Chapter 3
It didn’t take long to get to St. Pauls and the walk to the address we had been given didn’t take long either, considering that when we came up from the tube station the building was only on the opposite corner.
We walked across the road and along until we arrived at the main doors. It was still only around ten, but we went in and looked at the board inside to find the agency. We didn’t have enough time to find a café, so went up to the first floor and went into the reception. A very smart girl was at the desk.
“Can I help you?”
“I’m Harry Sharpe and this is Sally Foreman. We were told to see Yvonne.”
“Oh, good, you’re early. Yvonne hoped that you would be. Follow me and I’ll take you to her.”
We followed her along a corridor to a door. She knocked and put her head inside.
“Yvonne, your appointment from Braintree are here.”
“Send them in.”
She opened the door wide and ushered us into the office. It had a good view to the street outside, but the windows must have been double glazed as it was quiet. She stood and came around her desk to greet us with her hand out to shake.
“Thank you for coming. When Janice sent me those first pictures, I thought that she was playing a game. It took a while for her to convince me that the model was just one person. Seeing you in person, Harry, I can begin to see what she meant. Take a seat and tell me about yourselves. Robin, can you rustle up some drinks and biscuits, please? Coffee all right for you?”
We took our coats off and hung them on the backs of the chairs. When I took off my hat, Yvonne came over and took a harder look at my face.
“I see that you look after your skin, Harry. Did you thoroughly cleanse him, Sally?”
“I did that first thing, ma-am. He does have a good complexion. It could be that there have never been hairs damaging it.”
“I agree. Now, Sally, tell me about yourself and your training. Janice has said that you’re one of the best.”
Sally blushed and told her about her qualifications, from starting in a salon as a general hand and going to night school to get training, and then on to working in the Village. As she spoke, we had our coffee and biscuits. I was asked my side of things, and all I could say that I had worked in the Fast Fix Kiosk since I left school, and that the photo session was the first time I had posed. All that didn’t take long. Yvonne picked up a folder.
“I’m going out on a limb here. I have a client in today, between half past eleven and noon. She is the one person who says what happens on photo shoots for her employer. I’ve known her for years, and I think that you, young man, may just be able to make her sit up and beg for you.”
She passed the folder to Sally, who opened it and looked at the photo inside. She looked up.
“That’s a picture of Zoe Hamilton, quite some years ago. She was everywhere when I was small. I so wanted to look like her, along with all my friends.”
“Correct. My client was the main employer of Zoe, and they had a good working relationship over twenty years. My question is how close can you get Harry to that picture, given an hour and the bounty in my agency wardrobe?”
Sally looked at me, then back at the picture.
“How close is close, Yvonne?”
“Identical, including all the jewellery and hair style. You can cut a wig if you need to. Brenda, our in-house artist can help you. When she agrees that you’ve got it, she’ll take you to the studio where the pictures will be taken. I’m sorry, Harry, but the next time I see you on my screen, I want you to be another Zoe. If you can do that, there’s a contract for each of you.”
She buzzed Robin, and we took our coats and followed her to another part of the agency where there were no nice views to be had. She showed us into a mini salon, where another girl was waiting.
“Hello. I’m Brenda and I’ve been told to assist. What are we doing?”
Sally gave her the folder.
“Yvonne has told me that I have to recreate Zoe Hamilton, using Harry as the base model.”
“If you can do that, I’ll kiss your feet!”
“Be prepared to kneel, Brenda. We have an hour. Harry, I’ve brought a gaffe for you. Strip off and put it on. No time to delay. Brenda, tell me where the clothing store is, and I’ll look for something close to that dress while you do a cleansing on his face. Oh, Harry, this picture is showing that Zoe was wearing drop earrings, so we’ll be piecing your ears for the sake of our future.”
Brenda told Sally where to go to look at clothes and then grinned.
“Come on, lad, get naked. I’ve seen anything you have to show me, but never hairless without a Brazilian first.”
I supposed that I had expected this sometime, so just shed my clothes, adding them to my coat in the corner. I faced away from Brenda to put the strange thing she had called a gaffe on and arranged my tackle so that it was secure, if not that comfortable. She sat me on the chair and repeated the things that Sally had done to cleanse my face but went down as far as my nipples this time.
Sally came back with a dress on a hanger, and something that looked lacy. She checked with Brenda, looked at my shoes, and was off again. When she returned, she started looking at all the bottles and powders on the vanity and chose some. Then she picked up a hand-tool that looked like a small gun.
“Brenda, can you give his arms and legs a cleansing, and I’ll do the ears. Then you can do all the nails while I work on the face. When we have that right, we’ll get him dressed and will need a wig to match the picture. Yvonne said we can cut one to suit.”
“She must be smelling a big booking then. We usually just style the wigs. All the ones we have are too expensive to mess with.”
I just sat there, quietly wondering if it will work. If it did, there were contracts promised for both of us. If it didn’t, I could wear earrings if I wanted. It may or may not be a barrier to my next job interview. There again, it would be a help if I was going for a job as a woman. Over three quarters of the workers in the Village were women and there was a bit of turnover.
I sat still and breathed slowly, feeling slightly sleepy but not wanting to miss what they were doing. Sally worked on my face, adding brows and both top and bottom eyelashes. Then she worked with brushes, lotions and powder until she was happy, checking with the photo every few minutes.
“Brenda, we need to plump. Do you have a kit?”
“Right here in the cooler, Sally. I have to say that I wouldn’t have believed this but I’m almost ready to kneel.”
“Is there a stats sheet on Zoe from that time?”
“There is, it states that she was five-nine, and never wore anything higher than three-inch heel in normal living. That’s why she looked like an Amazon when she wore higher heels.”
“I picked three-inch blocks, so that Harry isn’t teetering, so that will work. Harry, hold your head very still. I’m going to plump your lips and you may feel a little prick. It will make you very kissable, which I’ll take advantage of later today.
I suffered in silence as she did things around my lips. Brenda had finished working on my toenails and was now cleaning my fingernails.
“How strong for the nails?”
“Go the whole hog. We can always cut them back if need be. Then we’ll get you dressed, Harry, and finish off with the jewellery and hair. After that, it’s time to pose for your supper.”
When I was allowed to stand, I was warned that I may poke myself in the eyes if I wasn’t careful and they helped me get dressed. I say dressed, but all I put on was a pair of panties and the dress, which they made sure didn’t touch my face when it was slid over my head. Sally grinned at me and gave me a wink and then sat me in the chair again, making sure that I swept my skirt properly. The earrings felt odd as they dangled and brushed against my neck. The necklace felt heavy at first, but I slowly got used to it. The rings that adorned my fingers were something that I had never thought I’d wear.
The wig was checked against the picture and this time I was fitted with a skull covering which had a sticky band that held it firmly in place. When the wig was placed on my head, they fussed around for a few minutes to secure it with pins and did some snipping before declaring me a success. I could see the hair that flowed to the front. Zoe must have been a natural redhead as the wig was almost like a fire on my head. Brenda and Sally had a hug, and both hugged me when I stood up, towering over the two of them in heels. I had been a couple of inches taller than Sally, but the heels put almost a full head higher.
With one each side to make sure I didn’t fall off my shoes, I was taken to a photographic studio where a guy took me by the hand and stood me in front of a screen. Over the next twenty minutes, he called me Zoe several times and I was posed, including one that mimicked the photo Sally had been given. At no time was I near a mirror and wasn’t able to gauge how well we were going, but all those around me seemed happy.
After that, Brenda took us to a small room with an urn and the makings. We sat and relaxed. I was given the folder to look at more closely.
“If you’ve made me look like this, you’re both miracle workers.”
“You’d better believe it. Why did the photographer keep calling you Zoe? He had worked with her in her later career and to him you were her younger self, come back to haunt the catwalks.”
Robin came in, giggling, and went to a communication unit to flick a switch. She put her finger to her lips to keep us quiet, as we listened to the conversation in Yvonnes’ office. The other woman seemed very friendly, and they talked about how the business was doing. Then Yvonne must have turned her computer screen so that the visitor could see it.
“What do you think of this, Mavis?”
“That’s a picture of Zoe when she had just started out. She was certainly a looker in those days. Why are you showing me this?”
“That’s not a picture of Zoe, Mavis. That’s a picture that was taken here in my studio, less than thirty minutes ago.”
“Never! I’ve got to have this girl in the shoot. Is she on your books?”
“Not yet, but she will be. It all depends on what you’re prepared to pay for her services.”
“Top rate. She has that lean and boyish look that took Zoe to the top.”
“Funny that you say that, Mavis. This is a picture taken last week and sent to me by Janice from Braintree. You remember Janice, she was one of my best earners for years.”
“I remember Janice. Are you telling me that this bald lad is now that ravishing girl?”
“Correct. Here are a couple of other pictures that were taken last week, showing how easy it is to make him look like almost anyone you need, depending on your campaign.”
“Amazing! If it wasn’t you, Yvonne, I’d think that I’m being wound up. I have to see this wonderful person, as well as the one who was able to create her. How long did that take?”
“The two of them arrived before half past ten, so they had an hour, with Brenda helping, seeing how complete the make-over was. I’ll give Robin a buzz to bring them in.”
We heard the buzz and Yvonne asking her to take us to the office. Robin flipped the switch.
“That’s your command. Follow me, you too Brenda.”
We followed Robin back to the office area and she knocked on the door and opened it.
“Your model and her cosmetic miracle workers, Yvonne.”
“Can you bring in a couple of extra seats, Robin, please.”
We all walked in and were all given hugs by both Yvonne and Mavis. Yvonne was smiling broadly.
“Sit down, you three. I have to tell you that you achieved more that I could have expected. How do you feel, Harry?”
“A bit odd, Yvonne. I didn’t expect to have so much done that can’t be undone, but I’m glad that it’s made everyone so happy.”
“Harry, if you sign with the agency, you will need to stay looking like this as going back to your original look will not be good for the client. That means that the client will need to pay you a premium for your inconvenience. Right, Mavis?”
“I hate you, Yvonne, but you’re so right. Harry, is it? How do you feel about becoming a top model, the face of one of the best fashion stores in the world?”
“I don’t know, ma-am. It’s not something that I dreamed about when I was putting soles and heels on a customers’ smelly shoes. Last week was my first time in front of a camera. As you can understand, by seeing the first picture Janice took, I wasn’t the most photogenic guy around. I was born hairless, and have been hairless all my life, which is why I was called Hairy at school. Today has been an interesting experience, and I’m going to need time to get used to having hair, let alone wearing a dress.”
“I understand. If you say yes, you have a day to get your act together. On Thursday, we start a photo shoot at Kenwood House, just north of London. It’s a range of high-class outfits for the very rich. You have two choices. Go home and we’ll pick you up before the sun’s even thinking about rising. Or you can stay here in London, spending tomorrow with my dresser getting yourself a complete wardrobe and be picked up for the shoot at a decent time.”
“Mavis, I do have to tell you that Harry comes with his personal cosmetician, Sally. So, any deal is the two of them as a package. If you want Harry, you look after Sally as well.”
“Bloody hell, Yvonne. You’ve brought a big gun to a knife fight. You know I want Harry, so I’m at your mercy. All right, email me the contract this afternoon and I’ll talk to the money men. Make sure that you send the pictures, and they’ll roll over for me to rub their tummies. Where will you put them up?”
“I was thinking the Chapter House in Camden Park for starters.”
“Sounds good to me. Look, kids, sort out what you want to do, and Yvonne will let me know where to find you. Do you have any idea about a number, Yvonne?”
“I was thinking ten as a package with a revue in six months, plus outfitting for both as a starter gift. You won’t want them looking scruffy when the press come around.”
“That works for me, see you tomorrow, I hope.”
Mavis stood and left us wondering what had happened. Did we have a future, did we even have a job? I looked at Yvonne.
“Can you please tell us what’s going on in plain language?”
“Harry and Sally, you have a career as a model and make-up artist with this agency. For six months, you will each be paid five thousand a week with the agency taking ten percent. If you stay in London, we’ll put you up in a hotel in Camden Town, an easy run Thursday morning to go to the shoot. If you’re staying, Mavis will organise a car for you on Wednesday when you’ll be taken to the store where you’ll be outfitted with a range of clothes to suit everyday living, from the skin out. Now, I know that this is a big decision. I’ll take Brenda and leave the two of you to talk about it. My phone is yours to call your folks before you tell me if you’re staying. I’m taking you to lunch up the road and this afternoon you’ll both be seeing our doctor to ensure that your both perfectly healthy. I’ll give you a bonus this week, Brenda. That was a good job well done.”
She stood and left the room with Brenda. Sally and I sat for a few moments.
“Looks like we really did it now, Sally.”
“We sure did. I want to stay, what about you?”
“We’d be stupid to walk away from that sort of money, let along thousands worth of clothing. I need to ring my mother at work and let her know.”
“I’ll give my folks a call. I primed them for me moving out, but I never thought it would happen so quickly.”
I stood by the window as she rang her home and talked to her mother, giving her the basics of what we’ve been offered. Then she called Janice to say that she wasn’t going in for work on Wednesday and would be at a shoot for the rest of the week. It wasn’t a long conversation and she put the phone down.
“Mum told me that she loved me and was proud of me. Both of them told me to take good care of you.”
I called my mother and told her the same basic facts, and that I wouldn’t be home tonight. I put the phone down.
“She told me that she was proud of me and to take good care of you as well.”
“Right then. We didn’t bring any luggage, so will need to pick up some stuff to tide us over until tomorrow.”
“I’ve got some cash and my card. I reckon Yvonne will give us an advance if we ask for it.”
I opened the door and saw Yvonne coming back. She came in and sat down.
“So, what are we doing?”
“We’re staying.”
“Right then. I’ll get my admin to write up a contract for each of you. If you remember where the outfit store is, Sally, go and find something dressy for yourself and a good coat for each of you. We’ll be just walking up the road to a pub where I’m a regular. Prepare to be looked at and talked about. After lunch, I’ll have your doctor’s visits set up. We walk past his office on the way. Harry, what name do you want to use. I would take Zoe, but that may be a bit too obvious, and who knows who you’ll look like next week.”
“How about Harriette, then you can still call me Harry.”
“Works for me. Go get ready. Leave your stuff in the salon room. Sally, pick Harry a bag so he can carry his personal items, and I suggest that you find some tights, it’s nippy outside.”
Sally led me to the clothing store. It was a large room with racks of clothes and loads of shoes. There was a chest of drawers and Sally found a load of packets of tights. She had me sitting on a seat to take my shoes off and she showed me how to roll them on, very carefully. There was a big mirror, so while she found herself a dress and changed, I looked at the stranger that I had become. The girl that I saw would have been too good for me to even talk to. I looked like the girl in the photo, a stick figure in a good dress with amazing red hair. It worked for her, and there’s a company now betting that it would work for me.
When Sally was ready, she rummaged among some assorted bags and came up with one for me that had a shoulder strap and we found coats that fitted us. Back in the salon, I folded my original things, put my phone and wallet in the bag and wrapped the rest in my old coat. Sally looked at the things on the vanity and added some items to both our bags, like powder and lipstick. She spritzed us both with perfume and we went back to the reception area. I could tell by her smile that she was loving every moment of this.
Looking good, we joined Brenda and Yvonne to go for lunch. For me, it was when the doors of the lift closed that I got the shakes. When they opened again I would be walking out into the real world in a dress. Sally was holding my hand and felt my tension.
“It’s OK, Harry. When they see you, they will be looking at a stunningly good-looking woman out with her friends. I’ll give you twenty to one that all you’ll see are smiles or lustful glances. Be brave, my hero, this is your real future about to begin.”
The doors slide open, and she tugged me out into the world. Yvonne stood to the other side of me.
“Smile, Harry. It makes you shine like the sun and there’s no way you’re ever going to be questioned. When we get our lunch, remember to use the fork, it’s a temptation to use your nails to poke at your food.”
That made me laugh. I could feel the talons I’d been given, and the picture was truly believable. We went through the main doors and onto the pavement. The sound and sights of the world crashed in on my senses. I could smell the cars, even the odd person we passed. I was able to walk with the shoes and it became more natural as we got further along the road. Yvonne pointed out the door to the doctor, and then we crossed the next road.
We passed a sandwich place and went into the Lord Raglan pub. We put our coats on a coat stand. The barman gave Yvonne a wave as she led us to a booth. I wasn’t all that hungry and didn’t trust my lips yet, so opted for a soup with wholemeal bread. The others had salads. All four of us were brought white wines without them ordered. Yvonne grinned.
“Ben knows what my girls drink, Harry. I must say that you’re taking this well. When you and Sally come back from the doctor, I’ll have paperwork for you and then Robin will take you H & M on Cheapside. You’ll be able to get enough for a couple of days and nights. You won’t need a lot, as Mavis will be outfitting the two of you tomorrow. There’s a Tesco next to the office where you can pick up cleaning and teeth brushing products. I’ve booked separate rooms for you at the hotel, but that can be changed if you want.”
“Thank you for all that. Sally and I have only really known each other for a week, so separate rooms will be acceptable, especially as I’m not looking like her boyfriend at the moment.”
Sally put her hand on mine and squeezed.
“You can be my girlfriend for a little while. There’s lots of scope with that arrangement.”
I looked at her and blushed. Brenda giggled.
“Awww! She’s so cute when she reddens.”
“Thanks, Brenda, I think. This is a whole new world for me. I’ve read stories that said that girls say a lot of personal stuff when they’re alone, and I now have to believe it.”
Yvonne laughed.
“You’ll know more when Brenda does her impersonation of the scene in the film. Having a real ‘When Harry met Sally’ moment will be hilarious. Don’t do it now, Brenda, save it for another time.”
Sally smiled.
“Perhaps we can do it as a threesome, after Harry knows what it represents.”
Marianne Gregory © 2026