The Weekly Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 3295 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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Tom had returned to his lair, still carrying my Guardian but I had bigger things to worry about, lunch for one and then building bridges back with Danielle. I t can take lifetimes to construct them and a second to bring them crashing down. Simon would be in later, perhaps he may be able to help, at least he has more idea about the legal elements of signing contracts and not fulfilling them, which could be the case if Danielle doesn't sort out her problem with Reading football club. If she were a year or so older she could drive herself there and back although I'd be worried the whole time she was travelling, it's not the easiest journey and half the drivers in the UK are blind and the other half are brain dead with visual problems.

Trish appeared with a sheet of paper as I laid the cutlery for lunch, "I've got the answer for Danielle's commute to Reading," she said smiling. She probably had as much idea as I did, so I stopped to listen.

"Yeah, we build this giant catapult..."

"Trish I've got better things to think about," I said dismissing her.

"So the giant cannon is out too then?"

"Trish, go and..." I bit my tongue, I'd upset one of my brood already and I didn't need another mini crisis to deal with, I've got enough grey hairs as it is. "Go and tell the others to wash their paws for lunch.

"Okay," she shrugged smirking, "She didn't like my idea," I heard announced to the rest of them in the dining room - we were eating in the kitchen - "Good job I didn't tell her about the jet pack, I'm sure I could build it with some help from a welder..." I stopped listening, it was giving me a headache.

"Did you find her?" asked David as the egg and potato mixture sizzled in the frying pan.

I sniffed the delicious odours, I love eggs in almost any form except raw or curried. "Yes, she's gone off with some boy who works in the sports shop."

"Oh, is he okay?"

"He seemed respectful if a bit scruffy, rides a motor bike but is at university somewhere, so hopefully it's a seasonal romance and will be self-limiting."

"When do they go back, the universities, I mean?"

"October usually with some first years coming a week or so early. Some start in September but it's entirely up to each university. Oxford and Cambridge only seem to be there about three weeks a term, we do thirty weeks for the whole year."

"Isn't that about the same as dormice, don't they hibernate for four or five months?"

"I'd never thought about that, David, but you're right, students are the same as dormice, except some of the former hibernate during term time as well." He laughed and told me the omelettes were done and I called the rest of the tribe to eat. It wasn't quite a chimp's tea party but not far off and I wished Simon were here to make them behave, Trish and the older girls were being especially pestilent and unkind to Danielle in her absence but I gave up trying to stop the silliness as it was making things worse.

In the end, I finished my lunch, thanked David, told Trish to clear the table and put the dishes in the washer and retreated to my study and shut the door with a bang. They would all know that I didn't want any intrusion by silly schoolgirls except for something very important.

I called up the rail enquiry website and discovered that using rail services would not be feasible and was also likely to cost over sixty pounds for the return trip, besides I wouldn't really want her sitting on a train coming back after eight o'clock, they carry all sorts of people many who will have spent the equivalent of their ticket on booze and are likely to make themselves a nuisance to a pretty young woman. Then I had another thought and went and spoke to David who was just finishing his preparation for the evening meal.

"I've been thinking," I began and he looked at me in surprise.

"Isn't that supposed to be your normal state as an academic?" he retorted his eyes twinkling.

I ignored the jibe and continued, "D'you know any taxi firms who do contracts for longer trips on a regular basis?"

"One or two of them offer airport type services, why?"

"I'm just thinking through an idea."

"How often does she train?"

"I think we could organise once or twice a week and possibly a third time if she's playing there."

"That's gonna cost you a bit."

"We're not exactly paupers are we?"

"No, I suppose not."

"I'd want a woman driver."

"Sounds a good idea, want me to ask around?"

"It's just an idea at the moment and I'll need to talk to Si about it, as he'll probably want to be involved anyway."

"What about the hotel, don't they have a chauffer?"

"That did cross my mind as well but Simon would have more idea on that but Henry might have some contacts in this sort of contract, he seems to have fingers in every other pie."

David chuckled but agreed to sound out one or two firms he knew who did airport cars and longer rides. I went back to my study and felt a bit easier, a possible solution was available and I 'm sure Si would say, organise it through the bank and get the VAT back or something like that. I wasn't too worried about the cost in money I was more concerned with keeping my daughter safe and a woman driver on a regular contract would be safest, at least to my mind. Now the next question, how can we stop the Taliban taking over Afghanistan. Easy create some virus that only affects men and drop it in quantity on them or is that bit too feminist?

I went to see if there'd been any post and walked out to the table in the hall where we usually placed it for the addressee to take. There was one from Reading for Danni and I'm sure she wouldn't be in too much hurry to open it. There was also one from Berkshire addressed to me plus the usual guff. I took my half a dozen envelopes and after making some tea, went back to my study to open my mail.

Most of it was about renewing memberships of various societies I belonged to or begging letters asking me to become the patron of one, I'd already turned down Hampshire Wildlife Trust but was still a member of their mammal group, albeit without any appellation beyond Ms Watts. I joined it before I got married.

Astonishingly, one of the letters, the one with a Berks postmark was from a colleague who was teaching at Reading and who told me that their professor had retired and was I interested in trying for it. I decided I wasn't despite the application form included. If I got it, we would have to move house and while that may suit Danielle, it would really upset Tom, though he'd still have Stella living there, it was me who had the strongest relationship with him and I couldn't hurt him like that, even though he'd probably tell me to go for it. If I didn't mention it, he'd probably not be aware of it, so I'd keep quiet - unusual I know, but possible.

There was a small catalogue of all sorts of gadgets and other assorted dross to enable me to cut the grass while sitting on the loo, or buying mittens which would keep my hands and feet warm in the coldest winter. It was July, what were they thinking. I put that on the recycling pile along with the Reading application and the envelopes of the other things.

I phoned Julie and asked her about getting my hair cut and she told me to come by just before they closed if it was just a cut I wanted. I invited her to dinner with Phoebe hoping David had made enough for everyone. If not I'd have a boiled egg or something. The upshot was the two girls were coming for dinner at seven when they finished. Simon was due home about that time and I was pleased about that, the only possible fly in the ointment was whether or not Danielle decided to grace us with her presence. If she didn't, I'd ground her if I had nail her to the bed.

Thankfully my fighting talk was unused, as was the nail gun because she came home about four and ran up to her room. I had no idea what that was all about so I went to find out - see I am a scientist, or just nosy?

She was busy digging through her drawers for something and didn't see me enter her room and sit on the bed behind her. "Where is it?" she kept muttering to herself and poking under her clothes. Then she stood up and turned around and shrieked as she saw me. "Aren't you supposed to knock?" she demanded.

"I did but you didn't hear me, so I came in to wait until you found what you were looking for."

"Oh, you frightened me to death."

"You look pretty good for a corpse," I quipped back.

"Ha ha, you know what I meant."

"What were you looking for?"

"None of your business."

"Danielle, you are still a minor so it is my business, besides I might be able to help you find it."

"How could you unless you've been poking about in my stuff?"

"I haven't, I assure you. However, I may have found a solution to the Reading problem."

"I'm not going to no fucking boarding school," she said folding her arms across her chest.

"There's no need to be vulgar, I know how you feel about it."

"Yeah, well sometimes you don't seem to take things on board especially when you have bee up your arse about it."

"There are no aculeate hymenoptera anywhere near my bum."

"What?"

"Bees, up my bum or otherwise."

She shook her head, "Why don't you go and torment one of the others?"

"I want a meeting with you and your father after dinner," I announced as I departed her room. "Oh, if you were looking for your passport, it's in the safe along with all the others."

"You took it?" she screamed at me, "That's mine, you stole it."

"No I didn't, you gave it to me ages ago when I put them all in the safe."

"I did not," she shouted at me.

"You did because I had to remind you where you kept it. Remember now? Oh and Julie and Phoebe are coming to dinner, I'm getting my hair tidied up want me to put you down for one as well?"

She muttered something which may have been two words ending in off, but she sighed and said yes, she would have a trim. It looked as if she was still angry with me and I wondered why she needed a passport, but she wouldn't get the one in the safe without some good reason, none of which I could conceive at that moment.

We kept out of each other's way until dinner, which everyone enjoyed and there was enough for each of us, though my appetite was affected by this ongoing row with Danielle. While I was having my hair cut David came over with a list of names, apparently all cab firms who did long distance contracts and also had women drivers. I thanked him.

While Danni was having her hair cut I told Simon what I had in mind, he looked surprised and then said something about cost. I reminded him he was a millionaire and he shrugged and suggested he wouldn't be for long married to me.

While I went to make us some tea to take to the study with us when Trish assailed me in front of the others. "Mummy, what does ornithocoprophilous mean?" I was half waiting for the 'some bloody biologist you are,' line when I suddenly remembered the term.

"Basically it means that something likes bird poo and if I remember correctly, it applies to mosses or lichen."

Trish sighed and went off muttering, I'd got it right. "How the hell did you remember that?" asked Simon decidedly impressed.

"I'm a biologist, perhaps not a very good one if you believe Trish, but I am nonetheless."

"I think you're wonderful, marry me."

"I'd have to divorce you first, you nit," I said rolling my eyes.

"Oh yeah, I knew there was some reason. Danielle," he called accepting a mug of tea, "get your arse in the study now." I felt my tummy flip, this was not going to be a bundle of laughs.