Wheels and wings 33

Chapter 33.

Character List.

Jack Thomas Later AKA Ellie Transvestite/intersexual and keen cyclist.
Amanda Thomas AKA Amie Jack's sister.
Charlotte Dawson Keen girl cyclist and Jack’s soon-to-be girlfriend.
Bob Cycling club captain.
Mr Thomas Weston School games master and keen rugby player.
Billy Davies. Rugby ‘jock’, kind to Jack, he fancies Charlotte.
Marjorie Spencer. Holder of unofficial ‘Prettiest-girl-in-the-school’ title.
Miss Elizabeth Postlethwaite. The English Mistress.
Aunty Olwen Where Jack changes for school and leaves his bike.
Mandy. Olwen’s daughter, Jack’s older cousin.
Mr Griffiths The County solicitor.

Chapter 33

When Ellie returned that evening she was pleased to find Charlotte sitting up and reading some law books that her father had brought when he visited.

“So; you're etting better I see. No headaches then from the reading and the eyes.”

Charlotte winced as she reached out to place the heavy tomb on her bedside cabinet. However, Charlotte's wince could not disguise her delighted smile as she eagerly stretched out her arms to receive an embrace. They hugged each other for long minutes then finally fell to chatting as they caught up on the lost years.

“Is your dad coming up at the weekend?” Ellie checked.

Charlotte nodded then sipped some tea that the nurse had brought. Ellie smiled at her then took a deep breath as she hoped and prayed she had read the situation correctly.

"Charlotte."

"What?"

“Will you marry me?”

Charlotte’s hand trembled as she reached to place the cup and saucer on the bedside cabinet then her eyes widened with genuine unrestricted delight. It was the response Ellie had been desperately hoping for; - no reservations, no questions, and no request to ‘wait a bit’. Charlotte gave a squeak of joy before answering with an unreserved ... “Yes! But you should have waited until I’d put my tea down, I nearly spilt it!”

"Well you'd better finish it before it get's cold."

Charlotte sipped some more tea as she sensed Ellie's uncertainty. A thoughtful silence ensued before Charlotte realised Ellie had something else on her mind. She replaced her cup and saucer on the bedside locker and frowned.

“Go on, spit it out.”

Ellie stared straight into Charlotte’s eyes searching for the slightest flicker or nuance of reservation as she prepared to ask the next question, the question that had been exercising her mind more than the first one. Charlotte returned the inquisitive stare then repeated.

“Go on. What’s bothering you now?”

“How d’you think your dad will feel? I mean you’re his only child.”

Charlotte squinted as the slightest shadow of a smile twitched at the edges of her mouth.

“He’s known about it for years you silly Muppet. Well; he's known my feelings that is ...”

“I know that, but then we were just friends, this ... this is a bit different. This is marriage, my becoming a part of your extended family, your aunts and uncles; all that stuff. There’s bound to be a few detractors. What will your cousins think?”

“I don’t care what my cousins think. It’s you I want as my partner. All I ask is that you check to see if you can give me babies.”

“Babies!” Ellie squeaked. “Babies! Crickey Chaz, how many d’you want?”

Charlotte bit her lip.

“Two would be nice, one of each even. Come on! If it’s got to be I.V. stuff surely they can sort that out; you know twins, a pigeon pair.”

Ellie swallowed, she knew the complications and cautioned Charlotte.

“It’s not that easy love. It’s still a bit hit and miss. If they try for multiple births you could end up with more than two. Remember the Walton’s.”

“But surely, science has moved on since then, that was years ago.”

“Well I’ll chat to Professor Simmons about it; he’s the one leading the research, at least here in Manchester.”

“Yes. Please do. For my sake and for Dad’s. I know he wants grandchildren. One of each would obviate any reservations he might have.”

Ellie paused thoughtfully. As she cast her own interpretation of Charlotte’s beseechment.

“Am I getting this right? You’d prefer to be pregnant before approaching your dad with any ideas of marriage.”

“Yes. He’d be forced to accept the situation. He’d be confronted with a fait accompli.”

“Ellie frowned at Charlotte.

“But that’s a bit unfair, you’re prejudging him. He didn’t seem to hate me when we were together while you were in coma. I thought he and I got on okay, but that was when we were just friends, or looked like renewing our friendship. Will you let me speak to him first?”

It was Charlotte’s turn to worry. She so wanted to be partnered to Ellie, she didn’t want anything to obstruct or delay her hopes. However, her dad was the only immediate family she had and the thought of losing him was second only to the thought of her losing Ellie again. She bit her lip and pondered her options as tears tried desperately to escape from her eyes. Ellie both sensed and felt Charlotte’s confusion as she wrestled with the problem.

As a treacherous tear betrayed Charlotte’s emotions she croaked.

“D’you think you can; find some way I mean ... some way of sounding him out without giving too much away.”

“Not sure,” Ellie confessed honestly. “If I’m to try, then it’s got to be this weekend. They’ll be releasing you next week, once that femur is properly on the mend. It was touch and go while you were zonked out but now it’s doing okay. What will you do if I blow it ... you know, make a mess of things?”

“I don’t know, cross that bridge if and/or when we come to it.”

“I don’t want to force you to make a choice;” Ellie warned, “you know, between me and your dad.”

“You won’t darling. It’s you I want; you’re the one I want to spend the rest of my days with.”

“And what happens if I can’t give you babies.”

“Same thing as what happens if I can’t conceive babies. We adopt.”

“Yeah but think of the issues if it comes to that. Firstly we have to get past the adoption authorities; you know; you, me, two women, same sex relationships and all that.”

Charlotte was about to object but Ellie held her line.

“Yeah, I know they’re much more tolerant of same sex relationships these days but there’s still the gutter press, and other kids when our kids are growing up ... mind you that’d be the same for kids born naturally to us; well you know what I mean.”

Charlotte shook her head vigorously.

“You’ve just answered your own objections. Growing up would be the same whether our kids were adopted or our own. Anyway, nobody can see into the future. Let’s just clear the marriage hurdle first. When will you see dad?”

“Is he coming up on Friday?”

“Then or Saturday, I don’t know yet, it depends who’s on call at his health centre.”

“Try and find out. The earlier I catch him the better, before he sees you preferably, then you’ll be able to speak to him after I’ve approached him.”

They squeezed hands and chatted for the rest of that afternoon. For the remainder of the week Ellie visited each evening until Thursday when Charlotte met her with the news.

“Dad’s coming up on Friday evening. The eight o’clock train into Piccadilly. Can you arrange to meet him?”

“I don’t have a car. I’ll have to arrange to meet him at the station then go for a coffee or something.”

“Yes, that’s what I mean. It’ll be too late for him to visit me anyway. You could take him down the gay village.”

Ellie tongued her cheek thoughtfully.

“Is that a good idea?”

“There’re some nice restaurants down there.” Charlotte replied.

Ellie stared at her disbelievingly.

“How do you know? When did you go down the village?”

Charlotte realised she might have given away one of her secrets. All the years they had been separated whilst both were at university in different cities, Charlotte had on many occasions, visited the village in the forlorn hope of somehow ‘accidentally’ bumping into Ellie.

Charlotte had naturally thought that Ellie would probably be down in the village every weekend and she had hoped to stage a ‘coincidental meeting’. Sadly, at the end of each of those weekends, Charlotte had returned back to Liverpool and university, every Sunday afternoon bitterly disappointed that she had failed to ‘accidently’ bump into Ellie.

Had Charlotte simply checked the itinerary of the university cycling club, she would have stood a far better chance of ‘bumping’ into Ellie whilst out on her bike during the weekends.

Ellie invariably visited the gay village on Wednesdays when all the universities had an afternoon off lectures to allow for various extra-curricular activities. Ellie usually went shopping in the early afternoon, then a training ride with a few circuits of the local velodrome before scrubbing up and going into the village for a night of socialising and clubbing. The clubbing however was simply to enjoy the late night dancing because Ellie lived permanently in the female mode and there was no sexual aspect to her transgendered lifestyle. Ellie lived as a woman and functioned as a woman except in that one crucial area where she had not yet decided upon the final step.

For Ellie, going down to the gay village was more of an intellectual exercise than a sexual one. There, she would meet with like-minded, kindred souls and mostly chat as they shared life experiences, discussed ambitions and hopes or planned LGBT campaigns. It was only in the very late hours that Ellie would finally join ‘the scene’ and indulge in a bit of dancing and clubbing before returning to her flat early in preparation for Thursday lectures.

As Charlotte remained silent about her sojourns down the village Ellie asked again purely out of curiosity and never thinking for one moment that Charlotte went there searching for her.

“So go on; how do you know about the village. When did you go there?”

Charlotte lied to hide her embarrassment.

“I went there a couple of times with the law school when we were studying gay rights and issues.”

“Oh. I see. But you didn’t think to invite me to come and meet you. Still ashamed of me where you?”

Charlotte could see the hurt glistening in Ellie’s eyes and realised she was stepping into dangerous waters. She lied again desperately.

“No, no! There wasn’t time, we had a tight itinerary and there was a lecture.”

Ellie accepted this answer without thinking; but had Ellie considered the facts ... of which she knew a lot; she would have spotted Charlotte’s flawed explanation! Ellie was very active politically in the local LGBT scene and she would have remembered such a lecture; especially a lecture taking place on a Saturday.

Indeed, any organised lecture touching on academia and LGBT issues would have been known to her. Ellie was well acquainted with the organisations and campaigns surrounding LGBT issues both locally in Manchester and nationwide. However, at that juncture, Ellie missed the point for she was pre-occupied with how she was going to treat with Charlotte’s father. Charlotte sensed this and steered the conversation around to the impending meeting.

“So where will you take daddy?”

“Well actually, now you’ve mentioned it, I think it would be a good idea to take him down the village. I’m well known down there and I can arrange for him to meet some of my friends. They’ll provide for a lively conversation.”

“I thought it was about asking dad for my hand.”

“I can do that first, in the privacy of a cafe. The girls don’t come out until late so he can meet them after we’ve talked.”

“What happens if he objects?”

“I don’t think he will.” Ellie persisted.

“But if he does.”

“Then he and I separate and I meet the girls alone or simply go back to my flat and lick my wounds.”

“Then I have to face him on Saturday morning.”

“But not alone,” Ellie added, “I can be there to support you.”

With these plans loosely arranged Ellie kissed Charlotte goodnight and left.

~~oooOOOooo~~