Novel 1. Chapter 13.

As she turned through the garden gate, Ellie was mildly surprised to see that her father’s car was not in its usual place. At first she presumed he had been drafted into ‘Taxi’ duties to bring her grandmother home from Poole; Ellie had checked that Charlotte had left the cafe when she turned out of the port gates. When she stepped out of her car on arriving home however, she met her Nana Charlotte at the front door.

“Where’s Dad Nan?”

“He’s at the hospital.”

Ellie’s heart missed a beat.

“What’s wrong, where’s Calli?”

“Upstairs doing her homework.”

Ellie’s stomach sagged with relief before she silently (and happily) noted that Charlotte had used the ‘correct’ pronoun –‘her’. She then inquired further about her dad.

“So what’s happened, is dad okay?”

“He left a note on the hall table. It just says he hasn’t been feeling well for a couple of months so went to the doctor’s this morning and they sent him for tests.”

“Have you phoned him?”

“He’s not answering his phone.”

“Damn. We’ll just have to wait!”

Both women fell silent as they went into the kitchen. Neither felt like preparing food but Callista had to be fed. Ellie started to prepare some vegetables.

“What sort of tests I wonder?” She remarked to Charlotte.

Charlotte shrugged, “he didn’t say, so we can only wait and see.”

They had finished the vegetables before they heard William’s car scrunching on the gravel. Both women met him
at the door and both felt the sag of concern as they met his frown.

“Come inside,” he said softly.

The pair followed him and took the seats he indicated together on the settee. Ellie asked bluntly.

“What were the tests for?”

“William’s expression clouded as he replied.”

“They think I’ve got Leukaemia.”

Both women gasped fearfully but it was Charlotte who recovered first.

“What’s the prognosis?”

“They’re not sure yet. It’s rather advanced, perhaps too advanced for chemo-therapy, and radio-therapy won’t be very effective. They’re doing some more tests tomorrow then they’ll know a lot more and decide what’s best.”
The mood around the meal was somewhat forced as all three adults tried to appear normal for Callista’s sake. After she went to bed the adults resumed discussions at length. There was insufficient information to make any plans or preparations and the three of them fretted nervously as each struggled to find the right words to describe their worst fears. Eventually, for want of hard facts, they all made their separate ways to bed. Ellie broke down in tears in her father’s arms.

“What’s the worst case scenario Dad?”

He whispered uncertainly.

“It’s quite an aggressive cancer. I’ve only been feeling the effect for a few months. I should have checked my tiredness and fatigue out earlier. I’ll know more tomorrow when all the tests are back.”

“I want to know immediately. Phone me at work.”

With these words she stumbled to her bedroom while William paused to watch his only daughter as she turned and disappeared into her room. A feeling of utter failure enveloped him as he realised that in a few months at best, his only daughter might be orphaned if his treatment failed. It just wasn’t fair after all the hurt his daughter had suffered with the loss of her mum! Rage and fear accompanied him to bed.

The following morning after a subdued breakfast they parted as Ellie took Callum to school and William returned to the hospital; the news was not good. The specialists advised him that the success of the therapies they offered might prove ineffective because he had left it so long. Being told that men often left it too late did not improve William’s mood as he phoned his daughter.

“So what therapies are they offering dad?” Ellie pressed.

“They say a bone marrow transplant from a matching donor is the best option but they will start with chemo therapy until or unless a suitable donor is found. My sibling sisters are the best option being as I haven’t got a brother. Apparently a ‘same sex’ sibling is the best genetic potential match then opposite sex siblings then Mum - but she’s very old and her marrow might not take. Failing that it’s you or your cousins and basically they’re my only hope from any genetic matches. They can search the donor banks but those are much longer odds.”
Ellie cursed silently as she considered what she knew.

‘Should she approach Beverly or not? Would Beverly agree? Would she refuse to disclose her identity and possibly agree to it anonymously?”

Her silent thoughts caused her father to ask anxiously.

“Are you alright dear? There’s plenty of hope at the moment. They are starting the chemo-therapy next Monday.”

“They say chemotherapy can feel worse than the cancer. You’re in for a bloody rough ride dad.”

“Well for the moment it’s my only option though Radio therapy might bring some benefit. They all agree though that a bone-marrow transplant is the most effective treatment so we’d better get the family organised.”

“Yes Dad. I’ll phone the aunts now.”

Ellie slowly put her mobile in the charger and stared thoughtfully at Beverly’s door while cursing that her boss was in Germany. Then she started phoning around. Despite their ages, both Aunties immediately volunteered to donate bone marrow if the matches proved acceptable. Ellie sighed as she contemplated phoning Beverly then she decided to grasp the nettle firmly.

Firstly she went on-line and researched the issues but it kept coming back to the same conclusion. Same-sex, full-blood siblings usually offered the best hope and were usually the first option to be approached by the doctors. After returning constantly to the same result, she snatched her mobile from its charger and dialled her boss.

The phone was answered almost immediately and Ellie silently gave thanks that Beverly was such an efficient business-woman. In Germany, Ellie’s name popped up on Beverly’s mobile.

“Hello, Ellie, what’s the problem?”

Ellie’s stomach sagged with relief as she recognised Beverly’s voice and she silently gave thanks for the benefits of the mobile phone.

“Hello Miss Beverly, yes it’s Ellie, uuhm, there’s nothing wrong; well not with the business anyway.”

Ellie paused and Beverly immediately picked up on her hesitation.

“Go on. I can hear the ‘BUT’ in your thoughts even here in Germany! What’s happened?”

“Uuhm, it’s family.”

“Well go on love, don’t be shy, you know I don’t bite. Are you looking for time off or something, can it not wait until I get back?”

“It’s not that sort of urgent, I can quite happily keep running the office. No, it’s my Dad.”

“What about him?”

“He’s seriously ill.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“He’s got cancer.”

“Oh dear, what’s the prognosis?”

“It’s Leukaemia, they are trying chemotherapy and radio therapy but they are not very confident that these will be successful. They say as a last resort he might need a bone marrow transplant but even that is not certain. They will need a close tissue match.”

The long, pregnant silence on Beverly’s end told Ellie that her boss had already worked out the issues and it was obvious that Beverly was considering them. Ellie waited silently, afraid to provoke any contention. Eventually Beverly replied.

“I’ll have to be the last resort as a donor; I owe none of that family anything – except you of course. Try everybody else in the family first.”

Ellie was mildly shocked at Beverly’s seeming disinterest but accepted that Beverly’s emotional scars ran deep.

'Nearly sixty years of rejection would leave a hole the size of a bomb crater in anybody’s psyche. Even after meeting with William, Beverly still seemed determined to keep her brother and indeed all her siblings at ‘barge-pole’ length – never mind ‘arm’s-length’!
.

Ellie mused sadly.

‘She must have been a very lonely person all through her seagoing years. No family to come home to, then forty odd years without a single person to call a friend until she met Billy and Mac – and they are more business partners than friends. Yes, a life of rejection could leave deep scars, that and the transgender thing. I’ll have to tread softly here.’
Ellie thought on, ‘and work out how we’ll keep Beverly’s identity a secret.’

The weekend proved to be a nightmare as the family rushed frantically to organise the potential donors ready for the marrow tests the following week. Fortunately, Beverly had returned from Hamburg and Ellie was given time off to accompany her father to the hospital. The only positive thing to come from the first meetings was that Ellie was appointed her father’s carer and that enabled her to have unrestricted access to the specialists, even to the extent of having private consultations while her father was undergoing treatment.

For weeks Ellie watched her father suffering the effects of chemotherapy until it became too painful to bear. He lost his hair; he was constantly vomiting and steadily losing weight. The treatment wasn’t working and the consultant’s expression told Ellie this when she next went to see her.

Her auntie’s bone marrow samples offered some hope so this option was the next and as far as the doctors were concerned, the last hope. When the transplants failed Ellie was finally forced to approach Beverly.

“My auntie’s samples were a partial match and they tried transplanting them but it’s no good. Unless you can come up with something, then Dad’s only got a few months at best.”

Ellie watched Beverly staring thoughtfully at her desktop before she looked up frowning over the screen.

“I’ve got to remain anonymous. I want nothing to do with them do you understand.”

Ellie sagged with relief as Beverly elaborated.

“If – and it’s a big ‘IF’, my bone marrow matches, you’ll have to explain to those consultants that nothing gets back to the family. They can lie about the donor’s identity but that’s not my concern, - Doctor’s are used to lying in my experiences, - they can pretend I’m just a donor from the national marrow bank, they can do whatever it takes but I do not get to meet the family and they don’t learn of me, right?”

“Right,” Agreed Ellie, “and thank you.”

Beverly’s lip twitched momentarily and Ellie was convinced it might have been the hint of a smile but it quickly turned into a thoughtful frown that Ellie could not interpret.

Beverly nodded slowly.

“Okay then, you’d better go and explain the deal to the doctors. It’s my way or the highway. There’s to be no whisper of my existence. Go on, phone the hospital now and explain everything but No Names and no pack-drill.”

Ellie needed no further encouragement and within two days, she and Beverly were in the consultant’s office.

“So Miss Taff, your companion has told me of your circumstances and I must confess I’m shocked at your story.”

Beverly gave the doctor a long intimidating glare.

“Firstly doctor, Miss Ellie is NOT my companion and secondly, we’re not here to talk about me, just take a sample and see if it’s any use.”

“Yes indeed, haste is of the essence, I’m only sorry you didn’t come earlier but now I can understand why.”

Beverly nodded, “Just get on with it. The sooner I’m out of here the happier I’ll be.”

The consultant turned to glance askance at Ellie but she just shrugged. She was just relieved and glad that her auntie had agreed at all.

With the mood set, Beverly’s blood and tissue samples were harvested and proved to be a far closer match than her sisters. When the consultant returned she was smiling.

“This gives me hope. If it’s any reassurance Miss Denton, I can assure you that your companion is, or should I say was, certainly once your father’s full genetic blood brother – and if it’s any further reassurance, her gender correction will not affect the match.”

Ellie frowned slightly as Beverly sniffed with some slight amusement then explained.

“Firstly Doctor, and I’m warning you that I’ll not repeat myself again!! Miss Ellie Denton is not my companion; she is my ‘girl Friday’ at the office. She is also a widow to The Right Honourable Henry Denton deceased and her son is the only male heir to the duke of Denton. Ellie simply works for me and my shipping line.”

The consultant apologised and paused before proceeding. The following morning Beverly and her brother were prepared in separate theatres and by noon William had received the requisite implant of bone marrow. Some days later the consultant simply failed to tell the whole truth when she was able to tell William and the family that the donor’s tissue had worked and it looked as though the procedure might be successful. William’s blood count had improved.

The following week Beverly returned to work to find a huge bouquet of flowers from Ellie on her desk.

“Why these are lovely Ellie! You didn’t have to go to this length you know.”

“Yes I did, you’ve probably saved Dad’s life. Let me put them in the vase.”

In the kitchen, after arranging the flowers, Ellie also made a pot of tea and laid out some of Beverly’s favourite chocolate digestive biscuits. She joined her boss on the other side of her ‘partner desk’ and grinned. Her eyes glistened to betray Ellie’s feelings.

“I can’t say a big enough thank you but the flowers are just a token symbol. Thank you again for saving dad.”

Beverly shrugged and frowned thoughtfully.

“I’m not ready for anything to do with my relatives just yet, and I’m not sure I ever will. Just make sure they don’t know.”

“It's your choice auntie. I totally understand.”

And there the matter would have lain except for a blunder in the records office at the hospital.

Some months later, when Ellie’s dad was attending a follow-up consultation the consultant was called away while William was actually sitting in her office. He noticed his file sitting on the desk and casually picked it up to skim through it. He had no issues with the treatment because it had proved successful and he was now in remission but sheer curiosity drove him to take a peek. One unattached small page titled ‘donor match and comparison factors’ slipped out of the file onto the floor so William picked it up. The single page had two columns of information with matching numbers and other details and small notes written against them. Unfortunately at the bottom of the page there were a list of relationships comparing the recipient and donor and the pertinent box simply had the word ‘sibling’ followed by a question mark penned in a different hand.

William looked at it and frowned. He knew perfectly well what sibling meant and it didn’t make sense. His sister’s tissues had proved unsuitable so what did the word ‘sibling’ mean. In line with Beverly’s wishes the consultant had left the donor name box empty but obviously some other specialist had innocently endorsed the relationship box when transcribing details. William could see that the word sibling was in different ink and handwriting from the rest of the form.

When the consultant returned William was holding the form; it was after all his file. The consultant frowned slightly and William picked up on the woman’s discomfort as she asked.

“Is there something wrong Mr Holst?”

“I’m not sure doctor. I just noticed this donor form that fell out of the file and somebody has written the word sibling followed by a question mark in the box marked ‘relationship if any’. Can you explain it?”

The woman was nothing if not quick thinking and she came up with the observation that was actually plausible.

“Well the quality of the match is remarkable as you can see by the ticks and comments. So much so that it could resemble the match of a sibling and the haematologists were curious. Obviously one of them must have wondered and put the question mark against the box marked ‘relationship’”

William’s ears perked up.

“D’ you think it could be a sibling. I had a brother once but he went out of the family when he was only a child – a very young child.”

Alarm bells were ringing in the consultant’s head as she realised the page had revealed too much. Once again she tried to cover up without saying an outright lie.

“Well it would be a remarkable coincidence because the odds are astronomically small. There’s nothing in the file to suggest it.”

“Who was the donor?” William pressed.

Here the consultant was on firmer ground.

“I believe she was an anonymous donor. Apparently some donors give to the bone marrow bank but don’t want their identities revealed. I believe the donor who supplied your implant was one of those.”

“She?” William pressed.

“I believe so.”

“Is there any way I could locate her, just to say thank you?”

“If she wishes to remain anonymous I’m afraid not. The marrow-bank is very strict about that, just like the sperm bank.”

William slumped back in the chair for he had reached a dead end. However when Ellie next came to visit him he raised the matter.

“I saw my file on Tuesday in the consultant’s office.”

“Oh, good. I hope the news is good.” Ellie replied.

“Well yes – mostly – but sort of ‘no’ as well.”

Ellie paled slightly but William quickly reassured her.

“No, no. It’s good news as far as the bone marrow transplant. It seems the transplant has worked and my blood count is nearly normal again. I should be out in a week once I’ve recovered my strength enough to be mobile of my own accord.”

Ellie sighed with relief then wondered about the ‘sort of’. William had asked his consultant for a photocopy of the ‘donor match report and he motioned to the drawer of his bedside locker.

“In there, there’s a copy of the donor match form, have a look in the relationship box.”

Ellie took out the photocopied report and frowned as she pretended uncertainty before remarking.

“It says ‘sibling’ and then there’s a question mark.”

William’s eyes lit up hopefully.

“Don’t you see? One of the haematology team is purported to have made that comment and questioned the relationship of the donor to me. Apparently all those ticks and matching numbers are more than something of a coincidence.”

“Have you spoken to the haematology team?”

“No. I want to speak to a geneticist when I get out of here. I suspect my consultant and her team are trying to hide something.”

“Why would they do that? You’re one of their success stories. If anything I should think the consultant would want to announce it from the roof-tops.” Ellie argued, fearful of her father’s acute perspicacity.

“So why would the donor want anonymity? William pressed. “Most people are more than keen to meet the donor or recipient if only to savour the results of the donor’s good deed or offer the recipient’s thanks. It’s not like sperm bank donors where men might be fearful of paternity suites. Apparently this donor was a woman and yet my own full blood sisters didn’t match. I’d dearly love to meet the woman, can you approach the donor bank authorities and try and persuade this donor to come forward?”

Ellie did some quick thinking and offered a seemingly plausible reason for the donor wishing to remain anonymous.

“If the donor was your brother he might want to remain anonymous because he’s got a disease or he’s got psychiatric problems or he might be an alcoholic, homeless tramp. Who knows? Just be thankful the tissue matched.”

“If he had those sorts of problems, I know that I and my sisters would welcome him back into the family with open arms.”

“What if he turns out to be gay or something? Wasn’t that the reason Nana got rid of him?”

William wagged his head.

“I don’t care what mum thinks, I would desperately like to meet him and your aunties would.”

Ellie nodded but said nothing more. She changed the subject to after-care arrangements once her father came home. Her father ‘pooh-hooed’ Ellie’s concerns.

“I won’t be an invalid darling. Once my blood is normal I’m cured, I’ll be back tending the gardens and mowing the lawns again. I’d just love to find out why that donor was such a close match, closer even than my own sisters. If the haematologist was questioning the connections and I might still have a long lost brother out there then there’s a remote possibility that –“

Ellie tried to ridicule the idea.

“Oh come on Dad, what are the odds of that happening? It must be millions to one! Your own brother listed on the Bone-marrow records? D’ you honestly think that’s likely. Besides, the consultant said it was a woman.”
William raised a questioning eye-brow.

“Oh yes, and my little brother was transvestite, or transgendered, or at least, Trans-something. That much I've recently learned from my sisters. He might easily have changed sex. The fact remains the haematology team must have wondered enough to put the question-mark in the box. My brother might still be out there. If he is trans-sexual or something, that’s a good enough reason for his wanting to keep it all very anonymous.”

Ellie could find no more arguments without raising her father’s suspicions. Fortunately she was saved by the visitor’s bell curtailing her stay. Outside the hospital she studied the flimsy photocopied page and debated ‘losing’ it accidentally before concluding her father could easily get another one copied from his file. Losing it would only increase her father’s suspicions. The simplest solution was for her to tell her auntie Bev and trust to luck. After all, even if her father did learn of the blood connection he would still have no right to invade Beverly’s privacy.

The following morning was quiet in the office and Ellie spent as much time on her personal lap top trawling through the bone-marrow websites as she did actually working for Beverly. Her efforts threw up no solutions. Auntie Beverly had not registered with the national bone-marrow donor bank and if Ellie’s father went looking he would get more suspicious if he found no name. The answers to her cautiously sterilised online questions came back without once indicating Beverly’s name. Ellie hadn’t expected them to for she knew that Auntie Beverly had donated bone marrow directly to the oncology department at the hospital. This had been one of her tactics to keep her name a secret. There was no alternative but to bite the bullet and she broached the subject while she made their coffee.

The coffee break was not some menial drudge for Ellie it actually demonstrated to the other girls that Ellie did have a special relationship with the boss, a higher status no less. However, none of the girls had learned that Ellie and the boss were blood relatives. Originally their shared coffee break had been a time that they spent chatting over any items of any unusual nature or future business plans but recently it had come to include the occasional family stuff – usually where it concerned Callista. It was an ideal time for Ellie to reveal the identity issue. As she sipped her coffee she cautiously revealed the facts.

“I’ve got a bit of bad news Auntie Bev.”

“Oh, nothing serious I hope.”

“No but it involves dad and his treatment.”

“Oh, go on. I thought it was all okay.”

“Well – it is, but.”

Beverly pulled a wry expression then grinned.

“There’s always a ‘but’. Go on.”

Ellie was relieved that her auntie seemed in a good mood so she plunged in.

“It seems there was a blunder in the hospital. My father got a peek at his medical records.”

“Well that’s not unusual; he can demand to see them legally anyway.”

“Yes but there was a form concerning donor comparisons. It slipped out of the file during the consultation and my father read it while the consultant was called away.”

Beverly lips tightened as she already anticipated what was coming.

“So he knows who the donor was.”

“Not directly, the hospital cancer and oncology departments are not to blame; they hadn’t identified you on the form but some anonymous haematology specialist had been checking the form and he’d suggested that the unknown donor might be a sibling. He’d written ‘sibling’ in the donor identity box then put a question mark against it because the tissue matches were so alike. Dad saw this and pressed to find out who the donor was.”

“And did he find out?”

“Uuuhm, not yet but he asked me to check with the national donor tissue bank.”

Beverly frowned as she followed the facts.

“And of course, I’m not on the donor register, which will ring alarm bells in William’s brain.”

Ellie nodded.

“He’ll be bound to refer back to the oncology department to ask where the donor bone marrow came from; especially with the word ‘sibling’ written right across the donor identity box.”

“Well I could register with the bone bank today and you could give me a copy of that flimsy from your dad’s file.
They’ll accept that at the bone bank.”

“That could work, except that Dad knows who Beverly Taff is. If he goes trawling through the records he’ll surely find you.”

“Use my old boy name and put me down as ‘No fixed abode’.” Beverly suggested then added. “The national data base is kept in London anyway so Bernard Holst could be living anywhere.”

Ellie agreed and because things were slack at the office, Beverly gave her the afternoon off to go and speak with the oncology department. The following morning Ellie came in brandishing a new copy of the tissue match plus a letter from the Head of haematology confirming other information that would confirm Bernard Holst’s fraternal relationship with William Holst. The information was enough for Beverly to register with the bone bank. Normally the tissue bank would not accept older donors but because Beverly had already been a successful donor, and the tissue type already analysed, her registration was accepted.

The following week Beverly’s male name was placed on the register of donors. The only snag was the date which post-dated William’s tissue transplant at the hospital. There they had to trust to luck and hope that any inquiries by Ellie’s father would be satisfied that Bernard existed but was untraceable because of the ‘no fixed abode’ label.
A few weeks later when William had recovered enough, he told his sisters about the unusual tissue match. Ellie had not made allowances for her aunts’ tenacity and several weeks later both the sisters and their brother spent a long weekend in London as they inquired at the bone bank. Because the family already had the essential details surrounding the tissue match and because William had been a beneficiary of a bone-marrow transplant the bone-marrow tissue bank was prepared to allow him some partial information concerning the donor.

Because the tissue match was identical to William’s; and the blood relationship was virtually a proven fact, the tissue bank was prepared to confirm that the tissue match was almost definitely from a sibling brother and they did confirm that his name was Bernard Holst Bernard’s identity was all they were prepared to divulge and they absolutely refused to reveal the ‘mans’ location because the donor had expressly declared his wishes not to be traced. The bone bank handed a slim file of Bernard’s details that apparently only confirmed that the tissue donor was William’s full blood brother and little else surrounding his identity except the name Bernard Holst.

The donor’s wish for anonymity cut no ice with the aunts and they re-embarked upon their search. The simple fact that they now knew their brother was still alive was enough to re-galvanise their endeavours to find him. Every possible agency in Britain was contacted and used if it might prove useful. After several months of extensive searching their efforts produced nothing, mainly because Bernard had spent many years abroad working for foreign shipping companies.

It was during the onset of Christmas that the two sisters finally made their essential breakthrough. They were preparing cards and generally organising a Family Christmas to be celebrated at Ellie’s cottage so family preferences and information was being generally revisited. The two sisters Sandie and Rosie were sitting with their brother William and their mother Charlotte generally discussing the case of their missing brother.

“Whatever motivated him to become an organ donor?” Sandie wondered.

“Well lots of people do you know,” Nana Charlotte allowed.

“What; d’ you mean through a sense of philanthropy or something?” Rosie replied.

“Well that or a dozen other reasons. I mean, lots of people carry organ donor cards.”

Nana Charlotte dismissed Rosie’s observation but the two sisters Rosie and Sandie were on a narrower wavelength as they followed the thread of their reasoning.

“Maybe Nana, but he would have hardly had cause to become a philanthropist and it takes a special type of person to take the deliberate step of actually donating a tissue sample and offering themselves as live donors. I mean if there’s anything our brother would have become it would more likely be some sort of dysfunctional cynic based on what little we’ve learned of his childhood.”

Nana Charlotte fell silent. The reference to her son Bernard’s ensuing years after he’d been placed in the Psychiatric unit was an observation that caused her no small sense of guilt. It was William who made the next constructive step that started to unravel the mystery of the donor’s location.

“Well all I can say is that he must live abroad or something, I mean all our efforts have come to nothing.”
Sandie bit her lip thoughtfully.

“Well if he does live abroad, he must have visited the UK sometime to have donated the tissue sample – and why return to Britain to make a donation? I mean the bone banks are all connected and they share the tissue details. You sometimes hear of the suitable donor being located in Australia or Canada after emigrant cousins are contacted.”

“The bone bank in London didn’t mention if the tissue match came from abroad or when it was originally donated. We could ask them if they are prepared to reveal the date at least. Then if it was donated here in Britain we’d at least know he isn’t living abroad.”

“Hold on,” Rosie paused, “isn’t the donation date in the file?”

“I don’t know,” William conceded, “I never thought to check.”

Sandie got up and went to her brother’s bureau that stood in the alcove beside the fireplace. She pulled out the file and opened it as the others watched.

“If there is a donation date it will at least give us an idea. We might be able to check flight records or immigration statistics if he came back to London to make the donation.”

She studied the couple of sparse pages and eventually found a date written in a box tucked away at the bottom of the last page. The family had been so intent on tracing a name, they had never thought to look more closely at the other pages that seemed to list very little other information.

“Ah! Here we are. Donation made on June the twentieth, twenty thirteen. So he could have been in the country just last year if he donated it in London.”

Even though she had actually read out the date, Rosie still hadn’t realised what she had seen but William immediately picked up on the date.

“That’s not possible. That date was after my diagnosis. In fact it was after I was declared in remission.” The year must be wrong.”

Rosie handed the file to William who carefully checked for any other dates. Eventually he wagged his head and repeated.

“No. There are no other dates. Here it is again on this tissue report, same date, June twentieth twenty thirteen.”

“But that would mean he donated tissue after you were given the transplant. That’s not possible!” Sandie protested.

“No; it’s not!” William agreed. “There’s something not right here. Why didn’t you check the dates before?” He asked his sisters.

“We had no cause to. We were searching for his identity and where he was; not when he was here.” Sandie replied.

“Well wherever he was and whenever he was, there’s something fishy,” Rosie declared. “The tissue could not have come from the tissue bank AFTER you were treated.”

“You are so right,” William agreed. “I’m going to speak to the consultant after Christmas. I’ll try and get some sense out of her then.”

“We should speak to the Bone bank as well. They’ve got some explaining to do.” Sandie added.

William and both his sisters nodded thoughtfully as each digested the implications. The tissue had been confirmed as their younger brother’s but the rest of the situation simply didn’t add up.

They were preparing supper when Ellie returned home from a riding day at Beverly’s country farmhouse and riding stables. Callista was worn out and it was all she could do to stay awake as she stumbled sleepily into her grand-pa Williams’ living room to bid everybody good-night. After hugs and kisses all around she plodded upstairs and was sleepily crawling into bed when Ellie arrived with cocoa and a biscuit.

“Did you enjoy today?”

“Yes mummy. Will I be able to have a horse when I’m older?”

“If you’re still interested yes.”

They chatted briefly and Ellie smiled as moments after finishing her night-cap, Callista was fast asleep. Down stairs Ellie rejoined the ‘olds’ and quickly realised they were getting closer to discovering Beverly’s identity.

“Are you still wondering about your long lost brother?” Ellie asked feigning disinterest.

“Yes, wouldn’t you like to meet him?” Sandie asked.

“It’d be nice I suppose,” Ellie replied, “but I’m not going to lose sleep over it. If he doesn’t want to be found, what’s the use of searching? Even if you did find him, he doesn’t seem to want to be bothered by you. He might even take a restraining order out on you if you do actually find him and go bothering him. I’d let it drop.”

“Well I won’t.” Sandie declared.

“But why?” Ellie pressed. “It’s not like you can bring back all those lost years.”

“You don’t understand Ellie. I owe him an apology. I never meant for it to go as far as it did.”

Ellie snorted derisively.

“Oh come on Auntie Sandie. How in God’s name can you ever apologise for what was done to him. You’ve told me that nobody from the family ever saw him again, I mean – come on! Anyway, if anybody owes him an apology it’s Nana Charlotte.”

Grandma Charlotte stayed silent but the guilt was clear for all to see as she stared ruefully at the floor. Ellie stared at her for it was hard not to condemn her grandmother, especially from what she knew of Beverly’s story.
The worst part was remembering not to accidentally reveal some unknown fact if she became angry by what the ‘olds’ were discussing and it seemed that Auntie Sandie was getting obsessed with the idea of locating her brother. The secret surrounding Auntie Beverly was becoming a troublesome burden for Ellie.

The following morning was Monday and aunts Sandie and Rosie were up early. Ellie was mildly surprised to meet them in the larger communal kitchen as she and Callum arrived to prepare their breakfasts. Normally Ellie and Callum were up and gone to school and work before her dad and Nana were up.

“Oh hello, are you off home then?” Ellie asked.

“No, we’re going to the hospital. There’re some things that need to be cleared up about William’s tissue samples.”

“Are you still bothering about all that?” Ellie asked somewhat irritably. “If the man doesn’t want to be contacted then I’d let the matter drop. He might end up getting you arrested for harassment or something. Dad’s better, the cancer’s cured, let the matter lie is what I say.”

“It may not bother you little niece but there’s guilt issues to be settled for me,” Sandie confessed. “I never meant for it to go so far and I’ve spent a lifetime trying to trace him and put it right. To come this far and get so close is just too much to bear. I have to apologise to him and try and put things right.”

“So what happens if he’s some sort of alcoholic tramp?” Ellie played devil’s advocate. “Are you going to invite some crazy, resentful, old tramp into your home – your life even? I’d let the whole thing drop before it grows into some uncontrollable family row or something. How d’you think Nana would take it if you found him? You could see she was uncomfortable about it last night.”

“I’m not responsible for mum but I want to try and clear my conscience. Besides, there’s the matter of dad’s will. There’s still another few years before the codicil expires. Mum could do with her share of the monies before she passes. It’s not fair on her.”

“Or you,” Ellie replied sarcastically, “I supposed each of you would like the will to be settled. So what happens if he does turn up and demands his rightful share? Besides, Nana does alright living here. She’s got everything she needs and she’s well cared for.”

“Well whatever happens, I just want to find my brother. Wouldn’t you seriously like to meet your uncle, if only to see what he’s like?”

Rosie nodded affirmation to Sandie’s query but Ellie just shrugged.

“I think you’re digging up a real can of worms but if you want to go poking around then I can’t stop you. Anyway, I’ve got to get to work.”

Ellie and Callum finished their breakfast and left but when she arrived at the office she immediately warned Beverly.

“It’s getting a bit tricky. Auntie Sandie desperately wants to make amends.”

Beverly gave a short ironic laugh.

“Ha! How?”

Ellie shrugged.

“I don’t know. I tried to dissuade her but she’s got some bee in her bonnet about it.”

“Well if she comes near me, she’ll get short shrift.”

“What would you do?” Ellie asked.

“Oh nothing stupid. I’d just take out an injunction.”

“But that would put me in an unenviable position; piggy in the middle and all that.”

“I don’t see how. They still think they’ve got a brother don’t they? Even if they do find me they’ll be expecting a man. Bernard Holst and Beverly Taff are not connected except by my own personal documentation and they won’t be getting any sight of that.”

“What about the court records and stuff, the deed poll documents?”

“There’s no record in the courts darling, Beverly grinned. That’s the beauty of the British system the deed poll is only pertinent to the people with whom I have official dealings, my doctor, the bank, the driving licence authority, the local council tax authorities. They are bound by the new confidentiality and information laws. If Sandie and Rosie do get through all that red tape and then try and put you on the spot, I’m hoping your girl enough to stand up to them. All you have to do is tell them I want nothing to do with them.”

Ellie stiffened her resolve.

“It would be easier if you did try to reconcile with my aunts and my father. Auntie Sandie’s wracked by guilt.”

“If I did that, there would have to be some sort of compromise with the bitch who spawned me and that cannot ever be. Sorry Ellie, that’s the final word.”
Ellie nodded and trudged dejectedly into her office. There she buried herself in the freight and fiscal figures for the weekend. At eleven, she was pleasantly surprised by Beverly bringing her the coffee instead of the usual routing.

“Don’t judge me too harshly darling,” Beverly asked, “I’ve got my own demons to wrestle with.”

“I know Auntie Bev. It’s just that I’m something of an idealist and I somehow think of a reunion as being a celebration.”

“Too much water gone under the bridge darling and it’s pretty poisonous water at that.”

Beverly glanced over her glasses and wagged her head slowly.

“Does it really stress you?”

Ellie frowned thoughtfully.

“My aunts won’t think much of me if they learn I’ve been keeping this big secret from them. Auntie Sandie’s spent years hunting for you. It would make me look like some sort of cruel bitch if she learned I had been toying with this business for years.”

“They don’t have to know that you know about me. It was only an accident that you learned about Bernard from Billy and Mac. Nobody else in the office knows.”

Ellie grinned.

“That would work. That would be my final ploy if they did discover you.”

“Let’s leave it at that then. Let them do all the searching but we’ll keep shtum.”

Ellie sighed deeply and resumed her analysis until the Speedway docked that afternoon. It was always a delight when the Philipino captain Jessie entered the office and Ellie had his favourite coffee ready as Beverly joined them to debrief the voyage. At five o’clock, Jessie’s wife and children appeared to collect their dad while Ellie left to collect Callum.

When they arrived home Ellie found Auntie Sandie in a buoyant mood. She had spoken to the hospital management about the incongruent chronology and the consultant had agreed to meet her on the Wednesday. That night, as the ‘olds’ discussed what questions they should ask, Ellie feigned a head-ache and stayed in her own apartments. It was all firmly in the lap of the gods now.

Wednesday found Ellie’s dad William and her Aunt Sandie sitting in the consultant’s office as the lady placed the pertinent files on the desk. After exchanging pleasantries Sandie wasted little time in determining the truth.

“At the tissue bank in London they confirmed that the tissue donated was definitely my sibling. The DNA tests we paid for removed all doubt. Would you be prepared to reveal the donor’s location and how you came by the tissue because you came by it without recourse to the tissue bank’s resources? They deny all connection with the donor at the time of the tissue transplant.”

The consultant wagged her head firmly but made one fatal flaw in her answer.

“The donor was adamant that her identity must not be revealed.”

Sandie and William turned to glance at each other as Sandie picked up on the feminine pronoun.

“Her identity!” Gasped Sandie. “Are you saying the sibling is now a woman?”

The consultant silently cursed as she realised her blunder too late.

“Ahem, yes. The donor presented to me as a female.”

“Well if, as the tests show, it was still my sibling; I must conclude then that my only other sibling must have undergone a sex change.”

“I know nothing of that Mr Holst. All I can say is that I interviewed her in this office and the tissue sample I personally took from her was an almost perfect match. It would seem that the DNA test you had done would confirm what I believe to be perfectly probable. The lady who sat in that very chair was and indeed still is your sibling and if your only full blood remaining sibling was your brother then this individual who came to me I might add, was once your brother and is now, for all legal and practical purposes your sister. Now that is all I am prepared to say. The lady wished to remain anonymous and I must, as a matter of medical ethics, respect her wish. I do not wish to comment further as the lady was quite adamant about her wishes.”

William and Sandie sat nonplussed for some moments and their silence prompted the consultant to add.

“I would like to point out that your treatment and procedure proved to be very successful. Surely, that being the case, you can respect your sibling’s wishes?”

“We would still like to find him, sorry her!” Sandie finished.

“Might I be so bold as to ask why? The donor seemed to be quite distressed when I asked her why it had to be anonymous.”

“Did she not explain?” William asked.

“Only briefly,” the consultant replied. “Apparently it had something to do with her childhood but she wouldn’t elaborate further than that.”

“So you are confirming you knew she was a sibling.” Sandie charged. “Isn’t that a bit unethical, not to tell us before doing the transplant.”

“No. I have to respect my patient’s wishes and she was adamant about her anonymity. I could not break that confidence. The tissue proved a perfect match so there was nothing unethical about my using it. You and she both gave consent.”

“And what about our wishes? Surely you must have realised we would have wished to meet her?” Sandie accused.

“As the recipient Mr Holst, you never expressed a wish to meet the donor so I did not breach any confidentiality issue for you. However! The donor did specifically express a wish and I abided by that wish. I have not broken any law.”

Sandie paused thoughtfully then asked.

“How did you find her if she wasn’t on the tissue bank register?”

Here the consultant knew she was on safe ground.

“I didn’t find her; she came to me.”

“So how did he – sorry she – know about William’s cancer.”

“I can’t answer that. I have no idea how she found out.”

“But she must have found out somehow.” William persisted.

“Of course she must have but I don’t know how she did.” The consultant stood, indicating the visit was over.

“Is there nothing more you can tell us?” Sandie almost begged.

“Yes,” the consultant confirmed, “sadly there is more to tell, but I would be clearly breaking the confidentiality rules if I told you. Now I’m sorry, I have another patient to see.”

William and Sandie found themselves outside the hospital and sitting in the car summarising their information.
William observed wonderingly.

“If this donor went voluntarily to her with the offer to donate tissue there are three issues. Firstly she knew herself or himself to be my brother Bernard, secondly somebody must have told her or thirdly she must have found out because she lives around here and either read about it somehow or knows somebody who knows me”

Sandie took the reasoning forward.

“Well she obviously knows herself to be Bernard because she knew that before mum put her away, more importantly she knew about you and your cancer so she must know about you or know somebody who knows you, because you’d only just moved here a few months before you had cancer. Not many people know you anyway.”

“Enough to make searching a nightmare. What do you suggest?” William replied.

Sandie was staring down the street as she had a brainwave.

“Wait a minute! If this person was Bernard and is now a woman that mean’s she’s transgendered. She might well be active in or known to the local LGBT community!”

William grinned effusively.

“D’you know, you’re right. Maybe we should try the local tranny scene.”

Sandie frowned at the brother.

“I wouldn’t use that term when we’re looking bro’. It’s quite an offensive word to some transgender people.”

“Well whatever, the most important thing is to start looking immediately before people’s memories fade. She could have already moved on by now.”

“She probably has. It’s been a few months now.” Sandie reflected despondently.

“We can only try, let’s get on line.”

Thus decided, both brother and sister drove home to immediately search the internet for local LGBT activities and venues in and around Poole.

Inevitably their researches threw up a small hotel run by an entrepreneurial lady called, of all things, - Sissy. Sandie and William grinned to each other as they put the establishment down on their list of potential sources and continued through the evening to select any others that offered some potential.

The following weeks found both sisters and their retired brother trawling the various gay clubs, bars and hotels hoping to find some clue that would break the logjam. Then one warm spring evening, their perseverance paid off. They had learned from Sissy’s hotel website that her establishment ran an LGBT support meeting twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The Wednesdays were essentially just social evenings where LGBT individuals could meet, chat and share any information or links associated with their needs and lifestyles. The Saturdays were dance and partying nights.

The three siblings realised that if they plunged in and started asking questions about any transsexuals who might have recently moved to the area or any other unusual questions, the local community would become suspicious. Many transsexuals were living in ‘stealth’ mode and would not thank any invasive questions about themselves or their friends. Using different tactics the two sisters Sandie and Rosie pretended to be a lesbian couple while William implied that he was beginning to realise he might be transgendered and was cautiously seeking any transsexuals who might consider advising him or even mentoring him.

These disguises served their purpose and William eventually managed to gain Sissy’s confidence and trust. One Wednesday evening they were chatting about SRS surgery and how to take William’s circumstances forward. William was guiding the conversation around to transgender lifestyles and pressing Sissy for advice about how to ‘come-out’ to family or friends. As they chatted, Sissy was describing her own experiences when William’s sisters arrived and joined the pair. Sissy already knew that William was friends with the lesbian couple but he did not know they were siblings. They were quietly nattering away when Sissy suddenly glance at her watch.

“Oh! I’ve got an old transsexual friend coming in tonight; I’m going to meet her because she’s bringing two of her older daughters with her. She adopted them many years ago and they’re up at university. Now her and the girls’ story is a remarkable tale, I’ll bring them in to meet you. She’ll also be able to answer some of your questions about transitioning later in life. Excuse me while I get ready to meet them at the reception desk, I’ve got a couple of private things I want to chat to her about first.”

William, Sandie and Rosie nodded and continued discussing the problems they were having in trying to find the mystery donor. Eventually they heard Sissy greeting some people in the foyer and they waited expectantly for several minutes before Sissy re-entered with her friends. William was sitting in a high-back armchair with his back to the door while his sisters looked up and smiled at the newcomers. Sissy innocently started to introduce them and the mood was amiable until Beverly recognised her older brother William. Immediately she put up her guard as her smiled became fixed and cautious. When William stood up and turned to face the newcomers, he frowned uncertainly.

“Haven’t we met before?”

Beverly decided not to try and deceive anybody because if they got to chatting, her daughters Jennifer and Beatrice might inadvertently reveal too much. She replied with the bare truth as she offered her hand and William shook it.

“Yes, your daughter Ellie works for me. You came to the office with her and your grand-daughter. I’m Beverly Taff and these young ladies are my adopted daughters Jennifer and Beatrice. You’ll remember they took Callista around the ship.”

“Ahh! Yes. I’m sorry I’ve got a terrible memory for names and faces. The lady with the ships.”

“The same,” Beverly smiled tightly as she extended her hand to Sandie and Rosie.

“And you ladies are?”

“William’s older sisters, Sandra and Rose.” Sissy introduced them.

It was a remarkable sign of Beverly’s cool-headedness that she did not flinch or jerk as she shook their hands.

“I’m very pleased to meet you.” She added as she noticed the flicker of emotion pass between the women. The reaction sent alarm bells ringing in Beverly’s brain and she quickly tried to move the conversation on.

“So are you staying with Miss Ellie at her cottage?”

Rosie replied because she realised her sister Sandie was finding it hard to suppress her excitement.
The sisters had a naturally familial empathy and Rosie had ‘picked up’ on Sandie’s mood.

“Yes. We are sharing with our brother William. Apparently our niece has become a little disenchanted with her aunts and she requested that we sleep in William’s spare bedroom. Her spare room was being decorated, or that’s the excuse she gave.”

“Oh I’m sorry to hear that.” Beverly replied through gritted teeth as she wondered why Rosie should have revealed such an un-necessary private fact. Families usually kept their differences ‘in-house’.

“Yes,” replied Sandie as she picked up on where her sister was going.

“Yes, she seemed quite discomforted these past few weeks while we’ve been staying. We’ve been wondering what seems to be worrying her.”

Beverly could feel the meeting becoming more inquisitorial with every word as she searched her mind for any plausible excuse to take her leave.

“Is she having problems at work?” Sandie pressed.

“Uhm, Not that I know of. Has she mentioned anything?” Beverly threw back.

“Well she seems to have something on her mind.” Rosie added.

“I can’t say I’ve noticed at work. She works very well though she did mention her dad being very ill.”

“Yes,” William added. “I was diagnosed with Leukaemia.”

“But you’re obviously better; Ellie mentioned that you had recovered.”

“Yes thank you.” William replied.

Alarm bells were already ringing in Sandie’s brain as she was making the connection between Sissy’s LGBT hotel and the obvious friendship between the transgendered hotel owner and Ellie’s boss Miss Beverly. She quickly landed on a strategy to find out if her suspicions were true.

“It’s a lovely little hotel this, is there some sort of special function going on tonight?”

Sissy nodded as she replied without realising.

“Yes, it’s our monthly transgender evening. They meet in the little function room downstairs. It’s a bit more private and intimate than the main saloon.”

“Oh. That’s nice. We had heard that this was a gay friendly hotel and we’d also heard it was a very good place to eat.”

“Well if you’re thinking of eating, you’d better reserve your table now. In an hour or so all the tables will be taken.”

“Oh. Could we book one now, I know it’s short notice but we’d like to try it.”

“I’ll check with my chef, he runs the restaurant.”

So saying, Sissy went down stairs leaving William, Sandie and Rosie facing Beverly and her oldest adopted daughters Jennifer and Beatrice.

“Sissy seems to know you well?” Sandie probed.

Beverly could sense the hidden question but decided to brazen it out. She certainly had not expected to find her older siblings at the hotel and she had already had suspicions. She told the truth.

“Yes. Sissy and I go back over ten years. She proved very supportive and helpful when I was starting out down here in Poole. We’ve been firm friends ever since.”

“She seems a bit elderly to be running a hotel this size.” William observed.

“It wasn’t this big when I met her. She’s got an adopted daughter called Jessica who does the spadework now. Jessica was the one who organised the annex and she more or less runs the place now. That’s why we’re here. It’s Jessica’s birthday next month so my daughters Jenny and Bea are helping to organise the party. Sissy’s getting on now and too frail to be dashing about buying cakes and stuff. Ah, here’s Jessica now.”

Beverly turned to extend her arms as a tall slender girl stepped into her arms.

“Hi Auntie Bev, hi Penny, hi Bea. Nice to see one of the original girls here. Are you staying the night?”

“Not sure yet babes, depends how the night goes. Have you got any spare rooms?”

“We’ll be staying!” Jessica and Beatrice interjected. “We’ll be catching the early train to London in the morning and it’s more convenient from the hotel.”

Jessica nodded then turned to William and his sisters.

“Are you staying over? If you are you’d best book now, we’re nearly full with the trans-girls.”

“Oh, it’s not a gay function then?” Rosie asked.

Jessica shrugged easily.

“Not downstairs.” There are several gay people in the saloon and that will fill up later but I and my transgender friends will be downstairs. Will you be coming down later Auntie Bev?”

Beverly smiled easily but hid her discomfort well. She could not blame Jessica for inadvertently exposing her transgenderism because it was no secret in Poole. In fact, Jessica’s ‘Auntie Bev’ was now as well known as her adoptive mother Sissy. And she had come ostensibly to attend the trans-girl night. Jenny and Bea had accompanied her simply to enjoy the company and stay over to catch the early train. Beverly had already arrived at her suspicions for her siblings being at the hotel so she had decided to brazen it out. If her revelations caused any issues, they would be of Rosie and Sandie’s making.

“Yes Petal. I’ll be down shortly, has Sissy gone down?”

“Yes, I’ll ask her to reserve your favourite seat while I organise some tea for you and your friends. My treat.”

Beverly turned toward her siblings and smiled.

“Would you like to share some tea?”

Sandie, after having now learned of Beverly’s transgenderism, was almost bouncing with conviction. As Jessica left to organise the tea she turned to Beverly and pretended surprise.

“Is that young lady right? Are you a transgendered girl?”

“Yes.” Beverly replied feigning nonchalance.

Rosie, having recognised where her sister Sandie was trying to go, decided to soften the approach.

“Well, Miss Beverly! You surprise me, I would never have known.”

“Well it’s true,” Beatrice replied – ready to defend her mum. “She adopted us after rescuing us as children.”

This snippet of information did not divert Sandie from her path and Sandie’s singular tenacity alerted Beverly as she brazened out the anticipated inquisition.

“So you were born a boy then.”

At this, Jennifer jumped in to defend her mum from what she thought might be some salacious inquiry.

“No! Mum was born a girl but with the wrong plumbing.”

“Okay, I understand that,” Sandie countered, “but you were registered as a boy by the authorities.”

“Sadly yes.” Beverly affirmed.

Once again, Beatrice sensed that there was an agenda on Sandie’s table and she intervened on her mum’s behalf.

“Might I ask what your interest is in my mother’s past?”

Sandie decided to take the plunge.

“Because young lady, I believe your adoptive mother might be our long lost sibling. I believe she was formerly known as Bernard Holst. Our maiden names were Holst before marriage and indeed, our brother, William’s family name is still Holst.”

Beverly’s previous name was no secret to Beatrice and Jennifer and they gasped as they turned to their mother. As young adults they had recently learned of their mother’s ghastly childhood and the knowledge had only strengthened their ‘mother/daughter’ relationship. Jennifer felt it was her turn to take up the sword on her beloved mother’s behalf.

“Mum! Are you okay with this? You’ve always hated what your family did! D’you want them to leave?”

Beverly placed her hand gently on her adopted daughter’s wrist.

“No darling. I was anticipating this the moment I met my sisters - and they are my sisters. I’ve known William was my brother since Ellie brought him and her daughter Callista down to the ship. Ellie and I have known about our blood tie for some time now.”

“Ellie!?” Beatrice demanded with surprise.

“Yes Ellie,” Beverly continued. “She and I have known we were aunt and niece for over a year - nearly two in fact.”

As Beverly sensed a rising tide of antagonism concerning her niece Ellie she shrugged then made her feelings abundantly clear.

“This has got to be sorted so now’s as good a time as any. There will be no arguments or shouting and no accusations but there has to be resolution!”

For long moments there was a stunned silence as the others assimilated Beverly’s words. Finally it was William who broke the silence as he confirmed Beverly as the tissue donor.

“So it was you who donated the tissue? I think my daughter’s got some questions to answer!”

Beverly sniffed dismissively.

“Yes. To your first observation and no to your second.”

“But why did you want to remain anonymous? Why didn’t my daughter tell me?”

“I would have thought that was obvious!” Beatrice interrupted angrily before adding, “Mum wants nothing to do with you.”

Once again Beverly gently gripped her adopted daughter’s wrist.

“Steady on darling. You’re right to be angry but let me handle this.”

“But mum! They treated you like some sort of vermin! Surely you don’t want anything to do with them. Are they just ‘gold-digging’ now you’ve made something of yourself?”

Sandie stood angrily but Beatrice simply loomed over her and stepped between her adoptive mother and her new-found adoptive auntie.

“Don’t you dare try to get physical with my mother!”

“I had no intention of getting physical. I’m twelve years older than your mother but I object to you accusing us of being ‘gold-diggers’! I demand you take that back.”

“I will when I’m assured you’re not!” Beatrice riposted as she sat down again.”

Beverly decided to calm things down.

“Listen! Nobody’s accusing anybody of anything. I will bluntly say here and now that I wanted nothing to do my family and to William I say this also. Ellie has NO questions to answer. It was her who finally persuaded me to consider donating tissue. Without her beseechments on your behalf brother William, you would be dead now.”

“I think Ellie should be here now Mum,” Jenny interjected. “If any of these siblings have any accusations, Ellie should be here to defend herself.”

“Ellie has nothing to defend.” Beverly re-iterated. “It was her who told me about William’s cancer, it was her who persuaded me to donate and it was her who arranged everything anonymously. I was hoping to remain anonymous but blunders elsewhere precluded that. Anonymity was my abiding wish and Ellie has struggled manfully to preserve that anonymity. It’s no fault of hers that this mess has come to be.”

“But why d’you call it a mess?” Sandie cried. “We’ve been searching for you for decades just to apologise and try to make amends. I never ever realised it would go so far! Now we’ve found you, there’s at least the chance to put some things right if not all.”

Beverly made a wry face as she demanded.

“What needs to be ‘put right’ as you put it? From where I’m standing, there’s nothing much wrong with my life these days. Why should I allow you into my life?”

Sandie slumped back slightly aghast and paused before she could reply..

“Well – we, the family, we’d like you back. I know my children would love to meet you.”

“And mine,” Rosie added.”

“But what about ‘the-bitch-who-spawned-her?” Beatrice demanded. “Our mum detests her, and rightly so!”

The fact that Beverly did not correct her daughter this time made it abundantly obvious that the issue surrounding Nana Charlotte was not resolved. Beverly still hated her.

Sandie and Rosie both fell into a thoughtful silence. Finally the older aunt spoke cautiously.

“You don’t have to meet mum. Surely you can meet us half way and simply agree to accept us into your life again without accepting her. I know it’s been a long time but that’s not for the want of our trying to find you.”

“You couldn’t have tried that hard,” Jennifer bristled. “Mum’s old name is not all that common and since the internet it’s become a lot easier to find people.”

Beverly interrupted her daughter.

“It wasn’t all that easy for them darling. Don’t forget for many years I was working abroad; foreign ships and foreign countries. There’s was absolutely no record of me working ashore because I’ve never actually worked in the UK proper as Bernard Holst for the last – what; thirty – thirty five years. It would probably never have occurred to them to search for a Bernard Holst on the register of merchant shipping and seamen, especially all those years ago.”
Jennifer and Beatrice turned in unison to protest.

“Oh come off it mummy! Are you trying to make excuses for them?” They don’t deserve your kindness!”

Beverly stood up and squeezed her adopted daughters affectionately.

“Now girls, I recognise that you are trying to protect your old mum from any perceived gold diggers or fortune seekers but be assured, my will is already written. These people will get nothing now or when I shuffle off my mortal coil. Besides, I’m not ‘gaga’ yet, please credit me with some sense.”

“I still don’t trust them mum,” Beatrice persisted.

“Nor I!” Jennifer concurred. “Beware of Greeks who bear gifts.”

“What gifts do they bring save those of reunion and familial ties?” Beverly shrugged.

“Leopards don’t change their spots – nor do families. I don’t trust them Mummy.” Jennifer persisted.

“You’d have to keep them on probation Mum.” Beatrice added as she sensed her mother might be wavering. “Run it by Ellie first and have her confront them. Ellie’s the only one I trust because she proved her loyalty before she knew you were her blood. What’s more, Ellie’s proved beyond all doubt that she’s not transphobic. Callista is living proof of that.”

“Yes,” Jennifer agreed, “let Ellie confront your mother with the evidence of your existence. Nobody is better placed to gauge Nana Charlotte’s reactions and attitudes.”

“No!” Beverly replied quite forcefully. “Ellie’s born enough of a burden regarding this business. My siblings can tell their mother. Ellie’s got a long enough row of her own to hoe- namely rearing Callista.”

Beverly challenged her brother and sisters with a hard stare that left no doubt that the unpleasant task was to fall squarely upon their shoulders. She finally added.

“You can tell ‘the-bitch-that-spawned-me’ that I still exist and you can tell her I want nothing to do with her. I don’t suppose she’ll care anyway. I won’t.”

“Is that your final word?” William asked. “Are we to be rejected as well?”

“I didn’t say that. I have to run the idea past my friends and family. I have a wife let’s not forget and we are a tight knit community up at Rosy Cottage. Besides, I want a chat with my psychiatrist friend to check what pitfalls might ensnare me. Resurrecting old issues of guilt or fear might damage me – set me back. If there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that nobody ever escapes their early years. Opening old wounds might prove disastrous. Don’t call me; I’ll call you – via Ellie.”

~~oo000oo~~