[Saturday Evening at the Gallery in London]

“Things are going well,” commented the owner of the Gallery, Jonathan Fields.
“About half of your paintings are already sold or reserved and we are only an hour into the event.”

“I saw you busy with the blue stickers,” I replied with a small smile on my face.

“There is a good crowd in tonight. You are getting a good reputation, my friend.”

“The promise of free food and booze gets a lot of people interested,” I said slightly sarcastically.

“You keep looking at the door. Are you expecting someone else to come?”

Melody and Heidi had arrived almost an hour ago.

“I was hoping that another guest was going to come along tonight but it seems that I’ve been stood up.”

“Girlfriend?”

I shook my head.
“Not really. I had sort of hoped that it might turn out that way. We got on very well in our one meeting so I invited her here tonight. So far, she is a no show.”

Just then some more prospective buyers arrived. I let Jonathan welcome them as I looked for Melody and Heidi.

I found them deep in conversation with a much older man. I knew his face from the paper. He was the fine art critic of one of the main daily newspapers, a man named Julian Friend.

“How do you like the show then Mr Friend?” I asked quietly.

“Some interesting work. Savannah Hall has some talent but I feel that it wasted on Landscapes.”

I smiled.
“I’ll be sure to tell her.”

Melody was trying hard to keep a straight face. Julian noticed this.

“Don’t tell me… I’ve put my foot in it?”

"Not quite Mr Friend. Yes, I'm the artist and you might be right in that there is something else for me to paint. But, as you well know and have said in your column, many artists produce work just to keep food on the table and that it is only when you get a reputation that you can afford to experiment like David Hockney, Tracey Emin and not forgetting the very unique, Grayson Perry. I don't put myself in their class, not by any means but you have to aim for something don't you?"

He smiled back at me.
“That sounds like a prepared quote?”

I grinned.
“Partially. When I heard that you were coming tonight, I had to think of something to say that would try to convey the impression that I was serious about art but not overblow my own trumpet so to speak.”

Mr Friend smiled.

“Some of the pieces are good but some are in the needs improvement category,” he said with a straight face.

“As is the case with everything. Just because you have made a successful souffle two hundred times, it does not mean that it won’t go flat on you the next time,” I replied.

He smiled.
“Touché.”

Just then Jonathan came to my rescue.
“Savannah, there are some people I want you to meet.”

I turned to Mr Friend.
"I look forward to reading your demolition of my work in your column next week,"

He was known for demolishing the careers of many young and upcoming artists.

“I would not call what I’m going to write about your work a demolition. More like delivering some constructive criticism.”

“Thank you.”

I turned away before I said something that could turn his review into a hatchet job and followed Jonathan to meet these prospective customers.

---

“That went well,” said Jonathan almost three hours later.

He'd just shown the last of the visitors the door. Heidi and Melody had disappeared around 9 pm but at least they came and mingled with a lot of people. No one had raised a stink at being in the presence of two transexuals which pleased me no end.

“All but two of the show pictures have sold. A very profitable evening.”
I smiled.
"For you or me?"

He grinned.
“If all the sales go through then I should think that both of us will be well pleased by the results.”

“That’s good. The work I had done on Roxy made a really big dent in my finances.”

Jonathan smiled.
“Then you had better start planning what you are going to include in your next show…”

“That’s the problem at the moment. I don’t have much enthusiasm for doing any work for a while. I’ve painted nearly forty canvasses in the past year. I think I need a holiday.”

“Take a break then. That will make many of your regular customers will be even more eager to buy another Savannah original.”

"I don't need buttering up Jonathan. I'm not stopping sketching but nothing is truly inspiring at the moment."

“Woman trouble hits most people at some point in their lives. I can see it in your eyes. Whoever she is, you have it bad.”

I sighed.

“That’s just it. We haven’t even dated but for the first time in over a decade I am interested in having a relationship with someone.”

“What did I just say? Woman trouble. My mother always wondered why I never took an interest in girls. While Dad was alive, I dared not come out. Since I did just that, Mum and I have been closer than ever. The problem is that she’s gone from trying to pair me off with every girl in town, to trying to pair me off with every male in town. Still, it is progress.”

“How is Ian? Is he recovering?”

Jonathan smiled.
“Getting better but being a bit of a whining ninny. He would go off-piste and get two broken legs and a broken pelvis for your troubles. That is the price you pay, part of being married. I suppose but he’ll get over it but as far as I’m concerned, winter sports other than going ice skating are not on the menu from now on.”

“Give him my regards when you get home.”

“I will.”

---

It was very late when I returned to Roxy. I’d managed to get the last train but one from Marylebone to Banbury where she was moored close to the town centre and the famous Banbury Cross.

As I opened the door from the cockpit that led into the cabin, I noticed an envelope. It had been pushed under the door while I was away. Those of us who lived on the canals were often bombarded with flyers for fast food and the like when we arrived in a town. I just thought that this was something like that or an appeal for money from a charity. The sort of thing that most people put straight into recycling. I put it on the galley and locked the door behind me.

I kicked off my heels and headed for the bathroom and then to bed. It had been a long day but overall, it had been a success even if Jenna hadn’t appeared at the gallery.

I fell asleep thinking about what I’d be cooking for lunch. Melody and Heidi were coming up from Oxford. I had this feeling that they had something to tell me. It is was what I thought it might be then I’d better be prepared. I mentally added another item to my shopping list for the morning.

---

The taxi dropped me off near the wharf where Roxy was moored just before eleven the next morning. I’d done my food shopping for not only the day but the week ahead at a supermarket that was on the edge of town not far from the junction with the M40 Motorway.

Despite me getting there for dead on 10:00 am when they opened, the place was busy with families, friends chatting whilst their trolley's blocked the aisles and all manner of other hazards that conspired to extend my visit from the normal twenty to twenty-five minutes to almost forty-five. Thankfully, a taxi was just dropping off a fare outside when I emerged laden with shopping.

With everything stowed away, I started preparing Lunch. Roast Lamb with a herb crust and all the trimmings. Roxy was fully charged thanks to the power points that the Canal and River Trust had installed at the wharf.

While I waited for the Lamb to cook, I went over the figures for Roxy’s energy consumption. I was pleasantly surprised at how efficient Roxy was since her conversion to electric power. The six solar panels that now adorned her roof generated almost as much power as it took to get Roxy to the maximum allowed 4mph when the sun was shining. I’d estimated that if that were the case, I could go for nearly 100 miles before needing to stop for several days or find a power source to give her a charge.

The absence of noise from her engine was very relaxing although I did have a portable generator stored in the motor/battery compartment just for emergencies. So far it had remained unused and I hoped that it would stay that way for a long time.

---

Melody and Heidi arrived just after midday bearing a nice bottle of wine. They looked very happy together. No, more than happy. Perhaps they were in love?

My suspicions about Heidi and Melody having an announcement proved to be correct. Once we’d finished lunch, Melody said,

“We have an announcement.”

“Good I hope?”

They looked at each other like two lovebirds.

“We want to get married,” said Heidi.

“Congratulations,” I said happily.
“What do your parents say?”

“They don’t know yet and I’m not going to tell them until we are married. Their church would not approve of Melody.”

This was what I’d feared might be the case.

“Wouldn’t that mean pretty well… well, giving your family the finger?”

“Yes, it would. We have talked about this a lot and if that is what it takes then I’ll do it. Melody makes me so happy and alive.”

“What about you Melody?”

“It is the same. You have seen how grumpy I get when I’m away from Heidi.”

That was very true.

I reached over the table and took one of their hands in mine.

“As the substitute parent and possibly the only sensible adult here, I want to congratulate you both but there is a lot of things that need to be resolved.”

“I’m going to finish my degree but transfer to UK business law,” said Heidi as she pre-emptied one of my questions.

“And I’m going to move in with her and look after her while she prepares for her exams,” said Melody.

Drat… That was another question of mine that they’d resolved. They seemed to be behaving like sensible adults.

“What about sex? If you want a career in Law, the last thing you want to happen is for you to get pregnant until well after you are qualified?”

The two of them looked at each other with those doey eyes again.

“We aren’t virgins but we have agreed not to have sex, sex if you know what I mean until after Heidi has finished her studies,” said Melody.

I guessed that what she meant was having unprotected intercourse.

“What about your transition and what are you going to do for a career?” I asked Melody.

“Heidi is going to help me study for my A-levels. I’m going to take English, Maths and Law. I can enrol at the college in Oxford in September.”

“What are you going to do for money? Isn’t Heidi going to be away for most of the next year? I remember you saying that it was all arranged?”

“I’ll try to sort something out with the College. If I have to go abroad as planned and then change to UK Law for my final year then we’ll work on that when the time comes.

“I’m going to take over Heidi’s job at the coffee shop,” said Melody beaming.
“If I work all summer ` and be careful with what I spend, I’ll have enough to pay for the course.”

“What about long-distance relationships? They are hard to keep going?”

“We are going to give it a try. There is something that Melody does to me that makes me want to make it work,” said Heidi.

It seemed that they had an answer for everything. That was both good and bad. Good in that they’d thought things through. Bad because this was their first really serious relationship and the percentage of relationships of this type that last is very, very small.

“You didn’t ask about my transition?” said Melody.

"That is very much none of my business. How far you go is down to the two of you, isn't it? I can only give a limited amount of guidance because at the moment, I'm not going the whole way. Perhaps in time, I will but I'm not one of those who hate everything to do with their male parts."

“Thanks, Savannah for not trying to talk us out of it?”

“I would dream of trying. I went through a lot of this with my father when I was your age. When I dropped out of Uni halfway through the first term, he had me up before him as if I was a naughty schoolboy. In retrospect, letting him dominate me as he did at the time and letting him send me halfway around the world to 'teach me a lesson and to make me man', was possibly the best thing that could have happened to me. But hindsight is a wonderful thing. I have made a lot of mistakes along the way but they are my mistakes. You are both adults and it is time for you to start making your own decisions and your own mistakes. The only difference is that if either of you needs me then I'm here."

Before they could answer, I added,
“Here endeth, the lesson. Now, Melody, there is a bottle of Bubbly in the fridge behind you. Will you do the honours?”

---

It wasn’t until the next morning that I discovered the envelope that had been pushed under my door sometime on Saturday. Somehow, it had ended up on the small cupboard that held my galley waste. I was in the process of emptying it when it came to the surface.

I stopped that job and opened it. I saw that it was from Jenna.

‘This can only be bad news’, I thought to myself.

I sat down and began to read it.

“Savannah,
Yes, this is a ‘dear john’ letter. If you want to, you can stop reading now and throw this away in disgust.

Ok, so you are still here.

Firstly, let me say that everything that Melody told me about you was good and from our brief meeting, I found that I liked you. Thank you for inviting me to your grand exhibition. I am sure that it will be a success but I chickened out. There, I said it. I’m a coward.

I spent a lot of time considering… no make that wondering what a relationship with you would be like. That was when I started to think about others especially my family, and how they’d see us. That’s when I got cold feet.

Yes, I know I’m weak, a coward and all that but sorry I just could not see us as a couple.

I’m sure that there is someone out there that can love you but it is not me at least not while I am buried really deep in the closet. One day perhaps I’ll come out and things will be different but I’m… I’m afraid of what will happen with my family.

Jenna”

I read it twice and sighed. At least I now knew what had happened. I wondered why Heidi hadn’t said anything on Sunday but, that question was for another day.

I put the letter in the recycling and took the rubbish out. Once that was done, I started cleaning Roxy’s Windows and the paintwork on the superstructure. I found a few chips that needed repair and made a mental note to get the paint out later.

Once Roxy was clean again, I stood on the wharf admiring her. I never thought about her before but I loved living aboard her but Jenna’s letter had got me thinking. I wondered if being me and living one the ‘cut’ was becoming an impediment to me in finding someone to share my life with and to love. While life on the ‘cut’ suited me very well but it wasn’t for everyone. That was yet another question for another day.

I made myself a sandwich and ate it sitting on one of the aft lockers. A few other boats were moving up and down the canal. Now that Easter had come and gone, the part-timers would be out in ever-increasing numbers until the start of September when they'd die off dramatically leaving the waterways clear again until the cycle begins again next spring.

After clearing away my things from lunch, I got my paints out and began to touch up the chips and scrapes on Roxy. I called it ‘repairing her makeup’.

It was only when I'd finished repairing the last of the chips when I realised that I had an audience. I was up on the bow so the easiest way to the aft cockpit was to step into the wharf. This would take me close to the person who had been watching me.

“Do you like narrowboats?” I asked as I stood alongside my audience.

One glance told me that the woman wasn't a boat owner or user. She was dressed as if she worked in a profession such as accountancy or the law. Her business suit and coat plus briefcase gave me that impression.

“I’m not sure. I’ve never really noticed them before.”

“This is Roxy. She’s my home. As you can see, I was doing a few repairs. Tomorrow, I’m off to Cropredy.”

“Oh… Where is that?”

“A few miles to the north of here.”

“Where are you going to end up?”

I chuckled.
“That is a good question. I had thought about heading for Llangollen for the Eisteddfod but I go where my nose takes me. That is part of the attraction of living on a narrowboat.”

She didn’t respond right away. After a few seconds, she asked,

“Are you Lauren Hall?”

“That’s me. Who wants to know?” I said hoping that whatever news she was about to deliver was not too bad. It had to be bad news if she was using Lauren as my name rather than Savannah.

“My name is Carla Kulinski. I’m a lawyer from Butler, Henderson and Swan. We are based in St Albans. We were engaged by your father to investigate your brother and his various business dealings.”

I sighed.

“Perhaps you had better come aboard if you are going to give me some bad news? I'd prefer to be sitting down for things like that.”

[to be continued]