"You’re black and blue, girl."
She recognises Vi again, but her face is doing things she hasn’t seen before. It’s wet. Her mouth is on upside down. Joan feels exhausted. She wants to sleep and closes her eyes.
"I wish you could see yourself."

The sound of Vi’s voice springs her eyes open and she sees the slim body of a young woman in her white bra and pants; a multi coloured body, tie-dyed with bruises. Quickly, she grabs her clothes and starts putting them back on.
"I’ll try those things another time Vi. I’ve got to go now. Mustn’t be late tonight."
Vi snatches up the clothes, collecting them onto hangers.
"I want to call the police."
"You do that and it’ll be the end of everything."
Joan faces the mirror fully dressed. She gets a comb out of her bag and passes it through her hair as she watches Vi.
"It’s okay."
Vi just looks back at her.
"How long has he been doing this to you?"
Joan unswivels a lipstick. She concentrates very hard on the outline of her lips only, filling them in with colour.
"I’ve never had a black eye."
"You ever turn up here with a black eye...and..." Vi is struggling to finish what she means to say "and..."
"I know. It would look really bad. He knows that. Don’t worry. It won’t happen."
Joan pulls at a couple of red threads caught in the stones of her ring and moves out of the changing room past Vi to get her coat.
"I’ll see you Friday then?"
"Hope so." says Vi.