Easy As Falling Off A Bike pt 2736

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The Daily Dormouse.
(aka Bike, est. 2007)
Part 2736
by Angharad

Copyright© 2015 Angharad

  
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This is a work of fiction any mention of real people, places or institutions is purely coincidental and does not imply that they are as suggested in the story.
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I felt tired the next morning, then remembered that Simon and I had a rather pointless and inane conversation about winkies. I shuddered before getting out of the bed and lumbering into the bathroom where I walked into the doorpost before making it to the loo.

After a shower, I got the girls up and while they were doing their ablutions, I finished dressing, including some makeup. “Ooh, where are you going, Mummy dear?” asked Livvie, “Looking so smart?”

“Just to work, why, sweetheart?”

“You look very smart this morning, that’s all?”

“Thank you, I’m glad someone noticed.”

“Huh? I seen it too, just didn’t say nuffin’.” Trish chuckled at her impression of some sort of ruffian—least, I hope that was what it was.

“You wook woverwy, Mummy,” I smiled back at Meems and thanked her for what I hope I understood she’d said. She chuckled too. I felt like I was surrounded by wicked pixies, especially when Cate got in on the act.

“So why the smart outfit?” asked Stella at breakfast but before I could reply she answered her own question. “Your new secretary starts today—that’s it, isn’t it?”

“Am I not allowed to wear something simply because I want to?”

“No, you’d be in jeans and tee shirts most of the time, knowing you—so spill the beans, Watts.”

“My mummy’s name is Camewon, Auntie Stewwa.”

“I think, Auntie Stella knows that, Meems, she’s just teasing me.”

“She still goes by Watts in the university, and as she’s supposed to be going there after dropping you lot off at the prison camp, I used her professional name, Mima.”

“Oh, awwight.”

I dropped them off and went to the university where Delia had a day off, so I was left to the tender mercies of my new secretary. So why do I feel probably more nervous than she does? I haven’t been in for a few days, so Delia had been emailing me work. I handed over a pile of papers to Diane and went to my office where I sat at the computer and powered it up. Two minutes later my door was knocked and Diane walked in with a cuppa and placed it on my desk. I told her I’d dumped a lot of stuff on her desk which included signed letters and some drafts for other letters.

In some ways I wrote a better letter when it wasn’t going to typed and regaled with officialdom, when the scratching of my Waterman on paper provided the only noise in my room save the ticking of the clock. I used to enjoy writing letters by hand, these days, except the odd personal note, I don’t have time to write letters that way, though I do try to sign them all in pen and where possible, when they’re going to people I know well, I like to write their name in pen at the top of the letter. It adds a personal touch which I think most people like.

With Diane being new she was naturally slower than Delia and I had to show her where one or two things were kept, if I knew that myself. Usually I left it to Delia or Pippa before her. Once we had to call Pippa because we couldn’t find a series of file and she explained where they were. I had no idea. The initial rush over, we had time for a cuppa and I produced a slightly battered packet of Welsh cakes from my computer bag and offered one to Diane.

She thanked me then said, “You look awfully familiar to me, professor.”

“I’ve made two films which have been shown several times on the BBC.”

“No it’s not them or the Youtube clip. I can’t think of where it was.”

“I did a summer school a year or two ago at UWE, perhaps you saw me then.”

“Perhaps—it was just the one wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, became too busy when the survey started to produce lots of data.”

“They still talk about it, you know?”

“What the survey?”

“No, Watts the summer school teacher.”

“Why?”

“Because it was so far out of the ordinary for most of them, way outside their comfort zone, that they enjoyed it.”

“Shouldn’t it have been the other way round?”

“No, you stirred them from their lethargy, into which your predecessor had allowed them to sink.”

“That’s a bit of an exaggeration, I’m sure.”

“It isn’t, professor, every year they’d ask if you were coming back or did you run summer courses anywhere else?”

“Why?”

“I was told that you were the most inspirational teacher any of them had ever met, it was you with the dormouse, wasn’t it?”

“Who else?”

“It was you at Bristol Grammar as well, wasn’t it?”

“I did a talk there a couple or so years ago, so probably.” I felt a trickle of sweat run down the back of my blouse.

“No, as a school kid there, it was you, wasn’t it?”

“I went there, yes, but I don’t remember you I’m afraid.”

“No but I remember you—I think—you were that girl who played Lady Macbeth, weren’t you?”

“Um—did you manage to find that file afterwards—the badger cull stuff?”

“You used to hang around with that strange Welsh girl, I’m sure it was you. Used to dress up like a boy sometimes—but you’re not gay are you—not with all those kids you have?”

“Diane, we’re not here to discuss my private life however confused you appear to have it, so please let’s get back to our work and perhaps we’ll get finished in time to have some lunch.” I spoke quite sharply because I felt she was intruding and these days no one has the right to do so. If she twigs completely, the next thing she’ll be asking if I’ve had surgery and can I have sex with a man.

She went bright red, “I’m sorry, got a bit carried away. It’s just I’ve been trying to work out where I saw you because I know I have. I’ll get back to that file.”

“Thank you.” She left my room and I knew it was only a matter of time before she either found stuff on the internet or spoke to someone, but I found it intrusive and no longer relative. It would be bad enough if she kept on about my maiden name before I was married, but with my sort of history, it’s bound to surface but now she knows what I think about it and it’s not up for discussion. That won’t stop her asking others and sooner or later she’d have her information it would be what she did with it that mattered.

It seems that badgers and transgender people never have a close season, there’s always some bar steward wanting to take a pop at us. Both of us should be protected but we never are.

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Comments

I think

Maddy Bell's picture

Cathy's avoiding the subject is making the situation worse, encouraging Diane to dig further. A simple agreement would have surely ended the inquisition much sooner without damage.


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Madeline Anafrid Bell

Agreed

It is obvious she was seen as a girl already.

Makes me think I made the right decision. Not being in a closet is very liberating.

Just, Out With It

littlerocksilver's picture

Cathy has nothing to be ashamed of. Just sit down with her and let it all hang out. Then they can both get down to business.

Portia

Sharing the information

Rhona McCloud's picture

When I'd transitioned some of my relatives seemed to love sharing the information, possibly as living dull lives themselves knowing me was the most interesting thing they had to gossip about. On the other hand at the actual time of transition I only had to tell one friend knowing that she would tell everybody else.
I don't think until the arrival of Diane Cathy has had to deal with innocently meant but unwelcome gossip. Will Diane affect Cathy's relationship with someone who never knew of her past?

Rhona McCloud

A Painful State Of Mind

I am sorry that the writing of this episode finds you in such a melancholy state, and do hope that your life seems brighter in the morning. Having recently retired, perhaps you are still trying to find something to occupy your time? Being Transgender is not for the faint of heart as I am sure that you are well aware.

I was just thinking that perhaps Cathy should just drop the name Watts and use Cameron to make her more full on confrontive to those who would attack her?

I help a woman who is Ethiopian and blind, quite a lot. It's been nice to not to have had the annoying transgender talk. In one of her classes, one of her Human Resources professors, who'd seen me, outed me and that night as I picked her up, she questioned me. Eventually, I told her that my status was not a matter for discussion.

Will homo sapiens survive long enough to get the binary construct out of their heads? I do not know.

Gwen

Diane is stepping over and

Diane is stepping over and has stepped over the line when it comes to employer-employee relationships. I am glad that Cathy stepped up and shut her down. Hopefully shut down for good. If Diane persists,then maybe Diane is not a good fit for the position and needs to go. Simple as that. Has nothing to do with Cathy's previous status or present status; it is simply an employment matter now.
She was hired to be a secretary, not a private detective.

Another Lovely Episode from Our Favourite Author

As entertaining as always, Angharad. But I think you forgot to add Dormice and Woodlice to the List along with Badgers and Transgendered People.

It appears that the Public thinks that Hedgehogs need protecting too, but on the Island where I live they are a recent introduction that has gotten out of control and are putting several endangered species of ground nesting birds in serious danger of extinction, as they just love all those nice fresh eggs... A man with a gun was hired to exterminate these Hedgehogs a couple of years ago, 'regardless of expense'. He shot a few, but a mainland-based group of people who loved hedgehogs (sounds painful and a bit wacky, put like that :) ! ) caught many more alive and took them safely back to the mainland, and released them - to get run over when the poor confused Hedgehogs ran away and went to cross a road !

Briar

Open season.

Open season on tee-people? How true, 24 / 7 / 365 / 70 ... (and counting in my case).

Do I care? Do I hell, but sometimes the wounds hurt a bit. Mostly stupid questions and then refusing to accept my answers. That's when I turn away sometimes quite rudely and abruptly and offensively. That's all some people understand. Otherwise, these days, it's a manageable life.

You make some interesting and poignant insights here Ang. Food for thought.

Bev.

P.S. Still lovin' it.

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Okay, so why worry

Cathy even if Diana does work out your secret , Does it really matter ? I doubt she will be the last to make a few connections about your past , At least she seems to be a nice person so the chances of her running off to a scandal sheet seem pretty slim,and even if she did would any newspaper dare publish , Given how rich the Camerons are !

Kirri