The Weekly Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 3316 by Angharad Copyright© 2021 Angharad

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This is a work of fiction any mention of real people, places or institutions is purely coincidental and does not imply that they are as suggested in the story.
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When Trish came to see what was happening, we'd been gone about forty five minutes, I sent her to ask Peter to come down to my study. He arrived a moment or two later and immediately noticed Sarah's red eyes and streaky makeup. "Is everything all right?" Don't we ask some dumb questions trying to find a way to probe a situation without upsetting everyone and sometimes even facing hostility from other participants.

"Sarah and I explored a few of her concerns and I think she needs to talk them over with someone in her family who can help her find answers. We discussed some options she has or might have, but I can't be involved because I may provide one or two of the options."

"But I thought it was simply about you offering a placement to Sarah, what's gone on since?" He looked confused and possibly a little hurt, perhaps thinking I'd ruined his little idea and thereby proving I wasn't the fairy godmother he thought I was.

"That is still one of the options, but depending on how Sarah feels, there might be others which would provide a different option. I don't want to say too much because Sarah needs to discuss it without my influence. Right that's brought you sort of up to date," I said to Peter and to Sarah I said, "You, missy, need to pop to the cloakroom and tidy yourself up." She blushed and ran off.

"What's happened, Cathy? " he looked irritated.

"I think Sarah needs to tell you or whoever she decides to talk it over with."

"Yeah, well, that's me usually, her parents are a waste of space. So what went wrong with the placement?"

"I promised Sarah, I would help when she had a better idea of what she wanted to happen, please help her decide, not do it for her, it has to be her decision because she has to live with the consequences, but I will help her as much as I can when I know what her decision is?"

"I'm disappointed, Cathy, I really am."

"You're entitled to feel whatever you wish, but I think things might change for the better."

"You haven't talked her out of becoming a girl?" his eyes went very wide as he spoke.

"What? Don't be silly, I haven't talked her out of anything or into anything, I just helped her see some more options, I do it with students all the time, occasionally with staff as well. A big part of my job is helping people to grow and develop, including myself. I think the discussion we had is helping her to do that and I'd be grateful if you saw it that way too when she talks to you."

"Oh, okay, whatever this mysterious talk is about, I'll do my best to help her benefit from it."

"Just remember that some benefits take a while to grow and often the bigger they are, the longer they take to mature. She's a lovely girl and I promised her I would help as I could, but I need her to let me know how."

"So what do we do about this placement thing?"

"Talk to Sarah and I think you'll see a solution."

"Women, you all talk in riddles."

I smiled at him, "Have you only just noticed that, Peter?"

He smiled back, "I suppose that means it's how I see you."

"Thank you, but you should have noticed it about me in school, I haven't changed that much."

"What? You bear very little resemblance to the uncomfortable girl I knew from school, you've grown into a beautiful woman and in all the right places too. The ugly duckling fable is you to a tee."

"Me a swan? Aw go on," I said reciting a song from my childhood about the ugly duckling which I loved when I was about three. I hope now to forget it forever.

He got the link and laughed which was when Sarah returned looking much better, her makeup restored. "Thank you, Lady Cameron, I'm sorry I was such hard work. Thank you for a lovely lunch and some good advice, I'll be in touch soon."

"Thank you for coming, Sarah, and my name is Cathy."

"Do you mind if I call you, Auntie Cathy, because you've been like an older and wiser relative for me today?"

"No that's fine, go home and think about what you really want and how you want to achieve it and I'll help you if I can."

She hugged and kissed me on the cheek, which Peter copied. Then I showed them to the door and they left talking quietly as they went to Peter's car. I felt washed out and closed the door only to walk straight into Danielle who demanded to know what was going on.

"That's between Sarah and her family."

"She's not gonna revert?" she asked aghast.

"Not as far as I know, why would you think that?"

"Well, you're good at manipulating people."

"Of course I am, I'm a woman, a wife stroke mother and a professor, all three require getting people to do what I want, but I promise I didn't manipulate Sarah, just helped her to see things in a better perspective."

"Aw shit," she said and limped off with her elbow crutch."

"When are you going to let that leg heal?"

"Whatja mean?" she fired back.

"Stop blocking the healing."

"I'm not," she protested.

"Danni, I'm your mother, remember."

"Can I ever forget?" she said limping upstairs at quite a lick.

"I hope not," I said quietly to myself as I went to the kitchen and made some fresh tea then went to my study to get a few minutes peace and quiet. When I got there I spotted an envelope which I didn't put there. It was unsealed and I opened it, it was a report or reference from the college where she was doing her nursery nurse course.

'Sarah is a lovely young woman who lacks some confidence in herself although she is clever and very personable when she overcomes her shyness. She is coping with the academic element of her course very well and she is also a very capable nursery nurse student, dealing very well with all the children she has met as well as their parents. We would be grateful if you could see to help her hone these skills in a real-life placement.' It was signed by the principal of the school.

My peace was short-lived, I'd drunk about half my tea when a delegation arrived led by Trish. "So why didn't you give her the job?" she demanded with Livvie and Hannah and Meems as onlookers.

"When she realised she had to keep an eye on you lot, she told me to forget it." I was trying to keep a straight face but it was difficult.

"I'll bet she didn't, she's nice, so why didn't you employ her?"

"That's between Sarah and me and it's confidential," I said sipping my tea.

"But you can tell us," insisted Trish.

"I don't think so," I replied, "It's why they call it confidential."

"Auntie Stella will be pleased, no more trannies, I think she thinks you import them just to annoy her."

"I don't do anything to deliberately annoy your Auntie Stella, she's my sister in law remember."

"She doesn't like tranny staff, does she?"

"She likes David well enough and she loves his cooking."

"David don't count, he's been here forever."

"He does count for that very reason, he's part of the family."

"Yeah, well Sarah coulda been too."

"Look girls, I didn't withdraw my offer for her to work here we just touched on one or two other things and she went off to think about it."

"What other things?" demanded Trish.

"That's the confidential part, now if you haven't anything better to do but annoy me, then go and find something useful to do, I want to do some mending before it gets any darker."

Yeah I know, mending, I'm married to a billionaire banker and I'm mending school uniforms. It so happens I like doing it, or do when I have more time, it makes me feel more like a mother and less like a professor. I hope it shows the girls that I care about them and how they look or appear to the world, but I doubt any of them see it that way, except possibly Danni. She has grown up quite a lot in the past year or so.

Just after I'd settled myself on the sofa with my sewing box and the pile of mending, she walked in minus the crutch. "Oh," I said, "How's the leg?"

"It's okay."

"Is that okay, as in healed? or okay, I can cope with it?"

"It's fine, I have to see the team doctor on Tuesday and if he agrees I start light training then the week after I play a couple of training games and then back to full team commitment."

"Oh good, or is it?" I asked looking through the mending, there was more than I thought.

"Want some help?" she asked avoiding my question. I nodded and she sat down next to me and between us we sewed and chatted but not about anything of any consequence.

"Did I say I had a text from Sarah?" she suddenly announced.

"No, what did she say?"

"She thinks you're wonderful."

"I knew someone would notice one day," I said trying not to laugh.

"Ha bloody ha," said Danni, "everyone you meet says you're wonderful or an angel, she complained.

"So, jealous are we?"

"Absolutely she said and then we both fell about laughing.

Simon found us an hour later as we were finishing our chore, he looked as if he'd been asleep and yawned as he went to say something. "So what's happening with the girl?" he asked.

"I'm waiting for her to get back to us."

"What? she's not grabbing the job in both hands?"

"No, she's exploring her options."

"Pretty little thing," he said and went off back to the television, I expect.

Danni snorted. "That's my dad, always about half an hour behind you, Mummy, sometimes more yet he's the billionaire and you're not."

"I like him to do better at some things than me."

"Is that just your feminine intuition?"

"Intuition, good lord no, it's simple manipulation, keeps him happy and besides we love each other and we both like to see the other do well."

"I hope I marry someone like Daddy."

"What, a billionaire?"

"That would be nice, but someone I could love like you and Daddy love each other." I smiled and gave her a little hug, no wonder I love this girl, she is precious.

On Tuesday, I had a text from Peter asking if Sarah could come and see me. I replied asking if she'd like to come to the house or to my office at the university. She apparently opted for the university, I thought she might. I also had an idea of what she was going to do.

I arranged for him to bring her to the university at four that afternoon. I thought if Diane was still about, he could talk to her while Sarah told me what she wanted to do. I assumed she had decided what that was but these things are never certain, it just felt like it, but I have been wrong before and probably will in the future, it's part of being human, or as close as I get to it.

I told Diane to block my appointments from four and to hold all calls after that. She of course wanted to know what was going on but I let her stew. It keeps her focused, I accept not always on what she was supposed to be but I accepted that as part of her career development. Curiosity killed the cat... etc.

I'd had a university council meeting earlier on, so was wearing a very nice Chanel suit and blouse. My shoes were Prada and fitted well and I'd managed to walk about in them all day, perhaps I'd lost any sensation in my toes but they were quite comfortable. I had dressed to impress being aware that most of the crusty old zombies who made up the council couldn't tell the difference between haute couture and a hot dog.

Peter arrived walking into Diane's office followed by Sarah. "We've a meeting with Professor Watts," he said and Diane buzzed me to let me know they'd arrived. I asked her to make us a couple of teas and to keep Peter occupied while Sarah spoke with me. I wanted to know what she wanted not him. So a few minutes later, Sarah came in carrying two mugs.

"I believe yours is the dormouse one?" she said handing me my mug. Then she noticed the gold and diamond brooch of dormouse that Simon got me. "Wow, what a wonderful brooch, I bet you didn't get that in Samuel's," she said, "I love your suit."

"You look very nice as well, kiddo," I replied taking in her casual jacket and very tight-fitting jeans.

"I'm about ten levels below you," she said blushing.

"I thought we'd dealt with the self-esteem issues?" I asked.

"Yeah okay, but you look a million dollars and I look as if I went to a tailor at the Sunday car boot sale."

"That's just purchasing power, when you're my age you should be able to afford better labels."

"Is that a Chanel suit, I know your perfume is?"

"I think so, it was the first thing that fell out of the wardrobe this morning." It was whopper, but I was just teasing her.

"Sure, and you just happened to coordinate it with everything else, you look beautiful, Auntie Cathy."

I'd forgotten about the appellation and felt myself blush a little, I hope it wasn't noticed. I was about to ask her what she decided when Diane popped her head inside my door, "How long are you going to be, Professor?"

"Until I retire, why?"

"What?" she looked completely bemused.

"You asked me how long I'd be a professor, I told you."

"No, I didn't, I asked how long you'd be because Peter offered to run me home if you were going to be any time."

I looked at Sarah and she shrugged. "Go on then, see you tomorrow."

She waved to both of us and left. "They used to work together."

"I know, he told me."

"Hey, want to see the dormouse unit?"

"What's that?"

"The unit we have which we use to breed dormice in captivity."

"You have dormice, here?" she squealed.

"We do,"

"Oh please," she said, so we trotted off to the labs.