Previously…

‘Will my aunt be back tomorrow?’ I asked.

‘Your Aunt?’ asked Doctor Marcia.

‘Yes, I was told that she lived in place called Jellicle Cottage, funny name that. Anyway, I went up to her cottage and there was a note by the door. It said…erm,

Mrs P, gone to L.F’s for the night, as agreed, please feed the cats.
See you tomorrow.

Abby and Sam

Although I don’t know who this Sam is; maybe Auntie Abby’s husband?’

I saw a look of shock on their faces.

‘What?’ I asked.

And now the story continues…

Jocasta and Doctor Marcia looked at each other. I couldn’t really read their expressions too well, but I think that they looked puzzled.

‘Sorry, do you know my Aunt?’

‘You are Abby Silverton’s niece?

‘Well, she probably thinks that I’m her nephew unless my mum told her about me.’

Jocasta had a far away look.

‘Come to think of it I think Abby did mention that she had a nephew, Andrew, I think…’

‘I’m Amy now.’ I said firmly.

‘Yes, I know dear, you don’t look much like an Andrew, do you?’

‘Look I had better go,’ said Doctor Marcia, ‘you, young lady, have been through a lot today and should go to sleep. I’ll call in tomorrow and see how you are getting on. I will need access to your medical records, but we can sort that out next week. Now get some rest and I’ll see you tomorrow.’

With a smile and a nod to me she left the room with Jocasta. I heard a whispered conversation outside and then the sound of the front door. Seconds later, Jocasta returned and sat on the bed beside me.

‘Okay Amy; I know both Abby and Sam very well, indeed we are friends as is Marcia. It’s a bit late for me to call Abby now, but I promise to let her know what is going on tomorrow. Now, as the doctor ordered, it’s bedtime for you. There is a nightie for you under the pillow, it’s one of the girl’s old ones. You will see them tomorrow. They’ll probably be up early to feed their horses before breakfast. I only hope that they don’t open their presents up before David and I get up, like last year!’

‘I’m spoiling your Christmas,’ I said.

‘No you are not, silly. What is Christmas about? Not presents really (but they are nice), but giving thanks and helping others. You are nice girl and have problems that are not of your making. Abby is a good friend and Samantha is too…’

‘Samantha?’ I queried.

‘Yes, Abby’s partner.’

‘Oh, I thought…’

‘That Sam was a man? She is anything but. She is nice, kind, a wonderful artist and maybe a bit daft sometimes, but we all love her as we do Abby. Now enough questions or Marcia will tell me off. You get some sleep and don’t worry about a thing.’

As I settled down in the nice warm, soft, comfortable bed, I thought that it was rather nice that I was kissed on my forehead. It had been a long time since that had happened!

I must have been tired, as I was out like a light in no time.

Being licked on the nose woke me up, rather suddenly.

I was still in shock from all that had happened to me on the previous day and that was my excuse when I screamed.

It was only when I opened my eyes that I realised that it was a dog. A large yellow labrador, to be exact. He was looking at me at close range and looked a bit put out that his friendliness had been responded to by my screaming.

There was a stampede in the hallway outside the bedroom, or at least that is what it sounded like, then there was a knock on the door, which was kind of pointless, as the door had obviously been opened by the ambidextrous canine.

'Are you decent?' said a disembodied voice.

''Yes, I think so,’ I said somewhat uncertainly.

Two girls rushed in and then stopped dead at the end of the bed. They were wearing jodhpurs and other riding gear.

One girl was taller than the other and started speaking at once.

'Hi, I'm Jennifer, but never call me that as I prefer Jen. The shrimp here is Phillipa...'

'I'm not a shrimp, Jen, don't be a beast. What happened to your hair?'

'Erm, my step-dad cut it off.'

'Wow, that’s nasty, unless you wanted a weird haircut.' said Jen.

'I didn't.' I replied.

'Mummy told us that you have some problems and that we mustn’t ask you any questions unless you want to tell us. Anyway, it's Crimbo and we have presents to open as soon as pos. Our ponies have just been fed and let out to the paddock, so they are okay for a while. Now it's our turn to have breakfast, go to church and then raid the Crimbo tree,' said Phillipa almost without taking a breath.

''Shut up Phil.'

'Don't you dare tell me to shut up Jen. I can speak if I want to...'

'Girls,'

I looked away from the sisters and saw that Jocasta was standing in the doorway.

They stopped, mid rant and then looked sheepish.

'Sorry Mummy,' they both mumbled.

'Scoot and take that flaming dog with you; I don’t know, slobbering all over the bed covers like that!'

With one last look at me and with grins on their faces, they went out of the room and dashed down the hallway, closely followed by an excitable dog.

'Walk, don’t run!' shouted Jocasta and the stamping of feet slowed, slightly.

She turned to me.

‘Sorry about that. They can be a bit, shall we say, enthusiastically boisterous at times. Anyway, Happy Christmas Amy. How are you feeling?’

‘Happy Christmas: better, thank you.’

‘Good, you have a bit more colour in your cheeks and you do seem to look better. Still, you need to take it easy this morning.’

‘Please don’t let me spoil your day.’

‘No danger of that. Anyway, do you feel well enough to get up?’

‘Yes, I think so.’

‘That’s good, because after breakfast you are going to have a visitor.’

‘The doctor?’

‘Yes, she’s coming later but I meant someone else.’

‘Who?’

‘Your Auntie Abby; I spoke to her first thing this morning and she was very surprised at what has happened to you…’

My heart filled with dread for some reason. What if when she saw me, she didn’t like me?

‘Does she know about me?’

‘Yes, I had a long chat with her. She’s dying to see you. She’s lovely and won’t be judgemental. Now as to your step-father, the police have been made aware that he is in the area and he is evidently known to them.’

‘What does that mean?’

‘It means that at some point, he must have had some dealings with the police, though they won’t tell me what those dealings were. Anyway, as far as you are concerned, he won’t be able to try to take you away and it’s likely that he will be charged with assault on a minor, a very serious offence when they do finally catch up with him.’

‘What will happen to the boys?’

‘Your step-brothers?’

I nodded.

‘They will probably taken into care. To be honest, the way he treated you, it would be safer for them to be away from him.’

‘Oh,’ I said, not knowing what to say. They didn’t like me and vice versa, but I wouldn’t like to see them put in some sort of home. I didn’t have time to think any further as Jocasta continued.

‘Anyway, as I say, Abby will be here after breakfast and then you can have a nice quiet chat while we go to church. Are you up to having something to eat?’

I was feeling a bit hungry and just nodded.

‘Right, I haven’t had a chance to get your things from Dun Roamin yet, so I have a few things of Jen‘s that you can try out. If you go and have shower, I’ll sort out some clothes for you.’

‘To be honest, there isn’t much in my case. I was in a rush to leave home and anyway, John saw to it that most of my things were thrown out. Will Jen mind my using her clothes?’ I asked.

‘No, she has more clothes than Selfridges and can spare a few things.’

With that she left me to it and I got up and made my way to the bathroom. After stripping, I saw that the bruise on my arm was now multi coloured and still painful to touch. Looking at my naked body, apart from the horrible thing between my legs, I look similar to a prepubescent girl; although my breasts were slight puffy, a by-product of the pills that I had been taking. I yearned for the time I would be able to take feminising drugs and then hopefully SRS. All I was allowed at the moment, because of my age were blockers and it wasn’t enough, as I dearly wanted to not only be a girl mentally, but physically too.

It seemed so unfair that girls like me had to wait until adulthood before being able to live fully as we should in the correct gender.

Anyway, I was being a Dolly Daydreamer so I stepped into the cubicle and had a shower. I washed my hair too and it was awful because the short ragged cut just reminded me of what I had lost. It was nice that Jen and Phillipa didn’t seem bothered by the state of my hair. They seemed like nice girls…

I turned the shower off, dried my hair and body and then put on the silk robe that had been hanging on the back of the door.

Walking back into the bedroom I saw that Jocasta was there sorting through several items of clothes.

‘Hi dear; here are some things that you might want to wear. I’ll leave you to decide. There’s a new pack of knickers and a training bra that Jen never used there too. Not too dressy this morning. Oh, by the way, breakfast will be ready in about twenty minutes and if you want eggs and bacon you had better hurry as those girls are gannets!’

With a smile she left me to it and I quickly sorted out what I should wear.

I tried everything on and in the end chose a white peasant style top with three quarter length sleeves and a long blue denim skirt that went down to my ankles. I liked long skirts, I know that short skirts were the fashion, but I liked what I liked, if you know what I mean. Anyway, it warmer in the winter to wear long rather than mini skirts!

After putting on the bra, I smiled, as it had been some time since I was allowed to wear one. The panties I chose were blue and silky to touch. Then I put on some black woollen rib style tights from a brand new packet, pulled up my skirt and zipped it up at the back and finally slipped on some shoes — flats, that were shiny, black and very comfortable, if a tiny bit loose.

My wig was on a stand over in the corner and I carefully put it on and brushed it out. I didn’t have any makeup with me and I felt a bit naked when presenting as a girl without makeup, but I would just have to make do until my things were brought back from Dun Roamin.

I gave myself the final once over, hoped that I looked okay and then left the room.

As soon as I reached the hallway, I could smell bacon wafting up the stairs.

My mouth was watering as I went downstairs and made my way to the kitchen.

Sitting at the kitchen table were Jen and Phillipa, whilst Jocasta was over by the cooker. The cooking smells were mouth watering and I was looking forward to having a nice, filling breakfast.

Under the table was the Labrador, looking ever hopefully for titbits.

‘Hi Amy, you look pretty today,’ said Jen.

‘Thanks,’ I mumbled as I sat down opposite the girls. I still wasn’t used to compliments.

‘David is sorting out his Christmas sermon,’ said Jocasta, stirring something in a saucepan, ‘he’s had breakfast already. The girls and I are going over to the church after breakfast. I’m not sure how Lady F will react when she sees the guitar and tambourine players…’

‘And then, after that, it’s pressie time,’ interrupted Phillipa enthusiastically.

‘Whoopee!’ said Jen, for once agreeing with her sister.

Jocasta shook her head.

‘I swear that they aren’t mine. They must have been swapped with my real children when I was in hospital. I hoped for some nice, good girls and look what I got?’

I giggled and the girls tried to look innocent and failed miserably.

Soon I was presented with a plate that had bacon, eggs, sausage, tomato, grilled mushrooms and toast piled on it.

‘I can’t eat all this.’ I said.

‘There’s nothing of you. You need some good wholesome food in you to get some meat on your bones.’

I noticed that the others had similar amounts on their plates, so I decided not to argue but make the best of it by eating as much as I could.

Sandy, the lab had a fair share of food too as things mysteriously got dropped on the floor and she did a very creditable impersonation of a Hoover.

Surprisingly, I finished the meal without leaving anything on the plate and I wasn’t the only one. Penmarris and the sea air must have special qualities that made people (and dogs) consume huge meals without gaining much weight.

‘Right girls, upstairs and get changed for church. You can go in the sitting room and rest for bit Amy.’

‘Should I go to church too?’ I asked, not knowing if it was expected of me as, after all, I had been sleeping under the vicarage roof.

‘No, you are excused today and anyway, your special visitor will be arriving soon and you don’t want to miss her, do you?’

‘No,’ I replied, uncertainly. I was still worried at what my auntie might think of me.

I think that Jocasta read my mind as she stopped for a moment and looked at me.

‘You are still worried aren’t you?’

I nodded.

‘Well don’t. She is a lovely person and doesn’t have a mean bone in her body. Look I have to dash as I need to check the flower arrangements in the church before Lady F gets there and starts criticising; I’ll see you later.‘

Minutes later, the girls came rushing down the stairs, followed more slowly by Jocasta.

I could hear a faint ‘goodbye,’ and the slamming of the front door and then I was alone (apart from a snoring Sandy) in the sitting room with my thoughts.

The room was nicely decorated with the tree in the corner, all lit up and the colourful wall and ceiling decorations all added the festive feel. Then there was the log fire, which was cosy and warm. Sandy was lying in front of the fire, fast asleep with her legs kicking slightly; she must have been doggie dreaming. Outside it was still snowing gently, covering the trees and plants in a blanket of festive white.

All was quiet, and I could hear the ticking of the grandfather clock in the hall and the crackling of the logs in the grate…

The front door bell went off, waking me from my semi-slumber.

My heart was beating loudly, as I stood up, smoothed down my skirt, checked my hair in the mirror over the fire place and then, with heels clicking on the parquet floor, made my way out of the sitting room, along the hallway to the front door.

Behind the frosted glass I could see her reflection. I took a deep breath and then, with heart in mouth, I opened the door.

She smiled at me and I smiled back.

All my fears of being rejected melted away.

She opened her arms and I ran into them.

We were both crying; it was a lovely moment.

It seemed like ages as we stood there in each other’s arms. This was the first real loving moment that I had had in such a long time. I had been starved of love for
so long and now, I just knew that everything was going to be okay.

Somehow we found ourselves back in the cheery sitting room and Sandy stopped making a fuss and returned to her dream by the fire. My aunt and I sat on the deep leather sofa, holding hands and looking at each other.

‘Well Amy, this was a nice surprise to see you at long last,’ said Abby, ‘Jo has told me all that has happened and I feel terrible that I wasn’t around to help and support you.’

‘I didn’t know where else to go. You are my only living relative…’

‘Actually, that isn’t true. There is Great Aunt Celia, who lives in Scotland and various first and second cousins, uncles and aunts sprinkled about here and there. Don’t worry, you aren’t alone.

‘Oh,’ I said, ‘I didn’t know.’

“Never mind that, well talk about what rellies you have later. We need to talk about what has happened to you and where we go from here. I know that I have heard a lot about what has happened to you, sort of second hand. Can you tell me about it yourself?’

I took a deep breath and recounted all that had happened. It was hard and I had to stop several times, but eventually, she knew everything.

My Aunt was quiet for a moment and then said, ‘fancy a cuppa?’

I nodded. All the talking and crying had made me feel very thirsty.

She left me and I just stared at the fire. It had been lovely meeting her and sharing my problems. There was so much I wanted to ask her, not least about why she had not been in contact after Mum died, but I didn’t want to start our relationship with my criticising her and anyway, it might not be justified, as I didn’t know her side of the story.

Looking outside, the snow had started to get quite heavy, on a branch I saw a red robin looking at me and putting it’s head to one side, as if to say, who are you looking at?

A few minutes later Auntie Abby came back in with a tray. On the tray was a pot of tea, two mugs and mixture of biscuits.

‘Here we are. I know Jo’s kitchen almost as well as mine. Anyway; black or white?’

‘White with one sugar please.’

‘Thanks,’ I said as she gave me the tea and then offered me a hobnob biscuit.

I took one and without thinking dunked it in the tea.

There was a moment’s silence and then I looked up at her. She was dunking too!

We saw what we were both doing and then burst into laughter.

‘It must be a thing in the genes,’ laughed Abby.

‘I’m wearing a skirt, not jeans.’ I said and that started us off again.

Soon there was a companionable silence. I didn’t want to spoil the moment by bringing up thing that was most on my mind. Then I looked up as Auntie Abby spoke.

‘Amy, you have been through hell and back and I so wish that I had been aware of what had been going on.’

‘Why didn’t you get in touch after Mum died?’ I asked, plucking nervously at the hem of my blouse.

She was quiet for a moment and I could see that she was gathering her thoughts.

‘The first I had heard that your mum had died was after the funeral. John had told me nothing and it was only after your mum’s solicitor contacted me about the will that I knew anything about it.

‘I tried to get in touch with John, but he never returned my calls or letters. I did receive a letter from him eventually and I’ve brought it to show you.’

She fished an envelope out of her bag and handed it to me.

‘Please read it,’ she said.

Dear Ms Silverton,

I have been informed by the solicitor that you wish to make contact with us. I was aware of the messages that you have left and also I read the letters that you have sent to me.

In my time of grief, the last thing I want is for you to have anything to do with my family. Andrew is just getting over the loss of his mother and I am trying to move forward and help him to forget his past.

I am aware of your, shall we say, sexual preferences and I do not approve of them. Andrew has issues as it is and I do not want any undue influence put on him by your choice of lifestyle.

If you write or call again, I will go to the courts to arrange for an order forbidding any form of contact from you and please be assured that I fully intend to do this if provoked to take action.

Please do not contact us again unless you wish the full force of the law to come down on you.

Yours etc.
John Barnes

I looked up at her; she had tears in her eyes.

‘I swear that I didn’t know about this.’

‘I realise that,’ she said.

‘That explains a lot, but what happened between Mum and you. Did you row?’

She picked up her mug and drained it, then after placing it carefully back on the tray, she took a deep breath and looked at me.

‘I need to tell you things that might hurt you and make you think less of me. I am not proud of myself, but you need to know the facts. Are you prepared to know what happened?’

‘I need to know.’

She nodded and then looked at the fire. Speaking quietly, so quietly that I had to lean forward to catch everything she said; she told me what had happened.

‘We were very close when we were young and it didn’t matter that I was then thought to be a boy; we still enjoyed playing and being together. Then we grew apart as she was a year older and she started to go out with her friends more and I did the same with mine, although I was never as popular as her and only had a few people that I could loosely call friends. You look shocked that I was ever a boy?’

‘Sorry.’ I replied, ‘I had no idea.’

‘Pity, maybe you should have been told; still, water under the bridge and all that. Anyway, when I was thirteen, instead of developing muscles, sprouting hair and my voice breaking, I started to develop breasts and girly curves. I had always been quite gentle as a child and I wasn’t into boys’ games or playing rough so suppose that might have been an indicator that things were not what is laughingly called normal. I was told at the time that I would grow out of it. I liked the arts and it was at about that time that my love of pottery started when I joined the pottery club at my school and that shaped the career that would chose.

‘It may seem like I’m going off at tangent here, but bear with me as it’s all connected. Your mum by that time was a very pretty girl and was well liked by everyone at school. I suppose that we sort of drifted even further apart as the age difference became more marked.

‘Shortly after my fourteenth birthday, the changes in my body became even more apparent and it could not just be put down to a hormonal imbalance. My breasts started to develop and I was getting a decidedly feminine shape. It was then after a whole load of tests that I was diagnosed as being inter-sexed and it was realised that I was a lot more girl than boy and was, in fact, under everything, a fully functioning female. After being asked what I wanted, it was decided that I would have a set of operations to correct the problems with my body and get rid of the useless boy bits. There’s a lot more technical stuff involved, but the gist of it was, after the operations, I was now considered to be an official girl.

‘One of the good things about my new situation was that your mum and I grew closer again. This carried on until we went to university; Mary had a gap year so we started uni together and seriously got into boys. Well with me it was slightly different, because as I soon realised that I was bi-sexual I had flings and one night stands with men and women but I was hormonal and emotional and not quite as sensible as I should have been. Mary tried to warn me, but, of course, at that age, I was never wrong. I wasn’t proud of the fact that I was playing the field, but I just couldn’t stop myself.

‘Then your father, Simon came onto the scene and I suppose we both fell in love with him at the same time. But, I was the first one to go out with him and it was only after I introduced him to Mary that he sort of said, sorry to me and then went off with her.

‘Don’t get me wrong, Simon was a lovely man and he did nothing behind my back. He told me straight that he was in love with your mum. I don’t know whether the fact that I was bisexual and had been with many other people in a short space of time might have influenced his decision, but anyway, his mind was made up and your father had a very strong mind. However, I took it all wrong and started to feel resentment against both your mum and dad.

‘I blame the hormones; I was always a bit emotional and had a short fuse when I was younger. Remember, I came to girlhood later in life than most girls and I lacked the skills to deal with the situation. In many ways Mary was more grown up than me.

‘I took their relationship very badly. I withdrew into myself and concentrated on my studies. I never bothered going home during vacations and I found a new set of friends. I tried to find happiness elsewhere, but all attempts at love with men and women fell on stony ground.‘

‘So you hated my mum?’

She paused for a moment and then shook her head.

‘I could never hate Mary. I did hate what I thought that she had done to me, although, in fact, she had done nothing. It was my feelings toward Simon that poisoned me, although, in reality, Simon was a lovely, caring man. I suppose it was the big, bug eyed monster called jealousy combined with my hormones and my silly mixed up head that caused all the problems.

‘I didn’t go to the wedding and that was stupid of me. Then I heard that you had been born and I sort of tentatively got back in contact with them, but I still had issues with the relationship and couldn’t or rather wouldn’t visit.’

‘I wish that I could roll the clock back and change things but I can’t. I was under a psychiatrist for a long time over my issues and for a while I was a mess. Anyway, about three and a half years ago, I met Mary in London; Oxford Street to be precise. You were at home with Simon. It was thought best that you stay out of it until we sorted out our problems.

‘As soon as we saw each other, we hugged and cried. People in the street were probably thinking that we were two loopy women, but we didn’t care. It was nice and as if there hadn’t been any barrier between us. I kept apologising and she kept telling me to forget it.’

‘So you made up then?’

‘Yes, it was lovely.’

‘That’s funny, neither Mum nor Dad told me any of this. They said that you weren’t in touch much because you were always busy and going abroad.’

‘I was, I suppose. I was trying to get ideas for designs. I went to Mexico and South America, then Europe and Asia. I was all over the place. Ideally, I wanted to be able to bring home some ideas and then design and craft some pottery that I could exhibit and sell. I think that they didn’t say anything to you because they wanted to make sure that I wasn’t going to go all-strange again and start causing trouble. They were very protective of you and seeing you, I can see why.‘

I blushed and then smiled at that. Compliments had been thin on the ground for me lately.

‘I was abroad when I heard about Simon’s death and always regretted that I had not really made my peace with him. I was more upset than I had ever been before when he died, because I always had a place in my heart for him.

‘Although I kept in touch with your mum after Simon’s death, we didn’t have a chance to meet up. I was always keen on having news of how both of you were getting on, but work for both of us and other things got in the way and I wasn’t able to visit. The last time I contacted your mum, she told me that there was something important that she wanted to tell me about you, but didn’t want to discuss it over the phone. She also wanted you to meet me at long last, but had to tell me what the situation was before we met. That intrigued me, but I had to wait and see what was going on. I promised that as soon as I returned from a trip to Brazil, I would meet up with her.‘

‘Did you?’

‘No, when I returned, it was a few months later and she had died. The cruel thing was that John never contacted me. I had left my forwarding address and I of course had my mobile phone, but he never contacted me and when I found out what had happened via the solicitor and then received that cold and nasty letter, it was awful and I fell apart for a while.’

‘I hate John,’ I said with venom.

‘Me too; I cannot understand why he didn’t have the decency to contact me. I was devastated and I threw myself into my work. I bought the pottery and the building next door to it and did all that I could to make a go of my new business. I was also looking after a lot of cats that I sort of adopted after the previous owner of Jellicle Cottage died and gave the place to me.

‘I worked all hours and immersed myself in the business, trying to forget my past and make a go of the future, but my heart was empty.

‘Then Samantha walked into my life, helped to heal my wounds and I have never been happier. I told her everything and she wasn’t judgemental but helped and supported me. In fact, at her urging, we have consulted Katie, our solicitor, to try to find out if I could have access to you and what rights if any that I had bearing in mind the fact that I had been warned off contacting you, but then you came here to find me and that makes me happier than I can say.’

We hugged in silence, our tears mingling. I understood everything now and I was so happy that I had decided to come to Penmarris to find her.

‘So you had no idea that I was a girl?’ I said.

‘No; Mary did mention that you had issues, but I didn’t have any sort of inkling that you weren’t a boy at all, but a pretty girl. Do you hate me?’

I looked at her kind face and could never hate her for what had happened. It would have been nice if all those things had not occurred and resulted in putting a wedge between her and my parents for a long time, but life isn’t simple, as I had learnt to my cost.

I embraced her once again and had a bit of a cry. It was so nice to have someone to love me as I was and not think that I was a freak.

Shortly after, the front door bell rang.

I was still in a bit of a state, so Auntie Abby answered the door

A few moments later Doctor Marcia came in and saw my face.

‘Are you okay?‘ she asked with concern in her voice.

I laughed through my tears.

‘I’m fine,’ I said.

‘Mmm,’ she said uncertainly and then proceeded to check me over.

‘You’ll do; your high temperature has gone down and your chest sounds fairly clear. Oh to be young again,’ she said smiling, ‘is your ear still hurting?’

‘A bit,’

‘Come and see me in the surgery on the 27th unless it gets worse. Keep taking the tablets. They are only painkillers, but they should take the edge off any pain that you might have. You can go out if you want, but wrap up warm, put some fresh cotton wool in your ear and don’t overdo it. Right, I must be off. Hubby is taking me out for Christmas dinner at some posh place. He won’t tell me where, but I’ll brain him if it’s the chippy!’

After the Doctor had gone my aunt looked at me.

‘Fancy going for a slow walk down to the quay to blow out the cobwebs? I’ll show you my pottery and then maybe we can meet up with the others after.’

‘Others?’

‘Oh you have a nice big family now. There’s me and Sam, of course and then young Heather and little Gabrielle, not forgetting Hannah who came to us last Christmas and is now part of the family too.‘

‘Is Hannah a baby?’

‘No, she’s fourteen now and has quite a story to tell you, but I’ll leave that for her. Did you want to go out then?’

‘But what about John?’

‘Oh, he must be miles away. As soon as you got to safety, he would assume that you would have told your story and anyway, the police are on the lookout for him now and he’s probably miles away. So do you fancy a walk?’

‘Please.’

‘That’s good. Jo has left some warm things for you to put on in case you did want to go for a walk. They are out in the hall.‘

On a seat by the phone was a long coat, woolly hat, gloves and boots, so I shouldn’t get too cold. Jocasta had thought of everything. I didn’t have jeans as they were still in my case at Dun Roamin and the ones of Jen‘s I tried on didn’t fit me; still the denim skirt was long and thick, as were the tights and I didn’t think that I would get too cold.

After leaving a note on the hallstand, we let ourselves out and started walking down to the quay. It had stopped snowing and the snow was crunchy underneath. Everywhere was covered in white; it appeared that it was unusual for there to be so much snow in the winter around the Penmarris area but maybe due to global warming, it had been the second Christmas running where substantial amounts of snow had fallen.

‘It’s so pretty.’ I said.

‘Yes, I love it here. All the seasons are special.’

I looked at her. She was so pretty and I could see my mother in her. I hesitated for a moment and then asked the question that had been on the tip of my tongue for a while.

‘Auntie?’

‘Yes love?’

‘D…do you mind that I’m a girl and not a boy, and…and will you mind if I stay with you for a while?’

She stopped and turned towards me and smiled. The same smile that Mum gave me…

‘Darling, I love you as you are. Even if you had been a boy, it wouldn’t have made a jot of difference. I love the person inside and if the packaging has changed, so what? Anyway, you are a very pretty girl with a lovely personality and I would love it if you come and live with us. Sam has already said the same too.’

‘She doesn’t know me.’

‘That doesn’t matter. You are family and we will always help family, if asked.’

That left me with a squishy feeling in my tummy and a wee bit emotional, but I had no time to think as Auntie Abby took my hand and we walk down to the quay.

After a minute or two, her phone went off and she answered it.

‘Hello? Oh hi Mummy Dottie…yes, yes, okay.’

She handed me the phone.

‘Dottie Fairbairn wants a word. Her bark‘s worse than her bite,‘ she whispered.

‘H…hello?’

‘I heard that comment from young Abby; thinks I’m deaf but I can hear a mole fart at fifty paces. Anyway, you are Amy, I take it?’

‘Yes ma’am.’

‘Good manners, like that. Not like yer normal young gel, cheek‘s the daylights out of old codgers like me. Now, I heard from the vicar that you are down here to see yer aunt?’

‘Y…yes.’

‘And yer slime ball of a step-father is playin up rough?’

‘Erm, that’s right.’

‘Sounds more like a bloody pantomime to me, with him bein the bad guy yer have ter boo and hiss at. Anyway, were you the gel with the decent singing voice?’

‘I can sing a bit.’

‘Good, we need all the talent we can get for the choir. Consider yerself roped in.’

I jumped slightly as I heard the sound of gunfire coming down the phone.

‘Missed the bugger,’ continued Lady Fairbairn, sounding slightly breathless, anyway, I’ll see yer tonight.’

With that, the phone went dead.

I handed the phone over and asked, ‘is she, erm, right in head?’

‘She’s sharper than you and me put together.‘

‘Oh,’ I replied, ‘well, anyway, she mentioned something about seeing her tonight.’

‘Oh yes, if you feel up to it, we will go and have supper with her.’

‘Oh.’ I said doubtfully.

‘She won’t bite and you’ll love Fifi the Labradoodle,’

‘Labrawhat?’

‘Labradoodle, a cross between a labrador and a poodle.’

As we carried on walking and nodded to passers by, everyone seemed to know my aunt and, disturbingly me too!

It all seemed like a dream as just a few short hours ago, I had no one and now I had a family again and people who cared for me. Even strangers were being nice to me!

What more could I ask for?

Soon we found ourselves on the sea front. The beach stretched away to the left and I could see the waves lapping gently on the shoreline. There was only one couple on the beach and they were throwing a ball for an energetic little dog. We walked along to the quay and then to my aunt’s pottery. She took the keys out of her bag and let us in.

‘Here we are,’ she said, ‘what do you think?’

It was lovely; an Aladdin’s cave of pottery, with brightly painted pots, plates, cups and saucers, figurines and other lovely items, all of which I would have loved to touch, but was terrified to do so in case I broke something.

‘It’s all wonderful!‘ I said enthusiastically.

‘Maybe I can teach you to throw pots?’ she said.

‘Wow, could you, that would be ace, Auntie!’

We were looking at an intricately patterned vase when the door opened with a ping from the bell over the door.

‘Sorry, we’re closed. We will be open the day after Boxing Day,’ said Auntie without looking up.

‘Well, this looks nice and cosy. Here are the two freaks together.‘

We turned around and there he was; a sneer on his unshaven face and a tyre lever in his hand.

‘I warned you not to get anywhere near Andy and here you are, together. You both need to be taught a lesson and I’m the one to do it.’

He came forward menacingly and the look in his eyes showed that he was not all there.

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To Be Continued…

Please leave comments…thanks! ~Sue