The Daily Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 2720 by Angharad Copyright© 2015 Angharad

---

This is a work of fiction any mention of real people, places or institutions is purely coincidental and does not imply that they are as suggested in the story.
@@@@@
With the exception of Danni who stayed in bed because she was a teenager, the others had stayed there to give Hannah a chance to talk to me, or so it transpired. It would appear I’m not being manipulated by one child but by all of them. Somewhere along the line either I didn’t carefully read the script on parenting or they decided to do an edit without telling me. Am I too soft or prepare to try and reason with a bunch of kids who all seem cleverer than I am?

I got Hannah to sort the washing for me while I roused the others, it was nine o’clock and I wanted to finish the breakfast mess and get the kitchen cleared before David came over. Ah, another complication arose in my mind, what’s he going to say if he hears Hannah calling me mummy? Why does life have to be so complicated—all I did was get up this morning before it jumped all over me.

Trish and Livvie tittered when I went to get them up, “Did she speak to you?” asked Livvie.

“Who?” I asked playing stupid—my natural state these days.

“Hannah,” said Meems loudly.

“Of course, we talked about what she was having for breakfast, which if you lot don’t get up soon it will be too late for.”

“Is she going to call you mummy?” asked Trish

“What business of yours is it what she calls me?” I asked and she blushed.

“Well you are our mummy,” asserted Livvie, I’m sure she’s going to be a barrister, “so if she’s going to become our sister, we’d like to know.”

“I don’t know if I need any more daughters.”

“Well you invited her to stay here, didn’t you?”

Hoist by my own petard yet again, “I did but I gave an undertaking to her mother that it was only a temporary thing.”

“You can’t abandon her now, Mummy, that would be very unkind,” counsel for the defence, Livvie declared.

“I didn’t say I was abandoning her, but I think we have to move much more carefully to keep her here. I want to see her achieve her potential, as I do with all of you, but she still has a mother who could cause problems if she thought I was trying to keep her.”

“Oh,” was the collective response. Then Livvie said, “But does she have to know if Hannah calls you mummy?”

“Ingrid has already accused me of trying to steal her child. That wasn’t my intention, I just felt she’d do better going to your school and being with you as her friends.”

“She wants to be our sister, Mummy, an’ we want her to be as well.”

I thought to Julie and Phoebe supporting her slip of the lip earlier. “Have you spoken to Julie and Pheebs about this?”

“An’ Danni, too,” piped Mima, always honest to a fault.

“And they are happy for this to happen too, are they?”

“Yeah, they all said they almost thought of her as a sister anyway.”

“I need to speak to Daddy about this, and possibly Gramps as well.”

“Gramps is okay, we talked to him about it last night, and we reckon Grampa Henry will be too.”

“Don’t tell me you sent him an email?”

“No, Trish phoned him last night.”

Can you explain to a ten year old genius that she might be acting beyond her remit? She just sees an obstacle and blasts her way straight through it without understanding the possible repercussions.

“What did he say?”

“For you to let him know when you adopted her officially.”

Outmanoeuvred doesn’t begin to describe how I felt except I knew I had to assert some form of authority or I’d lose the initiative completely over this and other things. I was still nominally the parent here, even though at times I felt out of my depth.

“I think we need to set some rules here. I’m the mummy, and either I or Daddy decide these things. I’m happy to hear your opinion at times, especially if I feel you need to share one, but otherwise I make the decisions not you lot. I’m annoyed you spoke to both grandparents before you spoke to me, it feels like you were trying to force me into agreeing with you, when in fact if you had discussed it with me beforehand, I’d might have felt more sympathetic.”

“What does all that mean, Mummy?” asked Trish.

“It means if you try anything like this again, I’m going to say no and there will be other consequences as well. Don’t you dare go behind my back ever again.”

“Oh,” was said collectively before Meems added, “She’s cwoss.”

“Yes, I am cross. Now all of you up and down to breakfast.”

“What about Hannah?” asked Livvie.

“She’s had breakfast.”

“No, the other thing.”

“That’s between Hannah and me. Now up please or you’ll miss breakfast. Trish, tell Danielle to get up and strip her bed.”

I went downstairs and David was in the kitchen, “I put the bread machine on, Mummy,” said Hannah and David’s eyebrows rose about six inches.

“Go and get the others up, will you?”

“Yes, Mummy,” she said and once again David’s brows rose.

“Got another one then?” he said, I thought rather offhandedly.

“I haven’t decided anything yet except to offer her the chance of a stable home life and education.”

“So why’s she calling you mummy?”

“She and the others decided she could. I haven’t given an opinion yet because I haven’t spoken to Simon.”

“Ingrid’s not gonna be very happy if she finds out.”

“Who’s going to tell her, you?”

“No, but somebody should.”

“Why is that?”

“She’s still her mother.”

“Only in fact not spirit.”

“But isn’t she legally so?”

“My concern is the welfare of the child.”

“What if Ingrid said the same?”

“With the exception of allowing her to stay here and be educated at the same school as my girls, I suspect she’s more concerned with her own welfare than her daughter’s.”

“I think you’re pushing your luck, Cathy.”

“I’m not actually doing anything but trying to meet a need, I’ll continue doing that as best I can regardless of anyone else’s opinion.”

“That’s telling me.”

“That’s telling everyone who may be interested, and I don’t see what allowing the child to call me what she wants is anybody’s concern but hers and mine.”

“Fine,” he shrugged but his body language showed it was anything but fine. However he is my cook, not my legal adviser so his opinion is just that; besides, he possibly feels some degree of interest given his relationship with Hannah earlier. I haven’t prevented that neither have I encouraged it.

After breakfast was over and I was concentrating on the washing, I noticed him speaking with her and she walked away without displaying any obvious distress, I would therefore conclude that they hadn’t had any sort of disagreement.

It would grieve me if I lost David, he’s brilliant at his job and I hope a personal friend, but he works for me, not the other way round. If I lost Hannah, I’d be more upset than I would losing my cook, not because I feel proprietorial towards her, but because she’s under my care and I protect those who are, especially the young or vulnerable.