Easy As Falling Off A Bike pt 573.

Printer-friendly version
       
Whirring Doglice
(aka Bike)
Part 573
by Angharad
       
Snowflake_300h.jpg

The thunder of tiny feet meant the annual migration of wildebeest across the Serengeti was going via Portsmouth, or Trish and Mima had just woken up. I waited for the kids or the lions which shadow the herds to show up. It turned out to be the kids.

“Mummy, Mummy,” squealed Mima.

“What, Meems?”

“There you are, we thought you’d left us.”

“Why would I do that?”

“You were cwoss.”

“That was a couple of days ago, and I wasn’t cross with you two.”

“We thought we made you cross,” said Trish who was standing behind Mima. Tom sat still and said nothing.

“But I thought we’d sorted all that, I even gave you a present each, remember? The makeup kits?”

“When you weren’t in the bed, we thought you’d gone…”

“We fought you weft us,” they were both crying.

“I came down to have a chat with Gramps, that was all.”

“You’re not going to leave us?”

“Not unless you want me to go. Do you?”

“No, we want you to stay forever, Mummy.”

“Stay wiv us, Mummy, awways.” I got hit by an avalanche of children, who grabbed my waist and legs and held on to them so tightly I was in danger of falling.

“Hey, come on, let’s be sensible about this. Where’s Simon?”

“He was stiww asweep.”

“Wonderful–the lazy toad.”

“He was vewy tiwed,” said Mima in between hiccups.

I thought back to the previous night, after I got into bed and grabbed Simon’s joy-stick, he could have had grounds for being tired, as I did for being a little sore this morning. I smirked, and held the two children to me until they stopped crying.

Tom looked at me holding the kids, shrugged and then getting up said, “I’ll be away in my study, if ye need me.” Then he nipped off while the going was good. Oh well, that’s men for you, show them tears and they become babbling idiots or they shoot off in embarrassment.

I sat the kids at the kitchen table, “Now let’s make sure you both understand. I will not leave you unless you tell me that you want me to go, or that you want to go yourselves. Is that clear?”

They both nodded. “Right, let’s get some breakfast while we’re at it.” I made them both some cereal and then they had a banana and some toast. I had a couple of pieces of toast.

Simon eventually deigned to show up, his wet hair suggesting he’d had a shower. “Where were you when I needed you?” I said huffily.

“I was there last night,” he said winking and yawning, “What have I done now?”

“These two thought I’d left home.”

“Why?”

“Because I wasn’t in bed when they woke up.”

“Oh, I assumed you were downstairs making me some tea, so I was wrong as well.” I felt like throwing something at him, but there’d been enough upset. Tonight if I grab his joy-stick, I shall give it a sharp twist, and see if he can bank to the right or left.

For a change, I had a bath that morning and the girls got in after the water had cooled a bit. They really enjoyed the novelty and giggled much of the time. I washed their hair with the shower and by the time we’d dried ourselves and our hair, and found something suitable to wear, it was nearly time to get lunch.

The girls went out with Simon and Kiki, I got on with a few chores and started the lunch. Just for a change, I made some chips and cooked them in the deep fat fryer. I made some poached eggs and also did some baked beans. Not the most nutritious of meals, but they all tucked in with gusto. Me, I used a knife and fork.

Making sure that Tom would be okay on his own, I took Mima to see Henry–Si had cried off, and agreed to take Trish for a spin in the Jag. She had reminded me that she hadn’t yet had a ride, which played beautifully into Simon’s hands. We would go and see Stella and Puddin’ first, then we’d pop into Henry for a short while. As he’d see his foster granddaughter as well, it seemed a good idea.

Stella was up in the special babycare unit, so we went up to see her there. The nice nurse was on and she let us sit with Stella while she fed dear Desdemona–what a handicap that will be. At last she seemed to be bonding with her baby. After she’d finished she sat down and I went to look at little Puddin’, once again she took my finger and this time she wanted to suck it rather than hold it.

“This baby is still hungry,” I said loudly. The nurse got some more milk and I gave her the bottle. “Her appetite has increased,” I observed.

“Especially when you’re here,” said the nurse quietly, “are you giving her some more of your magic power?”

“Shush, don’t tell everyone.” Once Mima had seen the tiny baby in the incubator, who was less interesting than her dolls, she chatted with Stella, which meant neither were aware of me touching the baby and giving her a quick recharge.

Puddin’ gave an almighty burp, and I said to the nurse, “She’s had enough, she’s coming to the boil.” The nurse nearly collapsed laughing.

“I hope you two aren’t laughing at my baby?” said Stella.

“Stella, I wouldn’t dream of it, were just laughing at the burp, which seemed to travel up from her toes.”

“Oh, all right then, I’ll let you off.”

“Talking of off, we have to go and see Henry.”

“Where’s he, at the hotel?”

“Didn’t anyone tell you, he crashed on his way to see you the night the baby was born, he broke both his legs, he’s on orthopaedics.”

“Oh my God, I have to go and see him.”

“I thought Simon had told you?”

“No, neither did you, ha, some family you lot are.”

“Simon and I were the only two not in hospital, Tom was in, you were in and so was Henry. Anyway, I have to go and change his pyjamas.”

“What, they let you undress him?” Stella gasped.

“No, don’t be silly–I take his dirty ones and leave him a clean pair in his locker, same as I do with you.”

“Where’s my step-mother?”

“She was in France, until today or yesterday.”

“Typical, bloody typical.”

“Stella, it was Simon’s idea to tell her to finish up what she was doing.”

“Or who she was doing–remember, you’ve met her–she’s fixed in the middle and swings in both directions.”

“Remember, the human tape recorder is here,” I said, nodding in the direction of Mima.

“Oh yeah, I completely forgot.”

“We’d better go.” We all kissed Stella goodbye and Meems also kissed the nurse. She loves kissing, she’s like a bloody catfish.

The stop at Henry’s bedside was short, Meems was beginning to get bored and tired. Thankfully he understood, and besides there was some film on TV he wanted to watch. So I did the linen change and we went home to more chores.

Sometimes I see why women wanted to change their lives away from the drudgery of the house. It can be rather soul destroying and I suspect even looking after children can be a mite tedious day after day. No wonder Stella was thinking of dumping that in my lap. However, as I have a bit more experience in the matter, there is no way I’ll let her do it. I’ll help, but it’s her baby an she will be the primary carer.

“I’m gonna pway wiv my makeup.”

“Are you, sweetheart, I’d do it after tea, if I were you. Play with your dollies first, maybe you could bath them?” As soon as I said it, I knew it was a mistake.

“We don’t have a doll’s baff.”

“No, do it in the washbasin in the bathroom, that’ll do just the same.” I was saved by the bell, I just hope she didn’t flood the place.

05Dolce_Red_l_0.jpg

up
164 users have voted.
If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos! Click the "Thumbs Up!" button above to leave a Kudos

Comments

One of the highlights

of my day: EAFOAB. I just have to read it, and my day's well.

Yes, I have a sad and drudging life. Woe me.

Jo-Anne

Hope your bum's getting better.

EASY AS PUTTING A FINGER IN A DIKE

WHIRRING DOGLICE??????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Are we entering another dimension via the microscopic?
I do like how you twist the story and it just makes me want more.
Onward through the fog...........
'Sika

That's some quick thinking....

But, I wonder if the bathroom will ever be the same. :-)

Glad cathy got to feed little puddin. I wonder if the special Henry was wanting to see, happened to be the one staring Cathy... That'd be a laugh.

Thanks,
Annette

Simon's Joystick

Oh my! I wonder if Mima got to handle it to change gears while she rode in Simon's toy. And shame on you for thinking naughty thoughts. ;)
May Your Light Forever Shine

    Stanman
May Your Light Forever Shine

I hope not.

It's really not safe to have one person operating the clutch, while another moves the stick. These kids are not very "confident" about their position (with good reason). Hearing the gears gash is something that would probably cause panic in a child. That said, Trish was the kid in the car with Simon in today's episode. Mima went to see Puddin, Stella and Grandpa Henry.

Sorry, Stan

I'm not sure your joke works. The gearshift in a car is often referred to as a "stick", but not commonly a "joystick". If Simon's car was an airplane (or a game console), that would be different. (And if it was a helicopter, it'd be a "cyclic.")

Alas, my first thoughts on reading your "joke," were simply not kind to the writer of it.

Abandoning...

I just took a look in to see if the new EAFOAB was up (it wasn't) but re-read the first bit of this episode again. The idea of little kids whose first thought, on finding a parent not in bed, is that they've been abandoned is so utterly tragic that it brought tears to my eyes. Thinking about it, it's already happened to Jemima, and as far as we can tell, to Patricia as well :( Ah well, this is just fiction... but I was talking to my sister yesterday, and she mentioned someone she'd been talking to in the US who'd come home at the age of 16, to find her two younger siblings sat on the doorstep, and her parents both gone, so it really happens. They'd ended up living in a car for a while, but were in New Orleans. She doesn't know how they are since Catrina...

Some people have tragic lives, and good writing can help put you in places you'd never encounter in real life, And yours _is_good writing Angharad (or is it Bonzi?). I've not commented much along the way here, but thanks for writing it!

Cathy

Cathy made jokes about it quite a few chapters back. NOT something you do with two insecure kids. Cathy should understand, as she has a bank full of similar buttons, something about not being a real woman.

So that's what that noise was ? Can cats get them ?

Cathy, little ears are even more sensitive then yours. Those two are in Terror of going back where the came from, and Mima hasn't got that !
Apparently, Cath knows how to fly. Here's a shrink question " If Simon were a plane, what kind would he be ?"
My guess, a Beechcraft BONANZA !

Cefin