Bikini Beach to the moon part 4

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To the moon part 4

Roberta after the many years of looking after her husband and child was a light sleeper so she was awake on hearing the muted commotion from where Victor was sleeping. She stepped lightly into the room and placed a gentle hand on the tormented man's shoulder and let her presence be felt. The muffled, muted comments eased off and he slipped into an easier sleep. The one thing Roberta noticed was as Victor had been moving his legs in his dreams and she wondered if the spinal damage was only temporary. With that thought she settled on the easy chair she had placed in the room for nights like this. She watched as he continued to relax into a deeper sleep and she settled for a long night..... Now the tale continues.

As the new day dawned Victor was feeling the night was far from restful and for some reason the images were stuck in his head. He could not remember any of his siblings being treated in the way he had seen in his dreams. The General his father had been rather a sensitive man and his mother caring also. His sister and older brother had followed his mother into the health profession but not in the American industrial medicine. With those thoughts he wondered if they were still doing well with the charities they worked for in Africa and the middle east. The images played on his mind as he pulled himself out of the bed and into the wheelchair.

Roberta started when she heard movement and opened her eyes to see her long term house guest pulling himself over to the wheelchair. There was no self consciousness in the fact he was wearing one of the nightgowns from his supply in front of his neighbour. She watched his mannerisms and to her it appeared he was more a girl than he realised. She mused on the fact his legs had been moving in the night and she watched closely and as he settled into the wheelchair stood up and walked over to lay a hand on victors knee gently.

Victor was slightly shocked by the actions of Roberta and then frowned. He had been told that his legs would not have any strong sensations but for some reason when he looked away he still felt the soft hand there. He knew little on paraplegia but to him any spinal damage was always permanent and would resign people to disability for life. He did not think that he would last if he could never walk again. With that thought the depression was starting to overwhelm him as he turned his chair to head towards the kitchen. His mood was lifted when his gaze swung to the other door of the kitchen and Jacqueline was stood there.

The teenager looked as though she needed a huge dose of caffeine or a strong hug. The look made Victor chuckle to himself as he rolled towards the coffee machine. Jacqueline smiled blearily waved a hand in greeting and sat at the kitchen table. There was one thing Victor thought was always the same teenagers were never really morning people. Roberta had known that fact for a few years and smiled at her daughter. Like her mother the first thing she really wanted was a strong coffee. Victor saw her heading for the coffee machine and frowned, he was not a fan of young people drinking coffee. Roberta was setting up the coffee pot and was surprised when Victor went to the small ceramic teapot next to it.

“Too much coffee is not good for a developing brain.” He stated.

Jacqueline Frowned and wondered what was going on and felt that the new house mate was trying to take too much control. Just then there came the sound of someone knocking gently on the front door and Roberta worrying motioned for Victor and Jacqueline to remain in the kitchen. She answered the door and was surprised to see the woman from the hospital standing there looking as though it took a lot of courage for her to be there. She could almost feel the fear radiating from the woman as she stood there.

Roberta stood her ground and waited for the woman to say what was on her mind, as she stood there she noticed that there was something out of place in the way the woman was dressed. There were signs that she had dressed in a hurry and without much thought on how she looked. It also looked as though she had spent a few days crying. This caused Roberta's heart to open a little bit and she motioned for the woman to enter in front of her. Jacqueline watched as her mother escorted the woman into the house and towards the lounge and Victor wheeled his chair through following slowly. The woman sat on the sofa looking from Victor to Roberta and then to Jacqueline as the three watched her closely.

“What can I do for you ?” Victor asked his voice emotionless.

“Victor you have every reason to hate me for how I behaved towards you.” Vivian replied softly.

“I just could not understand why you were driven to do what you do and then pastor Travis preached against those poor boys in the next street, the ones who were living together as two girls.”

“Tanner Travis has forgotten he is supposed to represent G-D's love to the world not launch a lynching party,” Victor growled, “ So what's made him fall off his perch with you Vivian?”

“Victor it was disgusting, he read out the article on your accident and then told the congregation that those poor children that were living as abominations to G-D would use so called acts of heroism to attack our children.”

Roberta listened on in horror as the woman continued to describe what had happened to the two residents as what could only be described as a mob descended on them. Jacqueline also listened in horror as the events were recounted as they were told about how the two young people were dragged out of their house and attacked. Victor could not help but let his emotions show as he had before his splitting with the church befriended the two young people in question. Roberta saw the pain in Victor's eyes and the fear in his ex wife's, she could see she still had feelings for him but also wondered where his dressing would lead.

Jacqueline looked at the adults and was slightly confused at the way they were behaving. She was not a sheltered child and knew attacks happened to people that were different from others nearly every day. What she could not understand is why her mother and Mr Victor acting as though the attacks were personal against them. Vivian was almost in tears as she looked at her ex husband and at that time appeared very vulnerable and lost. Victor looked at her and could see the pain and loss was very real within her. His heart began to melt and he could see the woman he loved in her eyes again not the harridan that the church and that man had made her. He wheeled over and leant forward and placed a gentle hand on his ex wife's knee, she was taken aback by the gesture and smiled wanly.

The hours progressed and Jacqueline headed for school and the three adults continued to talk mainly Victor and Vivian getting to know each other again. Around lunch time there was another knock on the door and Roberta opened it to find Anya and her Grandmother standing there. The two women smiled as they were invited in and settled on another sofa. They watched Victor with Vivian and how they were acting and Grandmother nodded and smiled.

As the conversation continued to flow Victor stopped talking mid sentence and his eyes became distant as if he was looking at something in the distance. In his head Victor was surprised when his awareness of the room disappeared to be replaced with the lounge of another home. His point of view was looking up at what appeared to be a giant of a woman, she was shouting something but he could not hear the words and he felt his body twitch in fear. The woman's shouting stopped and she knelt down and hugged the body Victor was residing in.

He realised that the woman had not been shouting at him but at someone else, and the reason why the words seemed unrecognisable was that he was the size of a very young preschooler. Another giant entered his vision and Victor was surprised to see it was Tanner Travis, what really rocked his mind was how Mr Travis was dressed. Denim Skirt, white cotton blouse, panty hose and what looked like high heeled boots. His face was also covered in make up all be it a bit too heavy for a woman and it gave him a comical appearance. After that little revelation whom ever was taking Victor on his little jaunts released him back to his body.

He came back to the room hearing Grandmother seeming to ask him a question and he blinked to get back on track.

“Victor please pay attention this is both important to you and your wife and the family that cares about you.” Grandmother said softly yet firmly and Anya smiled.

“I'm sorry Grandmother my mind seemed to of taken a journey, I must be more tired than I thought”. Victor replied chagrin in his voice. Vivian laughed softly knowing that tone all to well from her ex husband.

“Victor I really must know your Real name” Grandmother stressed the word real in the sentence. Victor heard it and blushed and looked at his ex wife then down at his knees and was surprised to see they were moving slightly and he could feel it. His mind then snapped back to what had been said and the heat seemed to build up around him.

“it's vi...vi...Victoria” The reply was in a cadence and softness of a young teenage girl yet to gain confidence in herself.

Vivian gasped hearing the name for the first time and the change that seemed to overcome Victor. Instead of the middle aged man in a wheel chair if she concentrated on the voice her minds eye saw a girl of around 13 just blossoming. The final stone in her heart melted and she leaned across and embraced the body in the wheel chair very much like a mother would her daughter. Grandmother saw this and smiled that smile of hers and knew a decision would have to be made. Anya saw her expression and knew that her Grandmother would be meddling again.

Vivian seemed to fall naturally into the role of a mother talking to her daughter and Anya wondered if Grandmother was doing some magic away from the park. She could see from her face that Grandmother was not actually meddling at that point. Vivian was getting Victoria to talk about herself and how she felt. The mannerisms coming from the body that housed the teenage girl were fully natural. The more she talked the more those around her could see that Victor was actually more like a shell that the child had used to be able to live for some parts.

Victoria was getting tired of being in the wheelchair and the way the grown-ups were almost grilling her. Roberta noticed the body language and motioned for the rest to ease up a bit and she wheeled the chair into converted dining room. Letting her friend rest Roberta returned to the lounge with a fresh pot of coffee and settled down her eyebrow raised as she waited for her visitors to speak. There was no conversation for a while as they just sat drinking coffee. Grandmother was the first to clear her throat as if she was going to say something.

Before the older woman could say anything Vivian held up her hand to forestall any comments. Her face was lined in concern and love for the man that she had married then divorced. There was also a feeling of protectiveness towards the personality that had emerged in him. They had never really managed to bond with the children they had during their marriage and over time it had been better to have them adopted. More so with Victor's work and the fact that for the early part of his career they had travelled from base to base. The NASA posting was a chance for the both of them to settle into something close to normality. When Victor had retired she had looked for something meaningful and had drifted to the church. Victor spent more time cross dressed and looking after the home and she had felt as though she had lost her husband.

Grandmother read Vivian's emotions on her face and at the surface of her mind. She was tempted to make a comment but a look from Anna stopped her. The two witches were considering what the meaning was of the fact that Victor had Victoria as a passenger for all these years. Yes to the two of them Victoria was a passenger not an extension of his personality. They exchanged glances and they then looked at Roberta but she was consumed with concern for her new friend. They both sat there with their coffee and they both let their senses stretch outward. Between the two of them, they tried to sense if something was possibly creating changes to reality but they could not feel any changes.

Time passed and the three others finished their coffee and made their excuses. Vivian slipped into her car and stared out of the windscreen and wondered why those two other women were involved in Victor's life. Neither of them had given an explanation apart from owning some water park or other where Victor had saved the child's life. That side of things seemed to make little sense to her and also this sudden emergence of what appeared to be some form of psychiatric disorder. There was also the change in her feelings and the re emergence of her love. It was not the love of a wife for a husband but that of a mother for her daughter.

Whilst all this was going on Jacqueline was fighting her way through her school day. There were the usual trial and tribulations that a young woman faced. The sharks of the cheer leading squad were doing their usual popular or not routine's and three of them giggled when she walked past. She shook her head and then turned to say something but her gave fell on a flier on the school noticeboard.

Flight School Pre Launch Training
The Presidential programme for sciences

We are inviting interested students that are looking for a career in space exploration and science. To attend a conference and briefing this Saturday at 10:00 AM. Subjects to be covered during the conference are the career paths and subjects needed.

Also sign ups for the junior flight officer programme will be taken as well as interviews.

Jacqueline could not believe what she was reading. Here was her ticket to her dream and her passport to working in the space exploration program. She controlled herself and knowing if she showed signs of being interested the queen bee's that were gathered round would use it against her. The head cheer leader looked at the rather nerdish looking girl and smiled gently, Samantha Coles was not the usual queen bee and encouraged the girls on the cheer squad to be the same. She had only taken the captaincy the last month and changes had been slow but the other girls were realising they got a lot more for the school with honey instead of vinegar.

“Hey if the NASA boffin' s are here girls we should welcome them to the area properly” Samantha said in her soft southern drawl. The other girls agreed and Samantha looked at the girl studying the poster and draped an arm over her shoulder. Jacqueline tensed slightly at the gesture but Samantha's smile was disarming. She lead her away from the group to a quiet corner and Jacqueline tensed up again. Samantha shook her head slightly and leaned down to whisper to the smaller girl.
“It would be super cool if one of the girls from this school got on the program.” She then let her arm slip from the smaller girls shoulders and walked away with a nod and a smile.

Later that day in the corridors one of the school bullies was slowly vectoring in on the geek crowd. Jacqueline was part of the group that was being targeted. This boy did not care if his targets were male or female he just wanted to mark his status. Just as he started to move forward to try and push his way through the small group four of the cheerleaders stood in his way. They shook their heads but he did not take the hint and tried to move around them. The four girls moved as one and the geeks were surprised at what was happening. Instead of becoming targets of the most popular group of girls at the school they were being protected.

This behaviour was noticed by the girls Phys Ed tutor and she smiled as there was a change going on in the school. There was the usual cliques but the new girl Samantha was changing things, she was encouraging the cheerleaders to be more protective to others and not be the usual queen bee's. There was something about how the girl created a positive force. As she continued down the hall Samantha was quickly going over some ideas for welcoming NASA to the school district. The girls were putting their hearts into it and started talking about getting the band and the football team involved. The group that the girls had protected moved on and chatted about the NASA presentation.

End of part 4

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Comments

Nice

To see part 4 of this story. Hopefully it won't be such a long hiatus before we see more.

Joanna

part 5

yes part five is coming as i am sat writing and editing it this week, I have to apologise for the length of time it has taken. I have had some battles over time and now only just coming back into balance and listening to the sister of Prue's moose that whispered many years ago in my ears. Also there will be a late xmas story from my hands in the next few weeks. I have to thank you all for your patience and understanding but Allie Cat is back

to hug is to be and to be is to be hugged

view the world through the eyes of a child and relearn the wonder and love

Allie elle loved and cared for and resident of the kids camp full time

Nice and interesting

Jamie Lee's picture

It seems about parking for those with an agenda to twist fact to suit their purpose.

Saving the child kept Victor from doing something permanent with his life. It also put him in a position to stop pretending to be Victor. And be accepted for it.

I hope the next chapter(s) delve into the lives of the other characters. And if Victoria regains the ability to walk, as it seems she might.

Others have feelings too.

please finish

BIKINI BEACH TO THE MOON

Another unfinished let down

I was very excited when I found this BB story I hadn't read. Now I'm bummed at an unfinished story

Happy