The Daily Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 2387 by Angharad Copyright© 2014 Angharad All Rights Reserved.

The old lady was soaked through with dirty water. She was all right, just angry that it had happened to her. I offered to run her home but she declined saying she only lived round the corner. I let her walk on an then strode over to my car where I called the police. I reported the hooligan in the old VW Golf GTi but they weren’t really interested as no one had been injured.

“So it’s okay if I see a large puddle to drive through it at speed and soak everyone in sight, is it?”

“No it isn’t, it’s actually an offence.”

“So why aren’t you acting upon it, I gave you chapter and verse?”

“Because it isn’t a priority as no one was hurt.”

“But she could have been, the shock of all that dirty cold water engulfing her.”

“I understand, but I don’t set the priorities.”

I thanked her for nothing and then dialled Jim. A minute later he gave me the yoof’s name and address. I knew the road and drove down it, sure enough, parked outside the house was the offending auto. Part of me wanted to break the sun roof so the car would flood, part of me wanted to knock on the door and hurl a bucket of dirty water over the kid, one Rashid Khan. While in this silly plotting stage, I felt like getting a stencil for the word ‘pig’ and perhaps a picture of one, and spray them onto his car. I suspect he’d be too stupid to notice or I’d be charged with a hate crime. It was true, I loathed the little sod.

There was nothing I could do about it or him, not legally and anything else would place me in the same category as him. I drove home. The girls were excited to see me and fired lots of questions. I actually managed to answer one or two before the next barrage was despatched. Eventually, they went off to do homework and I went up to change out of the dress and shoes. My toes thought it was their birthday as I stepped out of the red court shoes, although I won’t wear the silly pointed winkle picker type.

Dressing in jeans and a top I slipped on my clogs and went downstairs, where Stella who’d just returned from work was probing me for reports of my day in court. By the time Julie, Si and Sammi arrived home, I was fed up with repeating myself. David must have heard it several times as he laboured over a feast of aromas which would form our dinner. It was delicious too, a chicken in white wine sauce with new potatoes, asparagus, baby carrots and peas.

Julie disappeared as soon as she’d finished eating, she apparently had a date. I escaped to the dishwasher to try and avoid Simon’s mulling over of the main points. It was over, full stop. I’d had enough and almost said so, then realised he was interested because he wanted to protect me, his wife and our children.

A car pulled into the drive as Julie came downstairs. My tummy flipped as I saw the car—the Golf GTi. “What’s his name?” I tried to ask as casually as I could.

“Why, you don’t usually ask.”

“I’d like to know.”

“Why?”

“Because I do, I don’t need to give a reason.”

“I’m an adult, Mother, I don’t have to ask permission or anything else.” Julie blushed and her eyes burned with a fire she was trying to keep under control.

“It’s Rashid, isn’t it?”

She started when I gave his name, “How d’you know that?”

“I know a few things about him, including the fact that I’d prefer you didn’t go out with him.”

“Just because you think he’s foreign.”

“That has little or nothing to do with it.”

“A likely story,” she huffed at me.

“He’s a nasty piece of work.”

“Oh, Mummy, stop treating me like I was six years old.”

“Stop acting like it then.” That did it, she stamped out of the house and off to the car. If I caught him here again, I’d personally show him the door.

“What was all that about?” asked Simon witnessing the altercation between Julie and I.

“Oh some kid that Julie has gone out with.”

“What about him?”

“He’s a total shit.”

“Why d’you say that?”

I related the incident with the puddle and the old lady. He voiced the usual objections about pulling in to let traffic through and so on. I explained why none of them worked, he’d done it deliberately because he could, speeding up to get maximum splash effect.

“If he does anything to Julie I’ll splash him with a supertanker while he’s floating out of the Solent,” declared Simon.

“You can’t do that,” I gasped.

“It’ll all be above board, you know, he fell in trying to rescue his clothes.”

“Where were his clothes then?” my mind was boggling.

“He was wearing them, why?”

“How could he fall in trying to...oh, that’s dreadful, Simon.”

“I thought it was pretty good myself.”

“Just because he’s a little shit doesn’t mean you have to flush him away.”

“I know, but I might just enjoy it.”

“Simon, stop trying to wind me up, it’s been a hard enough day as it is.”

I got the littlies to bed and had a glass of wine with Simon and Stella, Phoebe was keeping an eye on the little ones while she revised for her exams.

“So Julie’s date is the little toerag you saw earlier?” recapped Stella.

“Yes.”

“What’re you going to do about it?” she asked.

“Hope that she has such a poor night she doesn’t go out with him again.”

“Just keep Si on a short lead, you know how volatile he can be.”

“I will don’t worry.”

It had been so warm, we had the bedroom window open when some funny noise woke me. I listened again, it sounded like somebody crying. I looked at the clock, it was after two. Slipping out of bed, I pulled on a cardigan as I went through the door onto the landing. Julie’s bed was undisturbed. I dashed downstairs. Opening the back door I saw Julie sitting on the edge of the wall, she was still crying.

“Julie, sweetheart, c’mon in, I’ll get the kettle on.”

A moment later she did come in but she walked past me as if trying to avoid me. For a moment I wondered if it was because she thought I’d say, “I told you so,” but she ought to know by now I never say that, even when I think it.

I dashed after her but she tried to avoid me again. Grabbing her arm I turned her to face me and gasped. Her eye was swelling up and she could barely see through it and her lip was swollen as if she’d been hit in the face.

“Did he hit you?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it, all right?”

“Come and get an ice pack on it.” I pulled her towards the kitchen, thinking that I’d call the police while she was using it. It looked as if it was going to be a long night.