Bab’s New Year’s Resolution 22

List of Characters.

Barbara. Chief Protagonist AKA Bab’s.
Lola. (Seventeen) Transgendered girl rescued by Bab’s from an attempted murder.
Olivia. (Fifteen) Barbara’s second adopted daughter: Black lesbian girl fostered out of care then adopted. (With Olivia’s consent!)
Joyce Banks. Bristol Social worker.
Aaron Talbot Surgical registrar – married to -
Shirley Talbot Lecturer at Local university.
They are a married couple who own a narrow-boat on the canal. Friends of Lola
Mickey Talbot (Twelve) Aaron and Shirley’s oldest child.
Jessica Talbot (Eleven) Aaron & Shirley’s middle child.
Bianca Talbot (Nine) Aaron & Shirley’s Youngest child.
Billy Medical colleague of Aaron’s – he also owns a narrow boat in Bristol.
Sandra Her parents also own another Narrowboat in Gloucester.
Jackie Sandra’s friend (a bit headstrong and ‘adventurous’)
Julie Third member of the threesome, (more level-headed and sensible than Jackie).
Jason. (Black) London Gang member deals in drugs at the children’s homes
Tyrone (Black) Also a gang member, friend of Jason. Also a dealer.
Tyson (White) Also a gang member into drugs and trafficking young girls.
Angela (Angie), Olivia’s trafficked, drug-addicted friend (Rape-gang Victim and important witness)
Sergeant Davis, (Bridie) female police bodyguard for Angela.
Detective Sergeant Davies. (Brian) Bridie’s twin brother.
Inspector John, Heading up the anti-rape-gang operation in Birmingham.
Erica. Another girl victim thought originally, to have been killed by the gang,
Belinda. Lola’s new girlfriend in college.

Chapter 22

For the remaining two months of the Michaelmas term, life for the two girls and Aaron’s three children remained pretty ‘hum-drum’ Olivia’s artwork won many plaudits and several of the staff truly wondered why she seemed reluctant to enter her work for various arts prizes. Only the headmaster and Olivia’s art teacher were a party to her reasons and they managed to explain Olivia’s reluctance with various plausible reasons.

Angela’s academic work advanced at an astonishing rate, so much so that some of her ‘care-home’ past had to be revealed to her teachers to explain why she had come to the school with such a poor academic record. At the end of the Christmas semester she was so successful in her favoured subjects that she was promoted again to a higher class where she at last shared registration with her friend in most of the subjects. In English however, her essays and comprehension work brought her to the attention of the senior English mistress who decided that despite her somewhat ‘colloquial’ style of grammar, she was deserving of slot in the advanced class.

When Lola came down from Cambridge for the Christmas holidays, there was much cause for celebration in Canal cottage.

These celebrations were further increased when Bab’s received notification of the preliminary, interim criminal damage awards to each of the girls for the abuses they had suffered while technically in the care of their local authorities.

As they contemplated their windfalls Bab’s was doing some rough calculations.

“By my calculations, we could afford an extension to the cottage provided we take things slowly and keep within our cash flow. The sums so far awarded plus my fostering fees, plus the monies I’ve saved so far from your previous fostering fees plus the rewards you have been awarded by the courts for the information you have already supplied, there’s just about enough to complete an extension next summer. Naturally, if you girls share some of your rewards to extend the cottage, you get the house in my will when I kick off.”

“Oooh Nina! Don’t say it like that! That’s horrible.” Olivia protested.

“Horrible is as horrible does darling. I’m not getting any younger. Anyway, to more immediate issues. The police have said, hopefully this case will be over by a year next summer.”

“Are those dates accurate Nina?” Lola wondered.

“Well, that’s what the police think, except for the incident with the Sikh family and Erica. That might take a little longer unless the CPS decide to include it in the main case.”

“So by June next year we could each have a bedroom and bathroom each?” Angela grinned.

“Plus one for Erica, if you three are happy about that.”

“Couldn’t Angie and I just have one big bedroom, you know - - -?” Olivia trailed off slightly embarrassed.

Bab’s let out a snort.

“Ha! I thought that’s what you might ask. Personally I think it might be better if you each have your own bedrooms and share a larger bathroom. You can still share a double bed in one room and use the other as a dressing room.

You’re still a bit young to be thinking long term relationships. Besides, if you go to different colleges you could quite likely end up meeting somebody else. There’s way to much uncertainty in your young lives for permanent relationships to be fixed.”

“Aaaww Nina! We love each other to bits. You’re just being pessimistic!” Angela protested.

“Well call me old fashioned but let’s wait and see. Let’s see what the architect says when he does the plans.”

At this juncture, Lola dropped her bombshell.

“I think Nina’s right. There’s no knowing where relationships can lead. I never thought I would find a friend at Uni, let alone one who could become my partner but I’ve already found somebody.”

The stunned silence settled for long seconds before Olivia found her voice.

“What! You’ve got a boyfriend?!”

“Uuhhmm, no silly! I’ve got a girlfriend.!”

“What!!” Angie squealed. “Why didn’t you bring her down with you?!”

“Uuuhhmmm. Parents, would you believe. Not everybody lives the bohemian, free-style existence we enjoy.”

“You mean her parents don’t approve of you?” Olivia inquired.

“Her parents don’t even know of me just yet.” Lola replied thoughtfully. “And she isn’t at all sure how they’ll take it. Besides, I haven’t checked with Bab’s. It would be rude of me to just dump on Bab’s and you two without any warning. Plus of course this is a secret safe house, so I haven’t even told her where I live.”

“Where doe she live?” Angie asked.

Her family lives near Cirencester but her dad works in London during the week and comes home at weekends and stuff.

“Not far then,” Bab’s observed, “will you be seeing her during the hols?”

“I have to wait until she sounds out her parents before I go to hers, and of course coming here for her might cause problems. Her dad’s high up in the military. We can meet in local towns though, Stroud, Gloucester or Bristol. She’s got the use of a car. It’s a sort of third family runabout.”

“Well, now that you’ve passed your test, you can use the Land-rover if you wish. I’m seriously glad that you did pass, because it means I am not the one always called upon to be a taxi for Olivia and Angela, Just make sure you don’t attract any untoward attention, you never know who’s about and finally, I suggest you come out to her parents as soon as you both deem it okay.”

“No prob’s there Nina. I’m half expecting a phone call tomorrow morning saying, ‘make or break’.”

“Feeling tense?” Bab’s asked.

“A bit,” Lola confessed. “Now, the next thing. Are we going up to Birmingham this weekend to see Erica?”

“Well, I’ve got a lot to sort out with getting a house extension started if the reward money is forthcoming.”

Lola sniffed pessimistically.

“Huh! From what I’ve learned, any monies coming from government departments take for ever to be sorted and there’s always strings attached.”

“That’s as maybe,” Bab’s nodded agreement, “but I can only try.”

“Good on-yer Nina. Have I time to visit Aaron and Shirley before dinner?”

“Go ahead girl, I’m thinking Marmalade would like a little run.”

Lola stood up and mentioned Aaron’s name while looking pointedly at Marmalade.

For a long moment, the cat seemed reluctant to leave Angelica’s knee then to Lola’s relief, he jumped down and waited expectantly by the door.

“Still my cat then,” Lola joked as Angelica pulled out her tongue before grinning.

“Fickle cat.” She charged.

“Come with me then and he won’t have to choose between us.”

“Good advice,” Olivia agreed as she pulled her coat on and savoured the fact that Carbon showed no divisions of loyalties as he wound his body around her ankles.

That afternoon, as the girls shared their Friday on the narrow-boat with Shirley and the children, Bab’s started making phone calls. She was pleasantly surprised to learn that a substantial sum was scheduled to be paid to the girls before Christmas. Things were looking promising.

ooo000ooo

On the Saturday morning Lola received the expected phone-call from her newfound friend.

“Hi babe’s what’s the news?”

“I can’t be sure at the moment. They seem to be keeping their ammunition dry and saying very little.”

“Ah!” Lola expostulated softly, “that sound’s ominous.”

“It’s hard to tell at the moment. My dad’s always kept things close to his chest.”

“And what about your mum?”

“Exactly as you said. She wondered about children – well, grandchildren to be more precise.”

“Oh dear, same old – same old.”

“But you’ve got sperm frozen, didn’t you say?”

“Yes I have but it’s more to do with what they feel about me I would have thought.”

“I think that’s why my dad isn’t saying much. I get the feeling he wants to meet you.”

“Uuuhm, that’s a bit prem isn’t it. I’m not asking you to marry me, leastways, not yet.”

“Why not? Don’t you love me?”

“That’s not fair. I have to get a job and that means two and a half years more Uni. I’d love to marry you but, well – there’s a lot of stuff I’ve got to get through first.”

They chatted at length until Olivia interrupted.

“Come on Lola, the shops ‘ll be closed at this rate. Or we won’t get a place to park.”

Reluctantly, Lola broke off the chat.

“Sorry Bel, I’ve been appointed as chauffer so I’ve got to take my step-sisters and Nina shopping.”

“Well, I’m going into Cirencester just now to help mum and my sisters sort the Christmas shopping and food. I’ll speak to you this afternoon, okay?”

“I think that’s what we’re doing as well, - Christmas food shopping. Possibly some pressies as well. Bye darling.”

“Bye babes.”

Within the hour, Bab’s, Lola, Olivia, Angela and one police guard were approaching Stroud in the Land-rover.

“Park in the usual place is it?” Lola asked.

Bab’s offered a questioning glance to the police guard who nodded agreement and Lola cautiously navigated the LWB Land-rover into the police station yard and onto one of the parking bays normally reserved for riot vans. This put them much closer to the main shops and they were doubly thankful because it had started to rain.

The guard cleared it with the station sergeant and the family were soon shopping therapeutically.

After the essentials were gathered, there was time to choose favourite tit-bits and delicacies for each of the family and it was getting dark as they returned with arms loaded for the fourth time to add to the land-rover’s burden.

“What about a Christmas tree?” Angela squealed.

“I normally string a few lights on the tree outside the garden gate.” Bab’s replied.

“Aah. That’s not enough. Can I have a tree inside. I’ve never decorated my own tree inside a house. You know, like a real family home thing.” Angie begged.

A scan of the hopeful faces convinced Bab’s it would be a welcome move so she capitulated gracefully.

“Alright then. Take a right up here. There’s a place that grows their own. The lane’s a bit muddy but it’ll be good practice for you Lol’s – you know, four-by-four on the slippery mud.”

Lola engaged the four by four and soon they were climbing a steep muddy lane with a ditch on one side and the hedge on the other.

After choosing a tree they set about crawling carefully down the same slippery lane again, now made worse by more rain and the total darkness. As they rounded one of the ‘hair-pins’ they happened upon a car that had obviously skidded across the mud and into the ditch. The driver was stood fuming by the car and cursing into his phone.

“Wait here, I’ll check it’s not a trap,” the police guard advised.

The girls watched as the older man admitted he had been going too fast to get to the Christmas tree farm before it closed.

“- and now I’m bloody stuck here ‘til the tow-truck arrives. We’ll be all bloody night I’m afraid.”

“Just wait here sir. I’ll talk to the driver of the Land-rover. As you will see, she has a winch on the front.”

“Oh good show. That’s a stroke of luck. I was thinking of asking the farm if they had something but that winch would be perfect.”

The guard called Lola over and quickly checked out Babs’s rescue inventory.

“This is a lot of kit Bab’s why d’ you carry it?”

“Some-times the mud jams the lock-gates and we have to drag the gates back as we scour the cills with the sluices.”

“Well, it’s an ill wind. Let’s get to it.”

Within Minutes, Lola and Olivia had led the tow wire through a snatch-block attached to a strong tree while Angela and the police guard secured the land-rover chassis to another tree to stop it dragging itself forward. Soon the car was gently hauled out of the ditch.

A quick check revealed that the car was slightly dented but fully road-worthy and the driver thanked them profusely.

“Well young ladies! I’m in the army and I must say, that operation was as slick as anything they would have done.”

“If you’re quick – but careful. The farm is still open, I’ve just phoned them.” Bab’s advised the driver who gratefully offered to pay.

“I think the lane’s become too muddy and slippery with all this rain.” The driver opined. “I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“We could go and get it in this.” Lola suggested, eager to show off her newfound skills in driving what was rapidly becoming her favourite new toy. “There’s a wide part just down a bit and I can easily turn there.”

“Are you serious young lady?” The older driver asked as he looked questioningly at Bab’s and the police guard.

“If she’s willing, I’ll let her do it. The practice will do her good.” Bab’s opined before adding. “She only passed her driving test in the summer and she’s been in college all term so this is her first real test of mud and four-wheel stuff.”

“That would be fantastic young lady. I don’t know how to thank you enough.”

“By moving your car and letting me get past to turn around down there.” Lola giggled.

The older man laughed and promptly relocated his car. Within half an hour, the man had collected his tree.

ooo000ooo