“Clara? What… What are you doing here?”

“Doh! Looking, for you silly.”

I was suddenly lost for words. All the things I’d planned to say when we met again went down the drain in a flash.

“Cat got your tongue?”

I was surprised to see Carla and yes, I was utterly stumped for words. I tried to say something but although my mouth moved, no sound came out.

She grinned back at me. Oh, the irony.

“You were right in what you said when we were last together even though I didn’t think that it was right at the time. However, upon reflection, I concluded that I needed to get my head straight after all that kerfuffle with my job and then you go and tell me that you love me. Boy, was I in a mess! At the time, I hated you giving me the elbow but after a few days, it became pretty clear that we both needed some space or... at least from where I sat.”

“I… I’m so sorry. I know that I put you on the spot when you needed more of an arm around your shoulders.”

“Sorry? You don’t have to be sorry for anything.”

“But…? How did you find me here today?”

Carla smiled back at me.
“Evan told me. I spent a lot of time speaking to him about a lot of things that always ended up coming back to you. Being a somewhat poor image of what a lawyer should be, I wanted to know what my chances were about getting another job with a law firm. What he told me was not good. Those bastards had made a formal complaint about my conduct with the Law Society. Thanks to Evan, we soon put that straight but it is there for everyone to see. Thankfully, their NDA was worth less than the paper it was written on thanks to you so we were able to add an outline of what happened to my record. But the net result of talking with Evan was that outside of working for a Charity, my career such as it was in the law is over unless I go it alone or with a small local practice and have to be satisfied with doing boring stuff such as conveyancing and the odd divorce. That is not my thing and never has been so here I am, an out of work lawyer hoping that there is still a place for me in your life.”

“I’m sorry to hear that you had to pretty well throw away all that training. You were a good lawyer.”

"Thanks, but at the moment, it appears that the law and I have gone in separate directions.”

“Why are you here today? The real reason please?”

"Because of what you said to me. I never thought that I'd be attracted to someone like you but I am. If anyone had ever said to me that I had feelings, no, make that, very deep feelings for another woman before we got together, I would have laughed at them."

I began to understand what Carla was getting at. She’d never been far from my thoughts since we broke up.

“I could not stop thinking about you so I wheedled it out of Evan when and where Melody and Heidi were getting married and here I am. To be honest, I don’t think he tried all that hard to not tell me. I watched the happy couple leave for their weekend away. They do look the real deal by the way. The way that you and Evan handled her father and that toerag Josh was a thing of beauty.”

“You were there?”

“I was listening from the bottom of the stairs. I was ready to come to your rescue with a camera if needed. I wasn’t so I left you all too it. When you left, I thought that you were going to come back to your hotel so I waited here but you didn’t show up until now.”

“I went for a walk down the canal to the river. I was just starting to think about getting something to eat.”

“What do you suggest?” asked Clara.

“I was thinking of getting some Fish and Chips and going back to the Canal. Did you have something else in mind?”

“Nah. Fish and Chips are fine by me.”

---

We bought our food and headed back towards the canal. There were some bench seats positioned along the canal sidewalk. We found one that was still in the early evening Sun and sat down.

“As I said, I’m done with the law, at least for the time being,” began Clara.

"While I was thinking, I started writing. I told you that I had some ideas. As I wrote, I began to think about what I could do or rather what I should do. I concluded that I needed to break with conformity and that living on a narrowboat with you was well outside the box."

I stuffed another chip into my mouth and grinned.
“Yep. That is very much the same decision I came to and what led to me buying Roxy.”

“Roxy is a bit of a problem though,” said Clara.

“What do you mean?”

“It isn’t big enough for both of us to live and work.”

She had a point. It had been just about ok with Melody but nowhere near big enough for me to do my painting and for Clara to have an office or any decent space to work.

“Are you saying that we need another Roxy?”

She nodded her head as she chewed on some chips.

“One to live on, and one to work on. I saw a Dutch barge like that down on the Medway.”

“Those barges are a heck of a lot bigger than Roxy. Remember that there is a length as well as a width limit to narrowboats otherwise, they won’t fit into some locks.”

"I know that. There was something that I saw when I was out on the Medway with my Dad stuck in my mind. There was an industrial unit in Chatham that had a Dutch barge inside. It was being refurbished. I remember one canal-side boatyard we passed and everything was being done outside. Doing it inside a building meant that rain does not stop work."

“Hole on a moment. Aren’t we getting ahead of ourselves a bit? You know how I feel about you. What about you?”

Carla went rather red in the face.
“I’m sorry. That is a bit of a habit of mine, trying to run before I can even crawl. My tutor at University called it ‘Thinking about your closing argument before you have delivered the opening statement’.

I smiled back at her. I understood what she meant.

Carla stopped eating and screwed up the tray and wrapping paper that our meal had come in.

"I'd very much like to try being a couple if you are still willing that is. I'm sorry for rushing ahead with things when I was here before. At least you have a good idea of my other side but I think we can make a good couple."

Then she reached over and took my hand.

“Once I’d gotten over dealing with my former bosses and I’d begun to think about what I wanted to do next. Everything I could think of involved you and Roxy. Am I hoping for too much? Talking with Evan only reinforced that point.”
She chuckled for a moment.

“Do you know what his parting words were?”

I shook my head.

“Evan said, ‘go an tell her what you think and what you want. Savannah does not like secrets. Lay it all out and work on the issues. Those were good words. You are lucky to have such a good friend.”

“I missed you. I missed you a lot. There I’ve said it.”

“But you are afraid that I’ll leg it again? Like those people who took the barges through the canal tunnels when they were hauled by horses?”

Carla had at least remembered some of the histories of the canals that we'd been along together.

"Then we can try it out but there isn't much room for your legal books and all that," I said remembering the inside of Evan's office.

Carla laughed.
“That can wait….”

I could tell that there was something else that she wanted to say.

“Remember that I said that I wanted to write?”

“I do. That was among several other things that you suggested.”

"In my final year at school, I started to write a novel. I thought that what I'd written was long gone. It was all stored on a floppy disk for one thing but the day after I told my Mum that I was trying to think of something else to do, a USB stick appeared on top of my laptop. Everything I'd ever written including my novel was on it."

“And you are going to pick it up and finish it?”

Carla shook her head.
“I read it and laughed. It was so… full of teenage angst. But… I started thinking and I had this idea and… well… I’ve written the first four chapters of a murder mystery that is set in Edwardian times on a canal in the North of England.”

I laughed.

"It is all thanks to you. I did take in most of what you told me about the history of the canals. That's why you would be the ideal person to paint the picture for the front cover.”

I was growing into the idea.
“And all my other novels. I have ideas for at least six. In the short term, I can work using the table in the saloon. Doing anything related to the Law will have to wait until I’ve written my first book and published it. Dad has this friend. As in that he has the next allotment to his. Anyway, this friend writes books about walking old railway lines and Roman roads. He publishes them himself. He took me all through how he did it."

I smiled back at her.
“So, all I’m needed for is to drive Roxy and paint the front covers of your masterpieces then?”

“Well, a lot more besides. You have not mentioned my passion for dressing up?”

I’d sort of pushed that to the back of my mind in recent weeks.

“You do seem to like it don’t you?”

“But you don’t?”

“It isn’t that. It is just going to take some getting used to. You are going to have to give me some time to get used to the other you. I’m sure that in time it will grow on me so keep on surprising me and who knows what will happen eh?”

“That will have to wait until we are married won’t it?”

I was about to say something witty but her words made me speechless. My mouth and brain became totally disconnected.

“Say something before you drown,” suggested Carla.

“Yes.”

"Yes, what?"

“Yes Carla, I will try to be the best wife you could ever want.”

“Life together on the cut will be so much fun!”

Then we kissed. For a long time.

---

“What do we do now?” asked Clara when we broke apart.

“I don’t know,” I responded.

“What were you going to do next… Before I came back into your life?”

I smiled.
“That’s easy. I was going to go back to Preston and take Roxy to the top of the Lancaster Canal then I was going to travel along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal to Leeds. From what I've read, I should get there in time for my Brother's Trial. After that? Back south I suppose."

Carla thought for a moment. Then she asked,
“Do you think that you will have to give evidence?”

“As far as I know I won’t but if I am wanted then I’ll be close by. I’ll check with the Police about a week or so before the trial is scheduled to begin.”

“We can do it together if you would like me too?”

“Are you sure about this?”

“I am. Once that is over, I can come south and put my home on the market. We…”

“Hold it right there. Do you have to sell up right away? What if we don’t work out?”

Carla grinned back at me.
“Then I’ll go home to my parents with my tail between my legs a bit older, a bit wiser and with some money in the bank.”

“You sound very confident that we can make a go of it?”

Carla laughed.
“We won’t know until we try, will we?”

I didn’t know what to say.

“Cat got your tongue?”

“To be honest, I’m stunned.”

"Good. I spent a lot of time thinking about how to tell you what I just did. In the end, being direct and to the point, and certainly, no waffle was the best approach just as Evan had predicted. It was clear from our previous time together; you don't like bullshitters. Evan was also very clear on that but I’d already worked that out for myself. The problems you have had with your brother is probably the main reason for that. So here I am. Do you want to try or not?”

“I do. I do very much.”

Carla smiled.
“I sense a ‘but’ coming?”

I nodded my head.

“There is the little matter of Parents. I’ll have to face my father once the trial is over. Clear the air and if possible, get him to sell his businesses. He has more than enough money to live a decent life. At least with him pretty well confined to his home, I’ll have plenty of time to work out what to say to him when we meet.”

I managed a small smile before continuing.
“Then there are your parents. I’ve seen enough families go through the wringer when one of their children does something totally off the wall. Many simply fall apart. If they imaging their children growing up and having a family and living a conventional life and they do just the opposite, come out as gay or lesbian and start living off the grid, it can come as a total culture shock to a family. Do you get what I’m trying to say?”

Carla nodded her head.
“I guess that you want to meet my folks sooner rather than later?”

“If you are comfortable with it then yes. If there is going to be a problem then I’d rather it was out in the open early on.”

Carla smiled at me. Then she gave me a big kiss.

“They already know about you. Dad has this sixth sense and he persisted until I told him about you. I said that you lived on a narrowboat. He replied ‘so what’. Then I said that you were transgender and were now living as a woman. That rattled him for a bit but after a bit, he said, 'you had better let me tell your mother'."

“He’s ok, with me then?”

“Yes, he is. Mum is reserving judgement until we meet.”

“It sounds like you had everything sorted before you came here?”

“If Mum says no then Dad won’t argue with her. Fact of life in our family I’m afraid. The women rule the roost.”

“Apart from you then?”

Carla grinned.
“My legal training made me look at both sides of the argument. I knew that there was unfinished business with your father and… well, I knew that my parents would worry so it was also best to come clean while I was with them.”

“What about your sister Kassie?”

The smile that was on Carla’s face disappeared.
“I’m afraid, she is a lost cause. Four years ago, she moved to Texas to get her Masters and has since married an oilman. If that wasn’t bad enough, she's become a big Trump supporter which is surprising as she was quite left-wing when she was at university here. To her mind now, people like you are beyond redemption. Mum and Dad are saddened at how right-wing she's become. I guess that her husband Pete is to blame. The oil industry is in a bind. They are under attack from all sides. Much like coal mining here was until it all closed down. We are all commie socialists according to her. As Dad is a Tory Councillor, he’s a bit miffed so they've stopped speaking to her these days.”

“It sounds like Kassie has divorced herself from your family in favour of her new one?”

“That’s what Mum has reluctantly come to accept.”

“Where are you staying tonight or do you have to go home?” I asked in an attempt to change the subject.

Carla looked at me with sad eyes.

“You can stay the night with me if you like but I’m going to be leaving early tomorrow.”

“How early is early?”

“My train to Manchester leaves just after eight. I’ll change at Wolverhampton and get a service that stops at only Crewe, Wigan and Preston.”

“That’s fine. I’ll go the home other way and travel via Euston.”

I stood up holding her hand. She followed with a smile.

There was so much that I wanted to talk to her about but it could wait.

[Two months Later, Leeds]

“The jury is coming back,” announced the Clerk to the throng of people waiting outside the courtroom.

The judge had sent them out to consider their verdict just after ten that morning. It was now almost three in the afternoon. The waiting was almost over. I felt a few butterflies start to rampage in my stomach.

Carla squeezed my hand as we walked into the court. We had grown a lot closer since we’d met up again in Oxford. Thankfully, neither of us were called upon to give evidence. I’d been very relieved to hear that we were not on the list of potential witnesses. That allowed us to sit in the public gallery every day. At the weekends, we took the train up to places like Ribblehead and Appleby and explored the magnificent countryside. I’d even done some sketching while Clara wrote more of her masterpiece. It was like one big honeymoon that was enhanced by the beautiful weather.

It was a total contrast to the dark deeds that were being brought to light in the Crown Court. The labyrinthine network of criminality that my brother was involved in made me feel ashamed that he was flesh and blood to me. It was as if we were from two different families.

Roxy had been moored at Skipton at the start of the trial and we’d gradually moved her closer to Leeds every few days. Clara had become very good at piloting her through the locks even the mega locks in the Bingley Flight.

Back in court, I could see reporters from the various TV and Media companies eagerly waiting for the conclusion of the trial. It would take a while just for it the verdict to be read out because there were thirty-seven different charges against my Brother and more than twenty against his main accomplice.

After the first six guilty verdicts, I sort of tuned out of the rest until the last but one. That was the only not-guilty verdict of the whole lot. That charge interested me as it was related to the directorships of my families companies.

Carla saw the look of concern on my face just as the Judge adjourned the proceedings until the following day when he’d announce the sentence he’d receive.

“Don’t worry my darling, he’s going down for a long time.”

“I know but…”

“You’d have preferred for him to be guilty of all charges and…”

“He gets off on the one that affects me?”

Carla smiled.
“Yes, but it was clear that the Police knew that they had enough evidence to convict him that I think that they decided to not do a full investigation into that charge. Does it matter? Didn’t the D.I say that the City of London Police will be charging him with several breaches of the Companies Act and that they’ll push for any sentence to be added on to the one he will receive tomorrow?”

“He did but I would have loved for our sakes, to have it all wrapped up in one go.”

“Well, it wasn’t and there is nothing we can do with it so there is no use worrying about it.”

---

[the following day]

The delivery of the sentence to my dear brother David was something of an anti-climax after all the tension of the court case. The judge called the court to order and began to deliver the sentence.

“David John Middleton, you have been found guilty of many different crimes in this court. Some are serious, some not and some are very serious. Using the latest Home Office sentencing guidelines, I sentence you to a total of sixteen years in custody. I’m also adding a recommendation that you spend at least twelve years before becoming eligible for parole. Normally, you would be eligible for parole after eight years but the heinous nature of those crimes for which you have been found guilty adds an extra four years to your recommended sentence.”

He paused for a second.
“Take him down!”
“Court adjourned.”

He banged his gavel and that was it.
David was led away by two burly officers.

Carla gripped my hand tight ad David was led away. Her presence stopped me from reacting and giving him some well-chosen verbal abuse.

“It is over now. He’s not going to like where he is going. He is only interested in himself and as his sidekick testified, he uses people and then discards them when they are no longer useful.”

I squeezed her hand. It was over… for now.

---

We returned to our hotel where we'd stayed for the previous two nights as part of my and now our periodic break from the confines of Roxy and her water limitations.

As we walked through the Reception, the clerk at the desk called out,
“Ms Hall, a message was left for you earlier.”

A sense of foreboding swept through my whole body. We’d told no one other than the Police where we were staying. We must have been followed from court these past few days.

I took the note from the clerk.
“Thanks. How long ago was this left for me?”

The clerk looked at the clock on the wall.
“Less than twenty minutes ago.”

That told me exactly what I wanted to know.

“Who is the note from?” asked Clara as we stood waiting for a lift.

“It can only be from my Father. My first guess is that we or rather I have been summoned."

“Summoned? What for and where?”

I opened the envelope. My suspicions were correct in that the note was from my father.
"I have no idea what he wants but I'd like to think that it is time for him to say sorry to me but knowing him, and David is just like him in that respect he will never ever admit that he was wrong with anything. As you discovered, David could never do anything wrong in his eyes. As to where he wants to meet in Harrogate."

“Why Harrogate?”

“I can only thing that it is because we once stayed in the town for a weekend when I was a child. Mum took advantage of the spa at the Hotel while Dad took David and me to the Railway Museum in York. I remember it because, for once, David didn't try to wreak havoc and blame me for it. I found out later that Dad proposed to Mum in Harrogate.”

“So, a bit of a sentimental reason for him then?”

“Yeah.”

“When is our presence requested?”

“Tomorrow for afternoon tea.”

“How will we get there?”

“We can take the slow train from here in Leeds.”

Clara thought for a few moments. Then she smiled.

“If it is for afternoon tea then I think we should dress accordingly.”

I grinned back at Clara.
“Want to make a good impression on my father then?”

“Partially. Don’t you want the chance to show off the new you to your father?”

“If you think that I’m going to shake my titties at him then you have another thing coming.”

Clara almost doubled up in laughter.

“I… I wasn’t suggesting that. Smart but not provocative.”

I thought for a moment before replying.

“I think getting our hair, lashes and nails done would be sufficient.”

Clara shook her head.
“If you think I’m not going to be shaking my titties at your father then you have to think again,” she said echoing my own words.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it but let’s face it my darling, we could both do with a trip to the hairdressers and while we were there, why not treat ourselves a little bit?”

Carla thought for a few seconds before answering.
"Ok, but please get this straight from the outset… The only person I would really dress up for is you. Go it?”

I smiled back at her.
“Perfectly my dear perfectly.”

[To be continued]