Chapter 1
Alice put the world on mute, just for a moment, so she could soak it all in. A thousand colours stitched together with pink threads – from woollen hats to bright T-shirts stretched over the top of zipped-up jackets, to the splashes of paint on placards being held high into the sky, to the flushed cheeks of the women and girls and men and boys giving it their all on this frost-covered January morning.
Smiling faces, warm greetings, cold breath, little children through to elderly ladies, and even a few dogs, full of fight. There was anger here, and fury and fire, but there was also hope. There was camaraderie; a sea of strength and sisterhood. London, and the world over, was alive with the power of women. She felt ripples of optimism within her own blood.
And with that, she let in the roar. The noisy, excited, diverse, vibrant sounds of London’s Women’s March flooded her ears and she whipped around to face her circle of friends who she’d pulled along with her.
‘Are you ready?’ Alice shouted to be heard.
Jill, her closest friend in the whole world, the Amy Poehler to her Tina Fey, nodded, blowing into her gloved hands and jiggling to the loud music that blasted from erected speakers. ‘Yes, let’s get marching; anything but standing around.’
Alice handed each of them – Jill, Bahira, Kemi and Theresa – a placard that she’d been up late into the evening making, and they admired her handiwork for a moment. Alice’s skills with illustration and amusing, catchy slogans did her proud, and the women pointed out details to each other – a resistance fist here, a rainbow flag there, a few cleverly placed pussycats.
A large group of women twirled past them dressed like the female wrestlers fromGlow, chanting about pussy power, catching Alice’s eye. She watched them as they laughed and jostled and placed their hands on each other’s shoulders and lower backs with such casual ease.
‘Next time we should do that,’ she called to the others, who nodded, humouring their friend.
‘Let’s go,’ said Jill.
Alice’s grin spread, and she threw her arms wide, ready to jump into the throng. ‘This is really cool, right? I know it’s freezing, but look at this history we’re part of.’
Jill laughed. Alice’s optimism had always been infectious, and the five allowed themselves to be swept into the river of wonder women.
‘Thanks for coming with me,’ Alice shouted back at Jill as she was jostled forward and nearly poked in the eye by someone’s banner, though Jill was just watching her mouth move, the noise was so overwhelming. ‘This year is going to be a good one, I can feel it.’
Foot-sore and feeling on top of the world, the five women pooled into a Starbucks near Westminster a couple of hours later.
‘We’ll have five caramel hot chocolates please, my good lady,’ Jill said a little too loudly, the volume of the music outside still ringing in her ears.
The woman behind the counter raised an eyebrow. ‘What name please?’
‘The Five . . . ’ Jill faltered and looked at Alice.
‘Pusscateers?’ she suggested.
‘You know what,’ the barista said, putting the cups to the side. ‘I think we’ll find you. Take a seat.’
‘Thank you, sister!’ Alice said, her voice hoarse, and punched her fist in the air.
They found a table in the corner and spent a while propping up their placards and peeling off their layers of coats, scarves, backpacks and pink hats with cat ears that some of them had acquired.
‘Today was so cool,’ Alice enthused, shaking out her light brown hair. ‘Women are so cool.’
‘Women are the coolest,’ Jill agreed.
‘There were so many more people there today than I ever imagined,’ Kemi said, flopping into her chair.
Theresa stretched out her arms and legs like a cat. ‘I know, it was heaving. Fab idea, Alice.’
The drinks came and Bahira went back up to the counter to grab a bunch of cakes and cookies to go with them.
Alice bit into a slab of carrot cake and said through the crumbs, ‘Didn’t we meet some amazing people today?’
‘The old ladies dressed as suffragettes,’ said Bahira.
‘Those kids with their sassy T-shirts,’ Theresa added.
‘I just wish I could spend all day every day with every single person I met, and you guys,’ sighed Alice. ‘I think I might have eaten too many of those sweets they were handing out.’ And she chomped into another big bite of cake.
