Wuthering Dormice (aka Bike) Part 662 by Angharad

Hastily, I asked Stella to keep Meems out of the way while I spoke with Laura. The doorbell rang as I shut the door of the dining room. I opened the front door and faked my surprise, “Laura, this is unexpected.”

“Sorry I couldn’t wait for you to get back to me, look could you have her tonight as well–I know it’s short notice, but if I don’t get off up to Scotland to see Tony tomorrow morning, he’s going to wriggle out of things again.”

“Um–it’s short notice, Laura.” I wasn’t at all sure how much I believed her and how much I wondered if she could be taking the urine.

“Please, Cathy, I know she loves it, staying with your two.”

“She also hinted that she gets dumped quite regularly.”

“Ooh, the little fibber, I’ll have words with her when I get back.”

“Five year olds are rarely competent liars, Laura.”

“Well, she must be the exception then.”

“I’ll do it this time, but I’m not guaranteeing any further occasion beyond bringing her home for you to collect in the evenings.”

“Oh, like that is it?”

“Like what?” I asked feeling more than a little cross.

“How do you think the press will respond to finding that the latest natural history presenter pin-up, is actually a boy?”

“I think you’ll find my birth certificate says female.”

“It might nowadays, but it didn’t used to did it? Charlie?”

“Just what are you insinuating?”

“That life could get a bit hectic and troublesome with the press at your door for a week or two, as I’m sure you already know, Charlie boy.”

“I could quite easily tell you to look after your own child, instead of listening to all this nonsense.”

“Oh I don’t think it’s nonsense. I’ve got a DVD of a news bulletin where you featured with Simon, trying to stop the tabloids taking the initiative. It won’t work this time, you are a celebrity, so you’ll be fair game.”

“So? All this is in the public domain, why should I worry?”

“Your rich fiancé and his family won’t stop one of the tabloids breaking the story again.”

“Who said they stopped it, before?”

“Come off it, Cathy, or is it Charlie?”

“There is no Charlie.”

“Ooh, get you. If there’s no Charlie, why are you blushing?”

“I could just call social services and report you as an unfit mother.” Maybe a counter threat would work?

“Go ahead, see what happens.” She smiled as if she’d been there before and came through it. “I’d have thought that social services were the last people you wanted here, given your run ins with them. I’m sure they’d just love to get you back for your making them look stupid last time.”

“They were stupid.”

“Ah, but like elephants…”

“What big eared and full of shit?”

“Ooh, very quick. I can see I’ll have to watch you. How do we know that your two girls are actually girls? Maybe you’re some pervert and dress them as girls when they are really boys?”

“How dare you?” I was ready to roll up my sleeves and smack her one.

“I dare things all the time. You see, I’m a bit of a dare devil,” she said, smirking at me.

“Well the devil bit's right.”

“Ooh, so who swallowed her razor blades this morning?”

“Blackmailers are especially nasty people,” I said with vehemence.

“Yes, because we have total control.”

“Are you driving to Scotland?”

“Why?”

“I was going to wish you a safe journey,” I smiled the falsest smile I could manage.

“Ha, you think I’d be stupid enough to tell you how I’m going, so your rich friends could organise a hit.”

“Laura, I think you’ve been watching too many thrillers on television.”

“Oh, have I? So your killing of Russians earlier, was a figment of my imagination that so happened to get mentioned on telly?”

“I’m not going to discuss this any more. Your demands are obviously based on jealousy.”

“Jealousy?” she repeated it over and over, laughing to herself as she did so. “Yes, I like that–I’m jealous of a boy who pretends he’s a woman. Oh, what fun.”

“There is no pretence, Laura.”

“What about your girls? How many of them are really girls?”

“How dare you? I think you’d better go and quickly.”

“Or what? What were you going to say–or you’ll kill me?”

“No, I was going to say, before your daughter finds out what sort of nasty, two bit hooker, you really are.”

“Hooker? Ha, at least I don’t go around seducing my own sex?”

“Neither do I–whatever gave you that idea?

“How about Simon? He’s a boy like you, isn’t he?”

“Simon is a boy, well a man, but I’m a woman.”

“So you’d have a chromosome test, would you, just to prove me wrong?”

“What would that prove?” I wasn’t getting anywhere with this argument.

“That you used to be a long term housewife? I don’t think so, but it might prove beyond doubt that you are actually a boy and that I’m a girl or a woman.” She seemed to gloat and I desperately wanted to punch those sneering lips.

“Get out of here, before I call the police.”

“No, Cathy, I’m the one who makes the threats, veiled or otherwise. You do as you’re told, and we’ll get along fine.”

“What if Peaches needs a doctor?”

“You’d better make sure she doesn’t, hadn’t you?” She laughed and dumping the suitcase inside the door, turned and walked away.

I slammed the door and leant against it. I felt so angry and so helpless. Part of me wanted to beat her until she bled, or get someone else to do it. Then I thought about her daughter, who as far as we knew, was a nice kid. Why should she suffer because her mother was a total shit?

Stella and I were limited in what we could say about what was happening in case Meems got hold of the wrong end of the stick, or even the right end for that matter. It wasn’t nice for Peaches, who seemed to be such a good friend of Trish.

I did our lunch and made preparations for another place at dinner. All the time I knew we had to keep Trish’s secret from Peaches, but how? I wondered if it was worth getting her some very tight knickers to wear under her normal ones? Then would that do her an injury, and in this warm weather, would that be uncomfortable, full stop? I needed this like a hole in the head.

“Time to go and get the girls, can you watch Mima, Stella?”

“Sure, you get them.”

I set off with a heavy heart. It wasn’t fair on any of the children that I was being forced to do this, it wasn’t their fault after all, so I resolved to try and put a brave face on things and treat them as if I loved them all. Why did I have this feeling of doom and gloom so strongly?