The Weekly Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 3314 by Angharad Copyright© 2021 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 was so busy for most of the following week that I'd almost forgotten about Peter's second visit with his niece. I was reminded on Friday because James, our technician came to see if I'd ordered the equipment he wanted. It appeared that Peter's firm was the best quote and I'd passed it on to Diane to do, which with her usual efficiency, she had. If truth were told I was probably the least efficient in my office but the most effective, if that doesn't sound too oxymoronic. Unless I get totally immersed in what I'm doing I can be distracted and frequently am, especially by Diane at work and the girls at home.

I used to be able to centre down in a few minutes of starting something, be it reading a book or working on reports or other paperwork but these days it takes longer to do it. Once I'm there very little distracts me, I once worked through a fire alarm being oblivious to it so focused was I on the work I was doing. They say these things happen with age, but I suspect in my case it's more likely to be due to having too many things to think of at the same time. I sometimes wonder about retiring and setting up my own business, running surveys or research on ecology or wildlife, from somewhere like Billie's visitor centre. Dan really enjoys what he's doing and despite my position and status, I'm quite envious, especially on a bad day, of his simpler work life. If he left I might be tempted to replace him.

It's all very well being a professor but I've been constrained for months by staff absences and the need to get grants for research for my post grad students and Covid has played hell with those as well.

I've mentioned one that involves freshwater macro-invertebrates with help from a colleague who is a freshwater biologist, though he's supervising the identification element while I'm doing the rest. The student is pretty good and he signed up with the local River Fly project group, which improved both his technique in taking samples and identifying his catch. In spending the odd hour in the lab with him while he was doing the identification element before the count, I could see how far he'd come and I was pleased to realise that I'd retained quite a lot of my skills from my pond dipping days as a tween and teenager.

I have another supervisee grad student who's doing a masters in studying dormouse behaviour, which is probably a bit more up my street. Staff shortages also mean that I'm doing more teaching than I'm supposed to though I am of the opinion that a professorship is a teaching post, all the management guff that comes with the chair, is extra.

So I'd just come back from teaching a session on population dynamics and using systems diagrams, these can be used to demonstrate things like food webs and feedback loops. In the population dynamics, I used my old notes which was on predator prey relationships and the classic study which was done at Yellowstone National Park on the reintroduction of wolves and the control of herbivores which had virtually destroyed the vegetation after the elimination of predators by man.

While researching for it a few years ago when I used to teach it more regularly, I came across a very interesting statement from a researcher from Princeton University, who suggested that the ranch owners surrounding the park were very against the reintroduction of the grey wolf until they found out that some had returned to the park by themselves. Then the landowners realised that if they opposed the reintroduction the wolves would eventually return by themselves eventually and they would be protected against hunting, whereas if they were reintroduced by man, they were treated as non-native species and could be shot. Apparently, the change in the attitude of the landowners was one of the most rapid volte-face in history.

What these stupid farmers don't understand is that the wolves are working for them by reducing the spread of a number of diseases spread by deer and also keeping down the numbers of coyotes, which prey on sheep much more so than wolves do. But instead of letting the wolves get on with it, they shoot them on sight. It seems those dedicated to agriculture to make their fortunes seem only able to see dollar or pound signs and continue destroying the environment, rather than their minority colleagues who try to work with nature and conserve the environment. There are none so blind - and we let them have guns!

Having reassured James his order was in progress, he left to get his lunch. I was talking to Diane when Daddy called and told me to be available to accompany him to lunch in ten or fifteen minutes. At least I looked half decent as I try to when I'm teaching. I had on a blue skirt suit and court shoes in a close match, so after cussing him for taking time out of my day when I'd hoped to catch up on some letters, I went off and checked my hair and makeup and spritzed some perfume - Coco by Chanel.

I drove us to his usual haunt and we ate the usual, him a chicken curry while I had a tuna jacket potato with salad and coleslaw. I was hungrier than I realised and tucked into my food with gusto, Daddy always does with his chicken curries, scooping up the rice with his fork and smiling with every mouthful.

"Sae, whit's hap'nin' th' morrow?" he asked in between bites.

"It's Saturday, so shopping and catching up with household chores rather than university ones, why?"

"Och, I ken that, whit aboot thae wee lassie?"

"Which one - perm any one from ten?"

He rolled his eyes and shook his head, I knew he could multitask if pushed. "Na, ye scunner, Peter's niece, wis it?"

"Oh her, I've been so busy I almost forgot about her." I had temporarily completely forgotten, though I'm sure one of the offspring would have reminded me in time, probably as Peter and she arrived.

"I hope ye'll remember taemorrow, I'll be tae busy wi' thon garden tae entertain her."

"Yes don't worry, besides Danni will be there. I can't understand why her leg isn't healed yet, it's almost as if she'd blocking me until she sees this Sarah girl. I don't know why she's involving herself so much, she's got plenty on her plate as it is."

"Mebbe it's because she can extrapolate tae her situation."

"I'd considered that, I also wondered if there was some guilt lingering from Allie, the girl up at Stanebury who died."

"Aye, that's a possibility tae, hen, I hadnae thocht o' that."

"You weren't up there when it happened, she and I were and she was very upset, remember it was her and Trish who found the body."

He shook his head and looked very serious, "Nae child shud hae tae deal wi' such situations or feel they need to tak' such desperate remedies."

"I agree, but after years of suppressing her feelings and being bullied by her idiot father, she was probably overwhelmed by the opportunity of sudden freedom, what I should have done was bring her down here with us where she'd be supported by everyone."

"Jest because it works fa dormice doesnae mak' it transferrable tae troubled teenagers."

I wondered what he was on about for a moment, then realised it was our captive breeding programme, where we take endangered animals into captivity and provide them all their needs in the hope that they'll provide us with babies we can return to the wild when they're independent. I admit none of us ask the dormice if they'd like to choose which option to take, but most of those we do take seem to thrive, at least in measurable terms. If one of my post grad students wants to look at dormouse mental health, I think I'll pass supervision to someone else, on second thoughts, judging their physical health on a regular basis, we're already monitoring their mental health in a proxy way.

"Sae are ye goin' tae tak' her on?" he asked before ordering a tea and a coffee, I was still eating.

"Who, Sarah?"

"Weel, wha else?" He forgot to add, 'Duh'.

"I don't know, I want to have a look at her and discuss with her how I can best help her. I could do with some help around the house but what I need is more a housekeeper than a nursery nurse and I need help for more than a week or two of a college placement."

"Aye, I tak' yer point, but is ony help better than none?"

"I don't know, Daddy, by the time I've invested the time to train her, she'd be leaving again."

"Aye, but I'm glad ye're helpin' her." he smiled at me and laid his hand on mine and squeezed it gently.

"Have you ever known me walk away from someone asking for help, Daddy?"

"Na, ye're a guid lassie an' I'm prood o' yer."

I was still blushing as we left the restaurant but I no longer felt hungry so hopefully I could keep my mind working on walking in these stupid shoes. I slopped on a pair of flats in the car and he sniggered to himself. I can drive in heels but it tends to rub the backs of the shoes and isn't as easy as driving in a pair of old flat shoes that I keep in the car.

I huffed at him, "This is your fault, you told me off so much in the past for wearing casual clothes when teaching that I automatically dress more tidily when I know I'm doing so."

"Aye it's probably thae only thing ye've learnt frae me." This time he snorted when he saw the indignation in my face and was still laughing as we drove onto the campus. I felt like slapping him one as I changed back into my heels to go to my office. "I telt ye tae dress smert no cripple yersel'. I dinnae ken hoo ye walk in them."

"Practice, Daddy, practice, like playing the piano."

"Aye but ye'll no break yer neck playin' thae piano." He chuckled to himself all the way to my office before he pecked me on the cheek and winked. He was winding me up again and I fell for it again hook, line and bloody sinker.

That was when I chuckled to myself and Diane saw me where upon she muttered, "Isn't that a sign of madness, laughing at nothing," and smirked.

My response was direct, "No it's when you talk to yourself."

"At least I hear something that makes sense that way," she said filling the kettle.

I huffed and went to my office and began wading through all the letters she wanted me to sign, by the time I'd done so, all twenty of them, I needed another cuppa and a wee.

Saturday arrived and Danni was still hirpling and using the elbow crutches which meant Trish and Livvie came with me to do the shopping while Danni sorted the washing with Hannah and Meems. We'd left early so were back by ten o'clock just as the second load of laundry finished. We all had one of the jam and cream doughnuts I'd bought washed down with a cuppa, Simon missed out but David ate his when he came to start the lunch.

I'd invited Peter and Sarah to lunch before I'd left the office yesterday and he'd texted me back to say yes. I told him to arrive after 12.30pm to give us a chance to tidy the place and change. I wasn't going to wear anything too formal and in the end stayed dressed as I was just freshening my perfume. I had on very light makeup, just mascara and eyebrow pencil with a touch of lipstick. Danni had added about two cubic tons of mascara and was wearing a skirt and knee boots plus a top which showed her growing chest. Of the others, Livvie and Meems changed into something different but Trish and I stayed in jeans and a nice top, mind you my jeans were CK as was the top, I think. I cut the label out of it because it used to rub my neck.

At twelve twenty, Simon came back with Lizzie and Cate, he'd had to do something in town while we'd gone to the supermarkets out on the outskirts. He certainly wasn't going to change from his British and Irish Lions sweatshirt that he wore with jeans and a tee shirt.

David was standing by to make everyone omelettes to go with salad and sauté potatoes. His omelettes were so light and fluffy they were gorgeous and he can flip them in the pan, last time I tried it, it took me half an hour to get the grease off the kitchen floor.

We were dining in the kitchen, and I asked Si to extend the kitchen table and then Trish laid out the cutlery. Possibly it would have been better to go into the dining room but this is more homely and I wanted the place to feel welcoming for the poor kid who would be arriving any time now. If it were me, I'd probably be wearing brown knickers.

Our guests arrived at 12.35 bearing a large bunch of flowers and bottle of new season Beaujolais. He'd certainly made friends with Simon. Sarah handed me the flowers and thanked me for seeing her.

"No, it's I who should thank you, for these lovely flowers, now important question, do you like omelettes?" They both said they did and I gave David the signal to start making them, the rest of the meal was already prepared.

"We're eating in the kitchen today as it's less formal than the dining room," and I introduced everyone who was present. "Oh, where's Stella?"

"She said she'd be out today and took her two with her." I felt a twinge of irritation and if she came back at me and criticised whatever outcome today yields, I'd tell her she opted out so had no right to complain. She'll have an answer but it won't cut any ice with me, nor I suspect, with Si.

Sarah proved to be a delightful girl, despite her dyed blonde hair and she and Danni got on like a house on fire - what a stupid metaphor. By the time lunch had ended an hour later I very much liked the girl, she was polite and engaging and had decent table manners.

Our youngest children were almost school age but I asked her if I was to offer her some work, it would be paid at the going rate, would she be interested. There would some childcare or supervision and some light housework. She could live in or commute, but the hours could be variable dependent upon the needs of the day. If she had study to do, report writing and so on, we'd allow time for that.

"You know I'm transgender," said Sarah.

"So what?" said Simon, "We've all had experience of trans people and none of us have a problem with it."

"I felt I had to tell you, because I'm still..."

"Unmodified?" I offered.

She blushed absolutely scarlet and nodded. "Are you sure it's okay."

"Absolutely."

"I'm trans too," said Danni and Sarah nearly fainted.

"So'm I," said Trish.

"And me," said Livvie, and Trish nearly choked on her drink.

"What? You're really trans?" gasped Sarah.

"I used to be," said Danni, "I'm legally female now."

"What you've had the op?" Sarah was astonished.

"Yeah, long story," said Danni.

"I have too," said Trish.

"But you can't, you're too young," said Sarah eyeballs bulging. "You're all just saying this aren't you, to make me feel comfortable."

"Yeah," said Livvie, "it's brain surgery they had, they put one in and in Trish's case they put in two."