” Josh replied. “We need to get this detergent out. Is there a bath?”

“Upstairs.”

“Come on.”

Between them they carried the heavy cape up the stairs and into a sizeable bathroom.

“Fill it,” Josh instructed.

The man put both taps on and shoved the plug in. Josh threw the cape in and knelt down. The man followed suit.

“Rinse every bit of it,” Josh said. “Quickly.”

With a great deal of work, they managed to submerge the cape in water. Grunting, they both squeezed every section as hard as possible. After what seemed like an age, the water thankfully ran clear.

“I think we’ve done it,” Josh said, panting.

He sat back on his heels and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm.

“Thank you,” the man said. “I don’t know what I would do without this. I’ve had her for years.”

“You need to get it outside. It’s a good drying day.”

“I’m so grateful…”

“Josh Winterton.”

“The designer?”

Josh wasn’t exactly in the big league so when anyone recognised his name, he got a kick out of it.

“That’s the one. And you are?”

“Hugh Mottram or you might have heard of me as Betty Didn’t.”

It all became clear.

“You were one of the acts onThe Archie Cook Showthe other night.”

Hugh shuddered. “Guilty as charged. Betty Didn’t, at your service. Although if any chat about that disaster could be kept to a minimum, I’d be most grateful.”

He got up and sat on the toilet.

“I guess it’s had a bit of a backlash?” Josh asked.

“You could say that. Me and my partner have a tour booked but now the sponsors are getting jumpy.”

“Partner?”