The Daily Dormouse. (aka Bike) Part 1280 by Angharad Copyright © 2011 Angharad All Rights Reserved.

Back at home, I had a cuppa to refresh me and then got started on dinner. “Anyone seen Stella?” I asked when I heard footsteps behind me.

“Um–Mummmmy–Auntie Stella’s behind you and she has a knife in her hand,” Trish spoke very quietly. “Please don’t hurt my mummy, Auntie Stella.”

“Shut up you little bitch, unless you wanna be next.”

I stared into the window and saw her reflection, she was about six feet away. I turned quickly and edged away from the sink where I’d been preparing vegetables. “Put the knife down, please, Stella, you’re frightening the children.”

“First Des and now Gareth–you can’t help yourself, can you? You slut.”

“Please put down the knife, Stella, and then we can talk about this amicably and rationally.”

“Rationally? Hah, you’re insatiable, you bitch.”

“No I’m not, nor am I unfaithful. I made vows when I married Simon, I intend to keep them.”

“I didn’t hear you vow chastity.”

“I didn’t vow it as an individual matter, but I did vow to love him and forsake all others, which is the same in my book.”

“You don’t expect me to believe you?”

“What you believe is a matter for you, Stella, but I have never been unfaithful to Simon, and I believe he has stayed faithful to me.”

“I wasn’t talking about Simon, I was talking about you and my fiancé. You’ve been away together much of the day after he drugged me so I couldn’t stop your dirty liaison.”

“Put the knife down, Stella.”

“Why should I?”

“Someone could get hurt.”

“If I get my way, someone could get dead.” Stella looked at me with murderous eyes.

She advanced closer and I moved further from the sink. From the corner of my eye I saw Trish move further away still, then while my gaze was on the knife in Stella’s hand, I saw movement and Trish started pelting Stella with potatoes and carrots. One large spud hit her on the head and she turned to threaten Trish. Trish threw another potato and it hit her in the face. Enraged she rushed at Trish and I threw myself on her back and we both crashed into the table, me holding on to her hands, especially the one with the knife as we rolled onto the floor, her on top of me.

Trish came to help and Stella slashed. I saw the look of disbelief on the child’s face then she screamed and collapsed–blood pouring from her. In my shock I allowed Stella to escape me and she pulled herself to her feet and began threatening me again with the now bloody knife.

“What have you done you stupid woman?” I screamed at her and rolled over away from her, springing to my feet. She slashed, I sidestepped and with a right cross that any boxer would have been proud of, I caught her on the chin and she dropped like a stone.

I rushed over to Trish who was very pale and shocked, her eyes were moving but she wasn’t seeing anything. I screamed for help. Jenny came running, “Get an ambulance and quickly.”

I grabbed a clean tea towel and held it over the wound, she’d lost quite a lot of blood.

“The ambulance is coming,” Jenny said and then followed it with, “What the hell happened?”

“Stella went funny and wanted to stab me, Trish tried to help me and got stabbed as I struggled with her. Tie her up so she can’t hurt anyone else. Call the police.”

Jenny found some string in the kitchen drawer and tied Stella’s hands behind her back. The knife was picked up very carefully to avoid contamination of fingerprints. I continued talking to Trish who was fighting to stay conscious and I’m afraid was losing the battle.

“C’mon, girl, stay with me–you’re going to be alright–trust me, I’m your mother.” I watched as she smiled at me.

“Love you, Mummy,” she said and her eyes rolled up into the tops of the sockets and her head went limp.

Sirens sounded very close and two paramedics rushed into the kitchen.

“Shit–what happened?”

“My daughter has been stabbed.” He looked down at the child in my arms, I was still holding the towel over her lower abdomen and trying to keep her alive.

“What’s with the other one?” he nodded at Stella.

“I hit her, she stabbed my Trish, I decked her. Be careful she’s pregnant.”

More sirens and the room was suddenly filled with police and paramedics.

“Let’s get her to A&E quick–come along, Mum–you too. You’ll have to wait fellas–for a statement I mean. This one is pretty sick.”

He picked up Trish like she was a feather, his hand clamped on her wound and he ran to his van. I was right behind him.

“Can you drive?” he shouted.

“You bet,” I ran to the front and started up the ambulance and pushed the siren lever and drove like the devil to the hospital. I reckon we did it in under eight minutes but time was on hold for me.

I stopped at the A&E entrance and he jumped out of the back carrying Trish and sprinted into the hospital. I picked out the keys of the vehicle and ran after him locking the van as I left.

They stopped me at reception and I was made to sit and catch my breath. “Have a coffee and calm down, you can’t do anything else but wait. She’s gone straight in, she’ll be alright.”

I realised I was covered in blood–none of it my own. I felt very scared and very alone. A nurse came and sat next to me. “I’ve seen you here before, haven’t I?”

“I always seem to be here.”

“What’s your little girl’s name and what happened?”

I told her and she wrote it down.

“Wait here, as soon as we know something, we’ll let you know.”

I sat there in shock. Ken Nicholls appeared. “Okay, Cathy, come through please.”

I jumped to my feet and walked quickly into the office. “She’s got a nasty wound near the bladder, I’ve sent for Mick O’Rourke–we’re going to have to operate and soon. We need your consent to do whatever we have to in her best interest.”

“Of course,” I signed the form. “Is she going to be alright?”

“I hope so,” he shrugged, “Go home get showered and changed and come back and maybe bring some of that magic you have with you. I think she’s going to need it.”

I nodded, asked them to get me a taxi and waited for it to take me home. Once home, I learned that Stella had been taken off to hospital to be checked out, and the police were waiting for me for a statement. I gave one very quickly, showered, dressed and phoned Simon as I was on the way back to the hospital. He called Tom to go straight home and help Jenny, he also called Julie and told her the same. Then he phoned Henry and told him what had happened. Apparently Henry’s shout of anguish was heard on two floors.

I was waiting in the surgical waiting area when Si arrived. He gave me a massive hug and I dissolved in tears. “Has anyone called Gareth?” he asked. I shrugged, I had no idea, it wasn’t a priority of mine. “I’ll be back in a mo,” he said and went off with his phone in his hand.

He was back a few minutes later. We sat and hugged for a couple of hours and finally when I was feeling faint with tiredness, the two surgeons emerged, still in their scrubs. They looked exhausted.

“Oi’m afraid Oi’ve had to do someting pretty radical,” said O’Rourke. “Da wound was a nasty one, it had transected her penis an’ penetrated her abdomen jus’ missin’ her bladder an’ bowel–quite how, ‘tis a miracle. Seein’ as she was such a mess, an’ dere’ll be scarrin’ anyhow, Oi’ve done a vaginoplasty an’ clitoroplasty. Oi’m sorry we didn’t discuss it, but it was necessary. If she ever wants t’ be a boy again, she’s gonna have troubles.”

I hugged him and kissed him on the cheek, “Thank you, I’m sure you’ve done the right thing. Can we see her?”

“Right this way,” said Ken Nicholls, “See if you can do your magic, she’s pretty poorly and far from out of the woods yet. She lost a lot of blood.”

“An’ dis was done boi Stella?” O’Rourke shook his head, “She is some sick woman, so she is.”