Kim’s mother was speechless. Hearing that her one and only daughter was going to get married had knocked the stuffing out of her.
“But…?” she muttered.
“I’ve arranged for some people to come over for dinner tonight now that you are back from London.”
“Mum, you didn’t ask me if I wanted company and I made it clear that I was only staying for a few days at the most. As it happens, I have things I need to do but not here.”

Then Kim’s mother slowly realised what she’d said.
“Marry? You? Don’t make me laugh. Who would do that especially now that you are on the dole? How will you carry on paying the mortgage on that ridiculously small place you call home now that you have no income?”

Those words hit Kim hard.

“Yes Mum, marry. I didn’t realise it until a little while ago but going to New York with him last weekend allowed me to see the real man. Now that I have met his family, I am even more convinced.”

“How long have you known him? Less than a month? And he has a family? Good god Kim, you are just asking for trouble. Think what happened to Cecilia Barker when she married an older man with a family? The family didn’t accept her one little bit. It was no surprise to anyone at the W.I. that she ended up like she did.”

Kim remembered only too well. Cecilia drove her car into a lamp post after taking a huge overdose of Paracetamol.

“How long were you and dad going out before he popped the question to you eh?”

“Don’t bring your father into this. Besides it was different. He was going off to fight the Argies. He asked me the night before his ship sailed from Plymouth knowing that he might not come back.”

Kim had to change the subject otherwise they’d begin to argue. Once her mother got going on the subject of her father there was no stopping her. She regretted bringing it up in the first place.

“I’m going to get packed. I’ll book a berth on the sleeper to Paddington while I’m packing. That way, I can be in Norfolk mid-morning tomorrow.”

Then her closing note was:
“I’m going to sell my flat. I should even come out about fifty grand to the good so you have no need to worry about how I will live. No need at all!”

Kim walked out of the kitchen carrying her Laptop and notebook. She’d made a point of not washing up her cup and saucer. Her mother was a champion ‘neat freak’. Kim was often totally the opposite probably because of her mother’s incessant nagging all through her childhood and her determination not to end up like her.

She also felt good for the first time in her adult life for not letting her mother have the last word in a conversation about her and her future. Far too many times in the past she’d been literally bullied by her mother into doing what her mother wanted her to. Going away to University and then getting a job in London had only deferred her nagging at everything she said or did.

Once Kim had packed her bag and arranged her travel, she went to find her mother. She was laying the table for dinner. There were six places set for the evening.

“Mum!”
“I said that I’m not staying. I’ve called a taxi to take me to the station. I’ll eat at the Pub next to it.”

“But… I told you that I have invited some people to come over for tonight.”

“Let them come. I won’t be here. I have places to go, people to see and none of them are here.”

Kim smiled to herself for using one of her Mother’s favourite expressions back at her.

Before her mother could respond Kim heard the horn of the Taxi.

“Look Mum, I’ve got to go. I know that you will like Brian. He is a genuinely good man. He was a Professor at Cambridge,” said Kim trying to curry favour with her mother one last time.

It didn’t even go in one ear let alone out of the other so Kim left her mother to prepare the meal that she’d serve to her friends later that evening.

---

Kim arrived in Kings Lynn a little after 10:30 the following morning and took a taxi from the railway station to her rented flat. As soon as she stepped inside, the realised that she had just over a week left before she’d have to leave the place. Now that she was no longer employed by the paper they’d stop paying the rent as soon as they could. She knew that the rent was paid up to the end of the following week which happened to also be the end of the month.

With that settled in her mind, she dumped her luggage inside the front door and grabbed her car keys. Thereupon, she drove to one of the supermarkets on the eastern side of town for a late breakfast.

Once she was suitably refreshed, she did some shopping at the supermarket and then headed into the centre of the town. She hoped that what she was after was still for sale.

Luckily, the Charity Shop still had a pair of lovely Jimmy Choo sandals in her size on display. At a knock down price of £35.00 she went home happy. She’d seen them in the window when she’d walked to the Station a few days before. With all her purchases made, Kim returned to the flat to get ready to go out.

Kim emerged back into the sunlight just before midday. She was wearing a cheap dress that she’d bought at the supermarket and was carrying those Jimmy-Choo’s. She’d made a real effort with her hair and makeup which was almost unheard of for Kim when not working. It was the weekend and Brian had invited her to come around so that was where she was going.

The only thing that could thwart her plan was if Brian was not at home but he’d made it clear to her during their brief trip to Germany that Saturdays were generally spent at home with the children.

Kim breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Brian’s car parked in the driveway.

After exchanging her driving shoes for the new sandals, she got out of her car and headed towards the house. She felt her heart going like the clappers. It all seemed so easy when she was in Cornwall but now it was crunch time.

As before, she got no reply from the front door so she walked around to the back just like she had done almost exactly one week before.

Kim walked around the back of the house and got a shock. She fully expected to find a similar situation to that of her last visit. Instead, she saw Brian embracing a woman who from her memory could only be his ex-wife, Simone.

Kim stopped dead in her tracks and let out a small cry. A look of horror spread onto her face. She turned around and started to almost run back to her car. As she turned the corner of the house, she fell off one of the heels. In a fit of anger, she ripped it off and did the same to the other one and threw it away as she ran as fast as possible towards her car.

She didn’t see Brian coming after her. Nor, did she see him pick up her discarded shoes and wave them at her.

Kim got in her car and somehow managed to get the keys in the ignition, start the car and attempt to reverse out of the drive and failed, miserably.

She backed right into the gatepost and stalled the car.

Kim broke down in tears. As she cried, she pounded the steering wheel of the car and cried out,
“How could I be so fucking stupid!”

Her virtual stupor was only broken when Brian opened the driver’s door of her car.

Kim looked at him and cried.

“How could you!”

“How could I what?”

“I saw you with her!”

Brian started to understand.

“Oh!”

Kim dived into her handbag in search of a handkerchief. Brian’s hands went to his pockets only there were none as he was wearing a dress.

After a bit, Kim quietened down.

“Sorry about that,” she said once she’d dried her eyes.
“It was very rude of me to interrupt you like that.”

“It wasn’t rude of you at all. I told you that you are always welcome here.”

Kim got out of the car and immediately regretted it. The driveway was gravel at this point. She quickly put on her driving shoes and went to inspect the damage.

“I made a bit of a mess of that,” said Kim as she looked at the pile of bricks that was once a gatepost.
“If you would get someone to rebuild it, I’ll pay for it.”

“Don’t be silly. You aren’t the first person to hit it. You just delivered the fatal blow.”

“I insist.”

Brian just shrugged his shoulders.

“I think I owe you an explanation.”

Kim looked at him with wide eyes.

“No, you don’t. It was clear to see that you are back with you ex despite what you told me last week.”

“It is her birthday today. I’d just given her a present and she kissed me back. Nothing more.”

Kim’s eyes sank to the floor.

“I feel like such a fool.”

Brian took hold of her hand and gave it a brief squeeze.

“You can never be a fool. You are far too intelligent for that.”

Before Kim could object he added.

“Why don’t you park your car again and come into the house. I’ll pour you a drink. From the look of you, I think you need it.”

Brian handed Kim the sandals and walked into the house deliberately leaving the front door open for her.

Kim didn’t object and soon joined Brian in the kitchen. She could see the children playing in the garden with their Mother.

Kim sat down as Brian put a glass of wine onto the table in front of her. Then he sat opposite her and waited.

She took a sip of wine.

“This is nice.”

“It is nothing special but very drinkable.”

After a few seconds, Brian asked.

“Why did you drop around today?”

“I had what I was going to say all worked out but it has all gone from my mind.”

Brian smiled.
“Why not start at the beginning?”

She took another sip of wine.
“I think I owe you an answer to a couple of questions, don’t I?”

She took a deep breath, let out a sigh and said,
“I don’t think I can work for you but I would like to work for Garth as long as I’m based here.”

Brian didn’t react except to say,
“Why here?”

Kim looked him right in the eyes.
“Because I’m falling in love with you. I know that I’m being a stupid fool and everything so if you tell me to go then I’ll get out of your life for good but being with you all last weekend made me feel… well different in a way that I’ve never even remotely felt before.”

Brian looked startled at what Kim had said. Totally out of character for him, he froze on the spot.

Kim took this as a sign of rejection.

“I think I should leave and you won’t see me again,” she muttered trying to hide her disappointment.

She left Brian rooted to the spot and got in her car and left.

She managed to keep the tears at bay until she got to her home. Then it all came out.

---

A couple of hours later, she’d cried herself out and after pouring herself a stiff drink, she began to pack.

Soon she was swearing once more. What had come up to Kings Lynn in three large bags had somehow grown into more than four. That was one more than would fit into her very small car.

“Bugger!” she swore under her breath when she saw the pile of things that simply would not go into her bags. What was worse was that the size of the bags meant that they would simply not all fit into her tiny Fiat 500. It might have been perfect for London but not for moving house.

Kim had just picked up her car keys and headed for the door when the bell rang.

She stopped dead in her tracks. It was her turn to freeze. She wasn’t expecting anyone to call.

Then a voice came from the other side of the door.

“Kim, this is Simone, Brian’s ex-wife.”

Kim unfroze but didn’t move towards the door.

“Kim? Please? I really need to speak to you. It is about Brian.”

This time, Kim opened the door.

“You had better come in.”

Simone came into the flat.

“As you can see, I’m packing. In a few hours, I’ll be gone for good and you can have him back.”

Simone looked at Kim with some sorrow in her eyes.

“I don’t want Brian back. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I love him but we can’t live together. You need to know this.”

“I don’t need to know anything of the kind,” retorted Kim.

Simone sighed.

“Kim, I’ve seen how Brian reacts when her talks about you. He goes all gooey eyed. He did the same when we first got together. He’s in love with you. I saw that today. I don’t think he expected you to come around and tell him like you did. You put him at a disadvantage and that is his weak side. When he was at University, it was fine but… There is a lot more you need to know before you leave...”

Kim sat down. Simone did the same.

“Things started to go wrong between us when I got really bad PMT after the birth of Monica. It developed into something a lot worse and in the end, we had to separate. Almost right away I got better. But as soon as we got back together we started fighting again. I left and all was right again. It didn’t take a genius to work out what was wrong so we came up with this plan. We got divorced very amicably and when Brian got the job here, we made sure that we could live next door to each other. That way we can be there for our children, but free to date again. That means when Brian or I go away on business like you did the other weekend, the other one looks after them. We don’t fight if we restrict being together to small doses. About half a day is about the maximum we can be together in one go before something pops and we try to kill each other verbally. As you can expect, that really isn’t good for us and especially our children.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“As I said, Brian is in love with you. When he got back from Germany I saw it in his eyes and how he talked about you, how you dressed and how you handled yourself at the reading in America and everything. From what he said, he put you right on the spot and you handled it very well. I know Garth and he is a tough man to please so you did very well indeed. Brian could not stop talking about you. Then you come and tell him that you have feelings for him and he was totally put on the defensive. When that happens he just shuts down. That’s what he did when I laid into him before… He let me work out my anger on him and to his credit he didn’t lift a finger to stop me. Every time I let rip, I’d feel so bad afterwards that I’d try to make up with him but a week or so later it would all happen again. That’s why we can’t live together. Then you came into his life and he suddenly has purpose in his life again.”

She took a breath before continuing.

“He needs someone in his life who can give him the things I can’t. That’s what he was like when I came into the kitchen just after you’d left. I guessed what had happened but it took me half an hour to get it out of him. In the end, he told me where you lived and here I am.”

“I didn’t know how he felt.”

“That’s because he never shows his true feelings like most men I’m afraid. I have to say that I’m to blame for at least some of that. Something goes bang in my mind and bang I can’t bear being in the same room as him after more than five or six hours. In the end, he just shuts down and let me rant and rage at him. Oh sorry. I’m ranting again.”

Then Simone said something that Kim didn’t expect.

“It would really help me if you could make a go of it with him.”

“Eh?”

Simone smiled.

“I am in a bit of a relationship with someone at work. He’d like me to move in with him which might mean moving to Norwich at some point in the future.”

“What happens if it does not work out for Brian and me?”

Simone couldn’t answer that.

“Does Brian know you are here?”

She shook her head.

“No, he’s with the children. Once I extracted your address from him, he seemed to get back to normal so I made an excuse to leave and I left it a while before I left home and came here.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“That’s down to you. I just wanted to let you know about Brian and me. He’d never tell you unless you had a knife to his throat. He’s that sort of person really.”

Kim nodded. She’d tried to get him to open up on their trip but he’d remained tight lipped.

After a few seconds silence, Kim asked,
“What is it with him and dressing as a woman?”

Simone smiled.

“He’s been doing it for years. It helps him relax.”

“Is that all?”

Simone hesitated.

“Do you want the truth?”

“That’s for the best isn’t it?”

“I think he could pass as a woman. I tried to get him to go out dressed once. I did his makeup and everything but he chickened out at the last minute.”

“What about the children?”

“They’ve grown up with their dad putting on a dress or a skirt at weekends. He only does it at home. If their friends come around, he’s back to normal and their dad. They love both of us dearly and hate it when we fight. Their father wearing a dress at weekends is chicken feed to them. They know he loves them just the same no matter how he is dressed.”

“He looked so comfortable. Not awkward at all?”

Simone smiled.

“Yeah. That’s what is so bloody frustrating about the whole thing. I’ve seen a good number of Trans people in my job and Brian beats most of them hands down when it comes to femininity. He refuses to see it or at least admit it. Most of the time he goes out of his way to hide it. I’m sure that you have seen that he is a different person at weekend. I think he’s scared that becoming his real self would make him a lesser person in Business. He had a hard time adapting to the real world after being in the academic one for so long. Another huge change is very, very scary to him.”

“What is your job? How do you know all this?”

She smiled.
“I’m a Sociologist. I work at the University in Norwich.”

Kim’s mind was racing.

“Kim. please don’t leave Lynn. I think that you two would be good together. He needs a good woman in his life and I happen to think that you are it.”

Kim did not know what to say at this ringing endorsement by Brian’s former wife.

As was becoming common in recent weeks, her mind went to mush and into overdrive at the same time. She was in no fit state to leave at least until the following day.

[to be continued]