The Daily Dormouse. (aka Bike) Part 1124 by Angharad Copyright © 2010 Angharad All Rights Reserved.

The next morning, I felt like–well let’s say I knew what a bit of wet rag feels like. I struggled to rouse the girls and of course trouble woke up too, and I hadn’t expressed any milk. Plan B, Jenny gets them up while I feed the baby, if necessary, she can take them to school as well.

I couldn’t do very much to help with a baby clamped to my tit, but I did call up to Danny, to make sure he was up. Sitting in the bedroom, I suddenly realised Simon wasn’t here. The dozy git had got himself up and out without waking me. No wonder I love him.

Danny looked in as he came downstairs, he saw me feeding guzzles, and apologised. I called him back and he didn’t look too happy. “Can you spare a minute?” I asked him.

“Um–yeah, okay.”

“Shut the door.” He did as I requested.

“I’m really sorry I missed your match last evening.”

“Yeah okay, is that it?”

“Not quite,” I said and he sighed. “Look we seem to have developed a problem with our relationship. I didn’t see it coming and I want to sort it as soon as we can. How d’you feel?”

He shrugged, “A bit left out most of the time.”

“You need to muscle in. Don’t let the girls have it all their own way.”

“Yeah, but then you tell me off.”

I blushed, “Okay, I’ll try not to in future. I do love you, you know.”

“Yeah okay, I’ve gotta go.” He dashed out of my room and shut the door behind him. I felt a bit sad, I wasn’t sure I’d achieved what I wanted, which was a repair job–to build bridges between us. He tolerated my request rather than acceded to it. I wasn’t sure what to do next.

“Cathy,” called Stella, “I’ll take the girls, I need to go into town.”

“Okay, are you taking, Pud?”

“Yeah, nothing for you to do–see ya later.” I heard the car start up and drive off. I changed my baby, and took her downstairs where Jenny was washing up–well loading the dishwasher.

“Oops–sorry, Cathy, nearly forgot you.”

“Danny trying to do that is bad enough.”

“Oh, he’s still touchy is he?”

“Very, and I don’t know what to do next.”

“I think you’re doing really well as it is...”

We were interrupted by Julie dashing off to her scooter thing. She stopped, pecked me on the cheek and shouted, “Byeeeeeee,” as she went. Her scooter went putt-putt down the drive.

I made myself a cuppa and some toast which I ate with a banana. I wasn’t really hungry but I knew I’d be growling–or my tummy would–long before lunch.

“Anything you want me to do?” asked Jenny.

“I was going to strip my bed, I got some milk on the sheets.”

“I’ll do that, you look shattered.”

“I am–she woke up in the night and took ages to feed.”

“Oh, poor you.” I was in mid munch, so she’d run up the stairs before I could reply. I washed down the toast with my tea and I don’t remember nodding off, but I did, because Jenny woke me bringing the washing down. “Catching forty winks?” she smiled at me.

I yawned and nodded. I had a million things to do and was just engaging body and brain into the same manoeuvre when the door bell rang. Thinking it was Stella forgetting her key again–she regularly does it–I opened the door. It was the postman.

I signed for the package for Tom, and took the half a dozen letters which accompanied it, all wrapped up in a red rubber band–you see discarded ones all over the UK, showing that we still have some sort of postal service, until it’s privatised.

In amongst my three letters was a DVD from Alan and note:

‘Dear Cathy,
I found a few more funnies including the one of you running round squealing with the large moth caught in your hair, the one of me stepping on the adder and it trying to bite through my boot, and you falling off the log across the stream–that’s a classic.

I await your schedule for harvest meeces.

Love,

Alan.’

I shoved the disc in my computer and cringed through the fifteen minutes of its showing. I’ll see what the kids think of it later, they’ll probably love it. I didn’t realise I was so girly when that moth got stuck in my hair–all I could hear was a whirring noise and felt this horrible sensation in my hair–ugh, it still makes me cringe. The one where I swallowed the insect was quite funny in retrospect. There I was doing my presenter bit, talking to camera and this stupid fly or whatever it was flew straight into my mouth and practically got inhaled. I stopped and coughed and coughed and coughed. Alan had to give me a drink of water–yuck, fresh killed insect.

I made Jenny and me some scrambled eggs for lunch–officially she was off duty, but we were chatting so she stayed for lunch. She went off to see her boyfriend in the afternoon–he’s in the Royal Navy, I think. She doesn’t say and I don’t ask, when she’s ready she’ll tell me.

Stella called to say she was going to be coming back about the time the girls came out of school, would I like her get them. I grabbed it with both hands. I cleared up the lunch and felt a bit better, then dashed into town and got Danny a little present. I know it could be seen as buying his affection, but it isn’t, it’s something he will use. I got back just before he did and left it on his bed, so he wouldn’t see it until later.

He came in and I asked him how school had been, he shrugged and grunted. “I need some new footie boots, Mum, can I have some?”

“If a please finds its way into your request, I’d think it was highly possible.”

“Yeah okay, pretty please with knobs on, may I have a new pair of football boots?” I glanced at the kitchen clock–“It’s only just four, c’mon, we’ll dash into town–or there’s that sports place out on the industrial estate, we’ll go there it’s quicker.”

I grabbed my bag and car keys, scribbled a note for Stella and dragged him off to the sports emporium. If I’d known his soccer boots would cost me nearly a hundred quid, I wouldn’t have bothered with the other prezzie. But there you go, that is life.

We got home and he had a grin from ear to ear, he’d got the Addidas boots he wanted–like David Beckham’s or some such thing. When he went upstairs, he shouted for joy and the girls went rushing to see what had happened–he came down in his favourite club football jersey–his other present.