“Nali, darling,” said a voice from within the gloom of the house. This was followed by a long throaty cough and the appearance, in a cloud of smoke, of a tall woman with tousled hair.

“Gloria.”

“You’re very early,” said Gloria, leading Naledi into the sitting room, her cigarette trailing smoke as she did so. “Shouldn’t you be somewhere else?”

Naledi stood in silence while Gloria yanked on thick velvet curtains, and sunlight spilled into the room.

“We haven’t cleaned up yet, of course,” said Gloria , indicating the various glasses and bottles strewn around the room.

Tequila, thought Naledi to herself as she looked down at a bottle on the floor that she had tripped over.

“Busy night,” said Naledi softly.

“Always, always,” said Gloria, with a soft, low laugh. “So you want some coffee? I haven’t had my first cup yet.”

“Okay,” said Naledi, choosing an armchair and sitting down in it. She was left alone, and turned her head to watch a bird on a tree branch outside the window.

“You don’t look well,” said Gloria, as she returned to the room, carrying two cups of steaming coffee.

Naledi took one of the cups from her and the woman sat down, lowered her lips to the rim of the cup, and blew gently. The sunlight slanted in through the window and slid over Gloria, seated there, taking sips of her coffee between drags from her cigarette.

Gloria was beautiful, about forty, and still slender. Her hair was uncombed and stood out from her head like a halo. She looked up at Naledi and smiled broadly at her, showing a row of perfect white teeth.

Naledi did not smile back.

“How do you still manage to look so good?” Naledi asked instead, noticing how the woman’s dressing gown had slipped a little to reveal her sculptured shoulder blade, and a little of her cleavage.

“My mother always looked after me,” said Gloria with a grin, as she took another drag on her cigarette. “She taught me everything I know about this business.”

“Yes, you told me,” said Naledi, sipping on her cup of coffee and then putting it on a side table. She did not really want it. It was too sweet.

“I don’t really want to know what you are doing here,” continued Gloria, leaning back and allowing her night gown to slip and reveal her long smooth brown legs, “but I think it’s time I gave you some advice.”

“Advice?” said Naledi with a sneer.

“You came here,” continued Gloria. “I don’t know what you’re looking for, but you knew what you would find. I can see from your face that you’ve been messing up. Probably sleeping around and now you regret it. Something like that. Am I right?”

Naledi stood up. Suddenly she couldn’t remember why she had come at all.

“If you’re going to do that, my girl,” continued Gloria, settling deep in her chair, pulling her legs up beneath her in just the same way that Naledi always did, “then you may as well get paid for it. You seem to like it well enough. Like me. And my mother before me.”

Naledi turned and ran from the room.

“You have a key,” Naledi heard Gloria call behind her. “You’ll be good at this, Naledi. And popular too. You are so beautiful. I’m sure you know that. I’m sure men all adore you. You could make a lot of money …”

Naledi did not hear the rest because she had slammed the door and then the gate and she did not stop running until she had reached the main road.

***

Tell us: Who is Gloria and what does she do for a living? Why do you think Naledi went to see her?