Easy As Falling Off a Bike pt 3103

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The Daily Dormouse.
(aka Bike, est. 2007)
Part 3103
by Angharad

Copyright© 2017 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.
*****

“Tomorrow you’d best go and speak with her and find out what she wants to do. If that’s to work with the intelligence community, then it may be better to let her do some work with them while she trains someone up to stand in for her. At least that way you won’t be completely without some cover and if she leaves entirely, it gives you a breathing space.”

“I was hoping her loyalty to you would be enough to keep her with us—looks like I was wrong.”

“Si, surely you can’t have expected her to spend her whole life working for you?”

“No of course not,” he blushed.

“You did, didn’t you?”

“Okay—but I mean, she was that scrawny kid when she came to you. You, me, the family—we all helped her become what she is today—I thought that might count for something.”

“Simon, you don’t do favours for people in order for them to pay you back.”

“But we took her into the family...”

“Simon, she is still part of this family, but that doesn’t mean she has to work for the family firm forever. She’s saved your bank a few times, she’s repaid her debt, if there ever was one in the first place. She’s a career woman, she will move on when the time is right for her—in the interest of her career.”

“But what about her loyalty to you—to me—you gave her everything.”

I didn’t believe I was listening to this dribble, it sounded like a betrayed teenager. “Look, husband mine, people aren’t devoted to working for their families forever any more in the same way families make individuals redundant because they no longer fit the bill. It’s very dog eat dog out there and survival of the company is sometimes more important than the individual. There’s little room for sentiment in business—as you’ve told me several times. But that depends upon the business and the individuals. Sammi is incredibly clever, especially with IT stuff. She’s in danger of outgrowing what she does for the bank, hence my suggestion that she be allowed the option of acting as a consultant for the intelligence people—you may keep her a bit longer that way.”

“You really think so?”

“Yes, but you have to reconcile yourself to the almost certain situation that she will move on one day, all doing the above does is defer it a little.”

“But she is so good.”

“I know, I’ve seen her in action, she is better than good, she is brilliant.”

“I wonder if she’d stay until Trish is old enough to take over?”

“Trish wouldn’t be any good at what Sammi does.”

“But she’s super bright and good with computers...”

“Trish will probably end up doing physics and maths and end up researching quantum theory or some other esoteric element of physics, like particle physics.”

“Why can’t she just do the same sort of stuff as Sammi?”

“They think differently to start with. Give Trish a problem and she’ll sit there until she solves it but that’s on paper. Give her a practical problem and she’ll go all round the houses to create a solution, while Livvie or Sammi would drive straight up to it and solve it with hands on stuff. Trish is all theory, so something like theoretical science will be just up her street. Sammi is able to think creatively and do the hands on which is what makes her so special.”

“Like you.”

“Meee? I don’t think so.”

“Rubbish, Cathy, I’ve seen you in action explore a problem, think it through, theorise a solution then adapt it until it works—you do it all the time.”

“Yeah but not create firewalls to keep out the FSB or whatever they’re called these days, Putin’s parasites.”

“She’s had specialist training.”

“So have I but in different spheres, she has a natural aptitude for computers and all things digital, I don’t but I’ll bet she couldn’t find a dormouse nest to save her life.”

“Nor keep a family together in good times and bad, plus give homes to all sorts of waifs and strays while running a nationally important project, a department and doing social work for her students as well as looking after a large historic house.”

“I don’t do all that—not on my own anyway.”

“You do most of it.”

“Nah, I use the children as housework slaves.”

He rolled his eyes, “Why can’t you see that if it weren’t for you, Sammi wouldn’t be in this position, she’d still be screwed up and in the closet—you’ve effectively saved all our children, big and small.”

“I don’t know, I worry about Danielle sometimes.”

“Sometimes? I worry about her all the time.” His remark hit me quite hard. “I mean she has a good life now but she’s playing a dangerous game and her next match could be her last one if she suffers a bad injury. She’s so young with so much talent.”

“She is that, but I just wonder if she’s really adapted to being a girl or if it’s just while the football acclaim lasts.”

“I thought she’d adapted brilliantly, she’s so girly in some ways—I mean, who else buys mascara by the crate load?”

I snorted at his comment, but it was partly true, she is very girly in much of her life and she is never seen without mascara unless she’s asleep. She never has to chuck it as out of date, she uses it all up in a couple of weeks.

“That makes me wonder if she’s role playing some stereotype of a teenage girl she sees around her in school and elsewhere, even here with Phoebe and Julie or even Sammi. I think she only really lives on a soccer pitch and when that stops, especially at the highest level, then what will happen? It keeps me awake some nights.”

“I hadn’t thought of it like that—I was just enjoying seeing her enjoying herself, or what I assumed was enjoyment—see, you are brilliant, you see things the rest of us don’t.”

“It may just mean I’m more neurotic than the rest of you. I worry about Meems.”

“Why?”

“Her speech impediment remains despite what half a dozen experts and therapists. I reckon if she was caught in a nuclear strike her body would disappear but the lisp or burr would remain, it appears indestructible.”

“I’ve got so used to it, Babes, I don’t hear it much and she’s so loving.”

“She’d make a good midwife but she’s cleverer than she appears, not in the class of Trish or Sammi, or even Livvie, but she’s very hands on and has an uncanny knack with empathy. I think she could be clever enough to do obstetrics or even child psychology.”

“Or maybe she’ll just follow you and have loads of kids and a loaded husband.”

“Ha ha.” We cuddled a bit longer when I asked him what he’d do about Sammi.

“Speak to her tomorrow and see what she wants to do and how we can help her achieve it if she helps us train up someone else. What else can I do?”

“I love you, Simon Cameron, you’re one hell of a dad to those girls.” I kissed him.

“Really? Yeah, ’course I am, yeah I am aren’t I?”

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Comments

I see where you are coming from-

With Trish, she reminds me of a certain Dr. Sheldon Cooper but with more of an edge!

Father of the year

Yes, a great dad, as long as you listen to Cathy .
If all the characters in "The Big Bang Theory" were Siblings, It would be Cathy's crew!
Nice to see repeat postings again. Too cold to dormeece hunt ?
Speaking of dads, how is Henry doing ?

Karen

I love Cathy and Simon's

I love Cathy and Simon's little talks like this one, You learn so much more about them and especially about the girls in their wonderful family.

Fatherhood -

Fatherhood is the art of being there but not being seen to be there.

Still lovin' it girl.

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