Bab’s New year’s Resolution. 47

List of Characters.

Lola Smith Bab’s adopted trans daughter.
Callista Denton (Callie). Transgendered Duchess of Denton.
Margaret Denton (Maggie). Callie’s wife.
Molly Denton Callie’s grandmother
Ellie Denton Callie’s mother.
Bab’s Barbara Smith. Lola’s adoptive ‘Nana’
Olivia Smith Bab’s adopted daughter.
Angela Smith Bab’s newly adopted daughter
Erica Bab’s foster daughter.
Sergeant Bridie Davies Lady Police detective protecting the girls.
Sergeant Brian Davies. Bridie’s twin brother.
Inspector John, Heading up the anti-rape-gang operation.
Gareth Jenkins, Police office trained in firearms and protection.
Belinda Harrington Bab’s university girlfriend.
Aaron Talbot Surgical registrar – married to –
Shirley Talbot Lecturer at Local university.
Mickey Talbot Aaron and Shirley’s oldest son.
Jessica Talbot Aaron & Shirley’s middle daughter.
Bianca Talbot Aaron & Shirley’s youngest daughter.
Henry Denton Callie’s only son.
Charlotte Denton Callie’s only daughter.

Caution. All names and characters are purely fictitious and bear no relationship to anybody dead or living. Some items might be real (for example names of regiments) but the locations, dates and events are purely elements of the author’s imagination and bear no connection to any history or annals of any divisions or regiments at any time in either the British or American armies.

Chapter 47.

“What’s all this about Grandma?” Callie protested. “Belinda’s our guest. You’re embarrassing her! It’s rude to pry; that’s what you always told me.”

“No. It’s not like that darling. I’m trying to check something else; something from our family history way back. Well, not that way back, just during the second world war.”

“Oh. Not the crusades then.” Belinda joked, trying to defuse any possible issues.”

“Ellie let out a snort of amusement and nearly spilt her tea as her tummy wobbled with suppressed laughter.”

Molly turned again to Belinda and smiled reassuringly.

“Honestly young lady. Truly I am not being nosey about your family or background I’ve just got a feeling in my guts and I need to clear something up. Please, phone your mother, or, if your grandmother is still alive, phone her; your father’s mother that is.”

Belinda’s frown eased a little as she agreed to do as Molly asked.

“My grandmother, My Nan?”

“Yes. Your father’s mother.”

“ ‘ Kay,” Belinda agreed as she scrolled down her phone. “What d’ you want me to say?”

“Ask her if she knew her own mother’s maiden name.”

Belinda’s phone rang and eventually a frail voice answered the call.

“Hello. Who’s that?”

“It’s Belinda Nan. How are you?”

The frail voice immediately perked up as excitement gave it strength.

“Belinda! Oh my dear girl, how are you, have you gone back to college yet.”

“Not yet Nan. That’s at the end of September. I’ll be coming around to visit you, probably with Mummy before I go up.”

“Oh that’ll be lovely, I was talking to your mum only this morning, she said you’d gone for a holiday. Is it nice where you are?”

“Yes Nan, it’s beautiful, I’m staying with a friend of Lola’s.”

“Your mum said she was out of hospital.”

“Yes. She’s here with me but she’s sleeping at the moment. Still recovering from the surgery.”

“So when are you getting married and I will expect an invitation.”

Belinda let out a chuckle of delight.

“Steady on Nan! I’ve got to finish Uni yet and that’s another two years at least!”

“Two years! I might not last two years girl!”

“Oh you’ll last long enough Nan, you’re a trooper. Now I’ve got a question I want to ask about my great grandmother.”

There was a pregnant pause before Belinda’s nan answered.

“You’re not going to stir things up are you?”

“What d’ you mean.” Belinda asked. “Stir what things up?”

“About your great-grandma. My mother.”

“What about her?” Belinda’s voice pitched slightly higher as curiosity turned to uncertainty.

“The elopement.”

“Elopement! What elopement?” Belinda almost squealed with heightened curiosity.

There was another brief pause before Belinda’s nan finally revealed the story.

“I shouldn’t really tell you this but your older sister knows so I suppose you have an equal right to know.”

“Go-ooon!” Belinda encouraged her nan.”

“Well the story goes, apparently, my mum, your great, grandmother was something of a flighty piece.”

“What’s a flighty piece?” Belinda wondered as she noticed Molly getting closer and closer to garner the details.

“You know. A good time girl; free with her favours and things during the war.”

“Crickey Nan. I did study history at school. Half the girls in England were ‘Flighty pieces’ during the war. It’s a social science thing, when the tribe is under threat the women get horny to replace the tribal losses.”

“Good God girl. What did they teach your sister and you at that expensive school your dad struggled to pay for?”

“Never mind the biology and sociology what happened with great grandma?”

“Listen young lady. This is something that only our family know about. Your dad never want’s this to get out because it involves the army and stuff. His fellow officers and stuff like gentlemanly conduct.”

“Ooooh! This gets juicier and juicier.”

“I mean it Belinda. Your dad’s pretty sensitive about this stuff.”

“All right. I promise not to reveal it.”

“Good, I’ll –“

“Hold on Nan. I’m going somewhere private.”

Belinda had suddenly realised that Molly, Ellie and Maggie were staring with mouths agape as they were already beginning to suspect they knew part of the story. Belinda put her hand over her phone and whispered to the ladies.

“I want this to be private, you heard my Nan and I don’t want to upset my dad. He’s been a good father, despite being away with army for long periods.”

Molly nodded sympathetically and indicated the door to the dining room.

“Go in there. All I need to know is your great-gran’s maiden name.”

Belinda moved to the dining room and continued the conversation.

“So what was all this about?”

“Well apparently, your great grandfather was billeted with his regiment at some big house up north. They were training with artillery or something. The story goes, and this is true mind, that he got a girl into trouble. She was the daughter of the owner of the big house and before she realised she was pregnant; your great grandfather was posted to North Africa.
He could not marry her and legitimise the child until the end of the war. I was that child and my mother and I had to live hiding in the East End of London to avoid her father finding her and making her give up the child. Her father cut her out of the family and she had to work as a clippie on the London busses during the war. She ended up becoming a bus-driver.

When my dad – your great-granddad came home I was four years of age and they married in a bomb-damaged east end church with only a couple of friends for witnesses. Things got a lot better for us after that because my dad was now a major with an excellent war record. He was asked to remain in the army because of his success and bravery. He won the George cross apparently in World-war-two in Italy then later, he won a military cross in Korea as colonel of a tank regiment.

It’s not often that colonels win bravery medals but seemingly this was exceptional. He was ambushed in his jeep but then managed to re-join with his tank squadron who had only four tanks and an ammunition truck left.

The quartet of tanks were then surrounded by thousands of Chinese. Somehow, he got his jeep driver and himself into the four tanks and they fought their way out of the trap as he led them to safety. The miracle was that he got the ammunition truck out as well.

A day later, his tiny squadron fell in with some American Battalions who’d been similarly knocked about by overwhelming Chinese forces. They’d had all their tanks destroyed while defending their retreat and all they had left was trucks to carry some of the wounded.

Fortunately the yanks had got plenty of diesel in their trucks so when they joined forces, my dad did a swap of diesel for his remaining ammunition truck. They transferred all the tank shells and machine gun ammo into every available nook and cranny inside the tanks. Then the ammunition truck was used by the yanks to get the remainder of their wounded south to safety.

“I met some of the yank officers at a Korean war re-union and they used to laugh when they told us that the good-ol’ boys were really grateful when my dad’s centurion tanks could boil up water to make hot tea or even coffee, for the poor bloody grunts trudging through the ice, snow and mud. It was bitterly cold. They reckoned the hot water did more for their battalion’s moral than the centurion tank’s one hundred and five millimetre guns

At the end of the Korean war, he was being considered for field rank when they returned to England but the army found out about his affair with the upper class girl who eventually became his wife. He did the decent thing by her but her family were still upset about both his and her conduct so they used their upper-class contacts to put the kybosh on any hope of promotion. He left the army as a colonel despite an incredible war record in two wars.”

Belinda was left speechless and angry when she learned of this and it was several moments before she remembered the question Molly had asked.

“Nan. Before you go, what was your mother’s maiden name?”

“Oh wait a minute. I’ve forgotten. She used dad’s sir-name to stay anonymous during World War Two, and I never ever heard her refer to her family all through my growing up. In those days it wasn’t done to attend your own parent’s wedding so I was left with one of mum’s friends while they got married. It would have to be on the wedding certificate but I’ve never had any call to go looking through it. When we buried her she was a Warburton which was my name until I got married. My birth certificate does not list my father but he adopted me when they married.
Strange, when I think back, we never ever had anything to do with mum’s family. They literally cut her adrift when she got pregnant with me. Hold on, I’ll go and look. Give me a minute”

There was a brief interlude as Belinda’s Nan shuffled away and returned with her file of family papers.

“Here we are. The wedding certificate says her name was Matilda Charlotte Denton. I- hold on! What’s this? I’ve never noticed this before, it’s a small envelope at the bottom of the big envelope.”

Belinda could hear a rustling of paper being unfolded before her Nan exclaimed.

“Gosh it’s her birth certificate. D’ you know, I’ve never seen this before. I’ve never had cause to use it. Your dad registered the death because I was too upset. Yes, it’s the same name on her birth certificate. Her father was Henry Denton and she was born in York.”

“Denton!” Belinda gasped. “Wait there Nan. This is incredible!”

Belinda almost burst out of the dining room straight into the family all standing in a semicircle just outside the door. She realised they had been trying to listen in on the conversation. She stopped as the realisation struck her.

“Molly! Aaah! You’ve been spying on me! Now I’m beginning to realise why you were looking funny at me. Did you know anything about this?”

Molly was the first to apologise.

“I’m so sorry Belinda. I began to have suspicions the moment you arrived with Lola. What did she say?”

“She’s still on the phone. Here! You speak to her.”

Molly took the phone and held it as though it was a bomb about to explode.

“Hello. Molly Denton here, grand dowager duchess of Denton.”

There was a pregnant pause as Belinda’s Nan tried to take it in.

“Are.- Are you related to my mother Matilda Denton?”

“I believe I am.”

She handed the phone back to Belinda who put it on speaker.

“Nan, it’s me Belinda again. I’ve put my phone on speaker so everybody can here this… Can you read out the details on the birth certificate?”

“I can do better than that darling, I’ll put my phone on video and you can read the certificate yourselves.”

There was some muttered cursing as Nan fiddled to get her phone working then she succeeded and the small ‘A5’ form appeared on the screen. The facts where there for all to see.

Matilda Charlotte Denton.

Witnessed this day by me --- Blah, Blah, Blah!

The silence was deafening.

ooo000ooo