The Daily Dormouse. (aka Bike) Part 1549 by Angharad Copyright © 2011 Angharad All Rights Reserved.

I made a large cottage pie, by large I mean a cottage about the size of your average mansion. I knew Stephanie was bringing a colleague with her to meet our two transgender kids. I’d already agreed it with Trish and Julie that they’d have a chat with whoever it was Steph brought.

By the time they arrived, six o’clock, my ‘pie’ was browning gently under the grill and would do so for another half an hour–makes the top slightly crisp–delish.

Stephanie rang the doorbell and I let them in. She was accompanied by a very attractive man, mid thirties, dark curly hair and brown eyes. His very kissable lips parted to reveal snow-white teeth, and his tall stature, made this man very attractive. He was wearing a nicely cut jacket in dark blue corduroy, with black trousers and an open necked white shirt.

“Hi, Cathy, this is, Brendan, he’s Canadian and he’s been working with us for a couple of months now. Brendan, this is Cathy, or Lady Cameron, as she doesn’t like to be known. She’s like the Barnardo’s of Portsmouth, plus a comfort to pregnant shrinks. In short, she’s wonderful.”

We shook hands, the Canadian doctor and I, and Steph and I hugged, she was beginning to show a bit of a tummy but she assured me she felt well and that Brendan would be replacing her while she was on maternity leave.

I showed them into my study and I sent in Julie. Stephanie, then came out and chatted with Trish in Tom’s study. About forty minutes later they all came back to the dining room and I served dinner, the ‘mansion’ pie with mixed vegetables, and fresh fruit salad and cream for dessert.

Julie, who claims to be lesbian, was flirting with Brendan, she loved his accent which was from British Columbia, Queen Charlotte Island in particular, though he’d lived in Vancouver and Edmonton, where he did much of his training. He spent a summer in Seattle and then came over to London to the Tavistock Clinic, whence he came to Portsmouth at the suggestion of Stephanie who met him at a seminar. Her hospital trust liked him and he was offered a temporary contract as her maternity leave cover.

After dinner, he had a chat with Trish in my study and Stephanie spoke with Julie in Tom’s den. After another half an hour, Caroline and I did the dishes and cleared up then Stephanie, Stella, Caroline and Brendan came and sat with me in the kitchen and we chatted.

I brewed some tea and fresh ground coffee, although Steph was on fruit juice, and we sat and chatted while Simon, Tom and the others watched some weird film on Sky. I told Julie she could have a glass of wine if she went and watched the film while I had a chance to flirt with Brendan. She sighed but took the bribe.

I asked them how they’d got on and they both said fine, which I assumed meant both Trish and Julie. Steph asked how I was coping after losing Billie, and I admitted I wasn’t looking forward to the inquest. She nodded and offered to write to the coroner to say that my care of Billie had given her the best time of her life.

We chatted about everything and nothing, including the financial situation which was causing problems worldwide, the fears that Russia was about to get more years of Putin despite the electorate’s disenchantment with him.

“Let’s face it, Russia is getting worse, people there are either very rich or so poor they make church mice look wealthy, but then are we any better, bosses pay has risen to be twelve times that of the lowest paid workers compared to eight times a few years ago.”

We decided things were a little better than Russia especially the recent declaration to propose a bill to the state legislature in St Petersburg, outlawing any promotion of homosexuality, transsexuality and paedophlia to minors.

“How can they lump paedophilia with those two?” asked Brendan.

“I suspect it’s the right wing thinking that the first two could be screwing with their minds and the latter their bodies–children that is.”

Brendan smiled and shook his head. “I don’t think any of them are related and I’m not sure I like the term transsexuality, because in my experience, sexuality is part of identity and is different to gender although I accept there is some relationship between the two.

“I mean, we hear people saying I’m a gay man or woman, whereas surely they should be saying I’m a man or woman first and then describe themselves. So for instance, were you transsexual, Cathy, you’d surely not see yourself as principally transsexual, surely you’d be a woman first then transsexual.” I felt myself getting warm and Stephanie smirked, obviously Brendan didn’t know. “By the way, your tolerance of children who’ve been rejected by others is brilliant–a caring and loving parent, especially a mother is so important to child stability.”

I shrugged. “Children are children, they all bring their gifts and their problems. I’ve been very fortunate that I’ve had such lovely children.”

“Quite,” said Brendan, in his lazy Canadian accent. “That youngster of yours is something else isn’t she?”

“She’s quite bright, isn’t she?” I asked almost rhetorically.

“Quite, she turned the tables on me a couple of times, then she asked me about the process of grieving and how valid the theories of John Bowlby were today–and she’s what, seven years old?”

“She has access to the internet, as long as it’s not porn–we have a control on that–so she reads way above her age and sometimes her understanding.”

“She’s seven going on seventeen.”

“She can be a bit of a challenge,” I allowed.

Caroline excused herself and after saying goodnights, went off to bed.

“Is she transsexual as well?” asked Brendan.

“Is she?” asked Stephanie, challenging him to decide.

“Yeah–so how come the house of...”

“Transsexuals,” I supplied.

“Yeah, I mean Julie and Trish seem normal females like yourself, but Caroline–I take it she hasn’t been transitioned too long?”

“She needed a job, I needed a housekeeper cum nanny–she was suitable and available–problem solved.”

“And the kids like her?”

“Yes, everything is a bit unsettled still after the death of my daughter, Billie.”

“She was also transgendered, wasn’t she?” asked Brendan, still trying to work me out–I wasn’t going to help him except to answer truthfully any questions about myself.

“Yes, she died out cycling with me, apparently an aneurysm in her brain burst and she died at the scene.”

“I’m sorry,” he blushed–so psychiatrists can feel embarrassment.

“It’s okay, but we all miss her, she was a nice kid.”

“If she’s like your other kids, I’m sure she was. But that would be three transgender kids and a nanny, a bit of a...”

“Cluster effect, yes. They needed me, I can’t have children, so we sort of ended up together.”

“I wasn’t joking when I said Cathy was like the Barnardo’s of Portsmouth, let’s see if I can remember–first came Mima, then Trish. She came after you got Mima walking again after she’d been dumped on you. Then Trish got sent to you by Sam Rose, see if you could get her walking again and you did with a pair of your shoes. Livvie was a temporary measure until her parents died suddenly," Stephanie said euphemistcally.

“Next was Julie, who you found on a rubbish dump, then Danny and Billie were placed with you for Christmas and never went back to the children’s home.”

“You found Julie on a rubbish dump?” Brendan was astonished.

“Yeah, she’d been assaulted by some ex-copper who thought she was a dolly bird and provocatively dressed. Discovered his mistake and beat her up and dumped her. Her real parents didn’t like her cross dressing despite her attempts to explain to them, so I said she could stay with me. At the time I didn’t know how she’d take to someone who was only ten years older than she was and there were some ups and downs at first.”

“She’s a teenager,” said Stella, who’d been enjoying the conversation.

“Yeah, but she’s a nice kid at heart.” I qualified.

“True,” agreed Stella.

“Do you only see the good in people?” said Brendan and I wasn’t sure if he was making an accusation or asking a question.

“I try to see beyond the problem and into the person. I believe we’re all capable of redemption–whatever that actually means, perhaps rehabilitation.”

“You should be in child health, Cathy, we could do with people like you.” Brendan complimented me, and Stephanie added, ‘Hear hear,’ and I blushed.

“Who’d look after my dormice, then?” I said pouting and they all laughed.

As they got ready to leave, Brendan went to the loo, “Does he know about me?” I asked.

“Why?” asked Steph.

“Because he’s acting as if he didn’t.”

“Probably because he doesn’t then.”

“Shouldn’t you tell him?” I asked.

“Why, you’re not his patient.”

“Isn’t it in their notes?”

“If it is, I’ll temporarily remove it, he doesn’t need to know–if he works it out–okay, but otherwise, let sleeping dogs lie.” Stephanie seemed quite firm on the issue and Brendan arrived before we could talk any further.

They made their goodbyes and left.

“I think she fancies him,” offered Stella as I cleared the table.

“Don’t we all?” I said smirking, “He was rather dishy.”

Stella blushed and shrugged.