The Daily Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 2759 by Angharad Copyright© 2015 Angharad

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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.
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I was really glad when three o’clock came around and I could escape to relative sanity and a chat with the cat—well she’d make more sense than some of the nincompoops we call undergraduates. Why did it take several minutes for someone to state the obvious? What’s the dominant species on grassland? Did they think it was a trick question?

I collected a load of children and Hannah asked if she could sit in the front with me. The others voiced no objections so it looked like a set up.

“Mummy, will you adopt me?”

“Might we talk about this at home?”

“Oh all right—I’m serious, you know?”

“I’m sure you are, sweetheart.” I deflected all other questions or statements until we got home and even then sent her up to change which threw her a little, but she complied. Finally, she came back down and clutching her biscuit and drink followed me into my study. I placed my cuppa on my desk and gave her a hug after she put her drink down as well.

“What did you do that for?” she asked after I hugged her.

“In case I can’t give the answers you want me to, I wanted to show I still love you.”

She eyed me suspiciously, “I want you to adopt me like you have all the others.”

“You already have a mother.”

“So do the others, except Livvie.” She’d done her homework which surprised me.

“I didn’t mean it like that, sweetheart, I meant your birth mother seems prepared to let you stay with us and I’d hate to remind her you were here.”

“As if she’s likely to forget that you’re my mummy now.”

“I’m aware she knows where you are but I suspect if we do anything to change much she might not be as cooperative.”

“You mean you don’t want to adopt me?”

“Hannah, I should love to be able to offer you the security that adoption would give you but I suspect that Ingrid would do all she could to stop us.”

“Why? She doesn’t care what happens to me as long as she doesn’t have to do anything.”

“That is probably true but I suspect she’d suddenly be very interested in you if I put in a request to adopt you.”

“So that’s it then?”

“No it isn’t, but we have to be a bit more clever, we need to show that she hasn’t shown any interest in you for the several months you’ve been here. Has she tried to contact you?”

“Once by text—I told her to go away.”

“And she didn’t come back to you?”

“Trish showed me how to block her, didn’t get any afterwards.”

“Look, can we leave it for a while longer before we try anything and while we’re waiting I’ll try and speak to the solicitor who helped me adopt Trish and Meems and Livvie. We had a bit of trouble initially.”

“Is that because you used to be a boy?”

“Who told you that?”

“Ingrid, she said you want everyone else’s children to try and pretend you’re a woman.”

“Did she, what d’you think about that?”

“I don’t care you’re a better mother to me than she ever was even if you can’t have babies. I don’t think she can anymore neither.”

I wondered if that was true and if it would mean she would fight hard to keep Hannah, being unable to have any other children?

“She had an abortion and it messed her up inside. I’d have liked a brother or sister but having Trish and Livvie is like having sisters.”

“Good, I’m glad you think of them like your sisters, I’m sure they think of you in the same way.”

“Yeah, but I want my name to be Cameron too.”

“Being a member of this family is more than just having Cameron as a surname.”

“No but it would help.”

“I’m sure it would but it could also remind Ingrid and cause a negative reaction.”

“It won’t, I asked her.”

This child was full of surprises. “When?” I asked thinking it was months ago.

“Last week, I phoned her up and said I wanted you to adopt me and change my name to Cameron.”

I nearly choked on my tea.

“You called her?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I’m surprised, that’s all.”

“Well I didn’t want her to get in the way—she was screwing some bloke and I interrupted her, she said yes very quickly to get rid of me.”

“So she might not say yes if she had a moment to think about it.”

“Dunno, she seemed to be glad to get shot of me.”

“If we try for adoption, we need to be sure it’s going to work.”

“I’d much rather live with you as my mother, at least you talk to me an’ buy me things.”

I hoped the latter wasn’t the reason for this sudden surge of interest in joining us officially, though I could hardly ask her as it must be tough enough as it is. Should I just trust what she says to be exactly as she said it or was she manipulating me with or without the help of Trish and Livvie? Or am I just getting old and cynical?

I needed to end this conversation on a positive but otherwise inactive note, the last thing I needed was Ingrid on my back either trying to get me to pay her off or going to a tabloid. I couldn’t stop her but if she did the latter I’d make sure the press knew the truth about her and her proclivities as a lady of the night.

I didn’t need to adopt any more children, I had too many to look after now at the same time having shown Hannah the advantages of a supportive family and good school, I could hardly tell her I was bored with the project now and to go away. I had to continue my support and thus that of the family as long as she needed it and that would certainly be easier if she were an official member of it. Sometimes I think to much.

I promised Hannah that we’d try when it was most opportune and although she wasn’t officially a Cameron, as far as I was concerned, she’d be treated exactly the same as those who were. She didn’t look entirely convinced but that was as much as I’d commit plus of course to speak with Mr Henstridge to try and forestall any legal hiccups that could arise either as a deliberate ploy by Ingrid or simply by dint of the legal process. I told her these things were expensive and although we were a relatively wealthy family, we had to be a bit careful with our money as legal fees could soon mount up to huge sums in a very short time. I wasn’t sure if she believed me.