(aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 2250 by Angharad Copyright © 2013 Angharad
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“They didn’t believe me,” she said surprised.
“I suspect they weren’t really listening.”
“Possibly, she said no to permanent lashes–why am I always too bloody young?”
“There is no need to swear, young lady.”
“Yes there is, they treat me like a kid. I’m thirteen for god’s sake, Mary had had Jesus by my age.”
I was impressed by her use of biblical sources in argument, usually she doesn’t use any sort of reference. “What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Yeah I know, she was a real girl and I’m not.”
“As we’re dealing with religious myth, it doesn’t really matter anyway.” I hadn’t realised my unconscious pun as I said it and I suspected Danni wouldn’t have seen it anyway.
“It matters to me,” she threw back at me.
“Since when have you had religious sensitivities?”
“They’re not religious, it’s just that we had a girl in our class who got herself pregnant.”
“At thirteen?”
“Yeah.”
“Poor kid. The Holy Ghost wasn’t responsible, was he?”
“No, some kid from Leigh Park.”
“Oh, there’s a surprise.” Unfortunately, Leigh Park is a huge council estate which has a certain reputation. It was said that any cat seen there with two ears was a coward or a visitor.
“So what happened to the girl?”
“I dunno, I left before she ’ad the baby.”
“I hope both are okay.”
“As if you care.”
“I do in an indirect sense. She’s potentially ruined two lives, hers and the baby’s. I suppose the boy got off scot free.”
“Probably, they always do–it’s always us girls who have to face the consequences.” As she said this I hope I didn’t goldfish too much. Not many months ago, she’d have been standing up for the poor misunderstood boy who’d been duped into sex by the temptress girl. I suppose she’s transferred all her support to team girl.
I do wonder how much she’s really thought this through, her story about letting Pia castrate her could be nonsense but she could also have been telling the truth. If so it’s quite frightening. I know she’s only thirteen, but she strikes me as demonstrating boyish recklessness at times in her pursuit of becoming female. I was far more guarded about it than she seems to be. Possibly that’s because this household is very transgender friendly, whereas in my day, I suspect very few would have been, so Tom Agnew and his wife were really special.
I suddenly thought of my mother and missed her very much. There is no substitute for your mum. I thought of the arrogance with which I’d accepted the role for Mima and Trish and then the others. Okay, Cate and Lizzie won’t have had the experience of any other mother–yeah, I know, Lizzie isn’t mine, I’m just borrowing her–but the others have, albeit negative or very short, so they should have something to compare me with. Do I actually want them to compare me? Not really, that would be a very dangerous route to take.
Stella appeared and I told her off for buying Danielle the false eyelashes. “Oh, Cathy, cut her some slack, didn’t you ever dress up when you were a girl?”
My response to that was curtailed by the doorbell. I wasn’t expecting any callers or deliveries and it was probably too early for Hannah, besides the back door is closer and she usually comes in through the kitchen. I went to answer it.
“Lady Cameron?” asked a plump forty something.
“Yes.”
She flashed an ID card. “Suzy Vallance, social services.”
I looked at her suspiciously. “I’m here to talk about Lizzie Allen.”
“Can you do that without her father being present?”
“Oh yes, we spoke to him just before Christmas. I believe his younger sister lives with you as well?”
“Yes.”
“Cheer up, Lady Cameron, you haven’t done anything to worry about, it’s just that you need to make your fostering of Lizzie official if you’re to continue doing it.”
“I see. You’d better come in then.” I led her into the dining room and offered her a coffee which she accepted. I spotted Stella and asked her to make us two cups, she grumbled but understood.
“D’you mind if I see the baby?”
“Not at all, she hasn’t long been fed, so she’s probably asleep. Shall we drink the coffee first and then disturb her–she can get a bit crabby or she’ll look for another meal.”
“What are you feeding her with, I mean which formula milk?”
“We aren’t.”
“She’s a bit young for solids yet isn’t she?”
“She has some solids with milk.”
“You haven’t got her on cow’s milk?” she almost gasped.
“No, she has breast milk.”
“From the hospital?”
“No, from the breast.”
Stella brought in the coffees and nodded at the social worker. “Is that your sister in law?”
“Yes.”
“She has a young child as well doesn’t she? Is she the milk donor?”
“Occasionally.”
“Who else is there.”
“Wait here.” I went and got the sleeping infant and returned with her. She was crabby and she did demand a feed and I did pull out a breast and she suckled on it. Ms Vallance was suitably shocked.
“Oh–so you’re feeding her?” she asked with eyes as big as saucers.
“You have a problem with that?”
“N–no, of course not.”
“You just didn’t believe I could do it?”
“Um–course not.”
“Ms Vallance, your body language doesn’t really agree with your mouth, you know.” She gave an embarrassed smile.
“She certainly looks healthy enough.”
“Ouch, the little bugger has started getting a couple of teeth through. Stop chewing on me you little monster,” I said to Lizzie and she gave a milky giggle, then a burp. “Her manners are appalling.” Ms Vallance thought that was amusing and actually smiled.
I signed some papers declaring I was fostering Lizzie and Ms Vallance shoved them in her bag rather quickly. She blushed again and said, “There is one other matter I was asked to discuss with you.”
“Was there?”
“I believe you have several children who started off life as the opposite biological sex?”
“I’ve not made any secret of this, so why is it suddenly a matter for you to need to discuss with me.”
“Um–I believe one of them was seriously assaulted just before Christmas requiring remedial surgery which has left him with female genitalia.”
“Her. Boys don’t have female genitalia, so she is now her.”
“I’m sorry, our records show her as one Daniel Maiden.”
“They’re outdated. She changed her name to Danielle Cameron a while back.”
“We weren’t informed.”
“Why should you be? She’s my adopted daughter.”
“She was a boy when you adopted her.”
“I’m well aware of that.”
“So it would seem you did it again.”
“Did what again?”
“Turned a boy into a girl.”
“The only thing I’ve turned into anything is unhappy children into happier ones, and I plead guilty to that.”
“I’m sorry, but d’you think I could speak with Daniel?”
“I have to insist that I remain present while you do so?”
She nodded her agreement and Lizzie gave a huge burp as her comment.
I called Danielle and she came trotting into the dining room. Thankfully, she’d removed the false eyelashes.
“Danielle, this is Ms Vallance from social services.”
“What d’you want–I live here now, with my mummy and daddy. I’m happy, so bugger off.”
I rebuked her and told her to apologise for her rudeness. She was very reluctant to do so but I insisted.
“D’you mind if I ask you a few questions?” Ms Vallance asked Danni.
I cast a glare in her direction and she nodded. Being rude to social workers isn’t a good policy. “Why did you start dressing like a girl?”
“’Cos I wanted to, all right?”
“Danni, please answer the questions more politely.”
“But, Mummy, they asked me all this in hospital.”
“Who did?”
“They did; social flippin’ services.”
“Did they? No one told me or asked my consent.”
“We don’t need it, we were investigating a sexual assault.”
“Is that the correct term for it? As far as I’m aware there was no sex involved other than the assault was on her previous sex organs.”
“Can I go now?”
Ms Vallance nodded and Danni, kissed me on the cheek and left.
“I suspect we’ll be back, Lady Cameron.”
“I’m not going anywhere and neither are any of my children.”
“You realise that the boy who assaulted hi–her, is in custody?”
“I had heard, and I believe she prefers to be referred to as a girl as well.”
“Does this happen to any boy who comes into contact with you?”
“And the odd girl who goes the other way–you’re not suddenly filled with urges to become a man are you?”
“No, certainly not.”
“Nah, it usually takes a bit longer.”
“What does?”
“The desire to change sex. It can take a few days.”
“What?”she gasped, “but I’m perfectly happy as a woman.”
“So is Danielle, just bear that in mind, won’t you as you leave.”
Comments
Sounds like another occasion to have
a lawyer on call for a quick appearance. Don't trust anyone who comes in with preconceived ideas and attempts to prove them. Especially when they have some amount of authority on their side. (And probably think they have even more than they really do.)
Balance
Well, it does seem a bit out of the ordinary that so many children have gone over to the other side. However, I think a lot of that is not what it seems. Perhaps Shekina brings them to her.
G
In Britain,
Social workers are obscenely powerful. Sadly they can be obscenely prejudiced as well; not all of them but enough of them to cause huge distress in society.
I normally avoid them like the plague but occasionally I've become involved through some issue concerning trans-teenagers, Usually some poor tee-kid trying to get into a gay club because that's the only place they think they can feel safe. Sadly, gay clubs can be every bit as dangerous for underaged kids as any other place. Transgender kids need special care, happily, some social workers are beginning to recognise that but it's been a huge battle. I can understand exactly why Cathy feels forced to go on the defensive given the behaviour of some social workers towards some tee-people.
Good chapter Ang.
Thanks.
Bev.
x
Social workers
There are good and bad. There were the Orkney (Satanic ritual abuse is EVERYWHERE!) and Teesside (if the sphincter twitches when I touch it, the child's been buggered by their parents) scandals. There was the Victoria Climbie case (I'm not visiting them, I'll catch scabies). In the end, though, most are decent folk who suffer from the Daily Mail approach to truth.
If they intervene after a child has been harmed, they are incompetent wastrels, etc. If they intervene to prevent harm to a child, they are interfering prodnoses who are hell-bent on destroying family life. And they probably depress house prices, and it was their car in the tunnel when the Princess of Wales died.
Quite.
Fortunately I've never had to be involved with social services but from reading reports in the news it seems as often as not they're in the unenviable position of being damned if they do and damned if they don't. They tread a fine line but I (naively?) like to think that the vast majority of them are like the vast majority of the rest of us and try their best to do right thing. I think also that, rather like Police officers, because of their profession they may take a more jaundiced view of society than we who rarely come into contact with the more difficult aspects of society.
If 'Bike' was real life, I don't think it's surprising that Simon and Cathy's family would seem to be, at least, very unusual.
I'm not sure about mothers. I lost mine at a very young age but I'm sure I missed out a lot. I had a very courageous step-mother who took on a 7 year old as well as a new husband but despite her efforts I never got to love her very much though, as an adult I respect and admire her efforts.
Always (well, often :) ) thought provoking stuff, Ang.
Robi
What do you mean
Bike is not real life !!!! Next you will be telling me there is no such thing as Santa Claus..
Joking aside i was musing about social workers and i have to agree with your sentiments Robi, It would be fair to assume that given the large number of social workers there will be a few bad ones which give the innocent majority a bad name, As in most public services the stories that attract most attention are those where the social worker is at best well meaning but sadly out of their depth.... Add to those the downright lazy ones and you have a fair percentage of social workers that the tabloids can attack
And don't they just love it!
Kirri
Defending her cubs
I got a vivid impression of Cathy grinning widely, and toothily, at the end there..
Ooh - Larry Niven - "On a Kzinti, that rictus is not a grin.."
"Reach for the sun."