Dot and Sam 14

Dorothy Philpot. Landlady of The Harbour Light pub
Sam Philpot. Drag-queen.
Billy Parkins Doorkeeper.
Jessica Merlot The town’ and county archaeologist.
Josephine MacDonald The town and county archivist.
Richard Drummond Town planning inspector
Robert Vincent. Junior planning inspector.
Georgina. (Georgie) Homeless Transgender girl.
Bobby Gay boy on the school bus.
Marty Girl on the school bus.
Jack. Marty’s twin brother (Keen runner).
Trevor Aitkins, Georgie’s Biological father.
Lucinda Aitkins Georgie’s biological mother
Terence Georgie’s abusive stepdad.

Both Georgie and her father Trevor, returned downstairs to alert Dot and Sam to the situation with the woman who had recognised Trevor, and her possibly realising that Georgie was somehow related to Trevor. Sadly, Trevor’s worst fears were realised later that week when the woman Allison, met Georgie’s mother Lucinda, that is Trevor’s ex-wife at one of her friendship, gossip meetings at their local café in a village near Birmingham.

“Oh Lucy, I’ve been meaning to tell you; I met your ex last week!”

“Where’s the wimp hiding then.”

“It seems he lives between his place in Birmingham and a pretty coastal village down south. You’re not looking for him are you, I thought your divorce settlement was all sorted.”

“Nah, you’re right. That business was sorted years ago, I’m not looking for him. It’s my son I’m looking for.”

“Oh you mean George, the one who ran away. I thought you’d given up on him, what with that huge row between your new partner Terry and him.”

“I didn’t give up on him, Terry’s the one who physically kicked him out. Called him a bloody queer and a pervert. He nearly broke his shoulder. Terry’s not much for tolerance but he’s generous with my other two and his children by his first wife.”

“Yes, I’ll bet you fill that house of yours at Christmas. So you’re saying that George still hasn’t come home”

“Nope. Nary a peep or a squeak since Terry kicked him out. God alone knows where he is.”

“How did Terry find out your boy was queer? Did he catch him with a boyfriend or something?”

“No, he caught him wearing girl’s clothes up in the bedroom and he just threw him out. I tried to stop him but he said the other children wouldn’t be safe.”

“Oh so George is a transvestite then.”

“Something like that or a transsexual even. I read up about it after he left. They say it’s incurable, but I’d still have him back. He’s gone now, forever I suppose.”

The mention of the word transsexual started Allison’s brain ticking and after nibbling thoughtfully on her cake she ventured an idea.

“George resembled his father didn’t he?”

“Oh yes; peas in a pod as they say. Even their build was the same, very slight and smallish. It was Trevor’s personality and brain that I fell for. Trevor is bright and he passed that on to our children as well.”

The ticking in Allison’s brain got louder as she wondered how to suggest her thoughts to Lucy.

“You said you thought George might be transsexual.”

“Well, that or transgendered. That’s what they call it now, along with a whole bunch of other stuff. I’m afraid he might have ended up in some sex thing or other. God knows but it frightens me.”

“How long has he been gone.”

“Last June, it’s nearly February now so that’s eight or nine months. I’d rather not talk about it Al’ it worries me sick.”

Allison immediately fell silent as she sensed her friend’s distress, but she resolved to dig deeper whilst being very discreet. She worked in a large estate agency and legal practice in Birmingham and she was perfectly positioned to find out any property news about the area around The Harbour Light pub and the estuary. For the time being she put it at the back of her mind until her husband Fred expressed an idea that he might take another look at buying a second home

“Where are you thinking?” Allison asked.

“By that little dock place with the pub’ as I recall.” Reggie suggested.

Allison almost tore his arm of as she enthused.

“Ooh yes! Are you serious about buying. I loved that basin place and the pub was a delight!”

The upshot was that two weeks later Allison and Reggie found themselves inspecting the single row of newbuilds being erected tastefully on the only spare land behind the old Dickensian warehouses on the opposite side of the basin to The Harbour light. The development very much resembled the dressed and ‘polled’ stone facings of the original buildings and actually added to the ambience of the sight. They comprised a single row of three storied town-houses facing the old ‘back-yards’ of the warehouses, while the street dividing them provided an effective but discreet service access.

Like others who had fallen in love with the picturesque tidal basin, Allison and Fred secured a down payment deposit, then, after completing the deal, they retired to The Harbour Light and celebrated their success.

“Where’s the pretty waitress who served us last time?” Allison asked Sam as she took their order.

“Which one?” Sam replied, for by now, ‘The Harbour Light’ employed some half a dozen waitresses plus kitchen staff and bar staff.

“The very pretty blond one who served us. She had quite the way with putdowns when my Fred’s mate got too fresh with her. I think she said she lived here in the pub.”

Sam threw her head back and laughed.

“Oooh, you mean Georgie, the little blond; yes, she’s certainly got a way with words. Yes, she lives here but she’s in school at the mo.’.”

Allison decided to wait after dining and thus she spent some time examining the artefacts that Dot had recovered or scrounged from the archaeology of the basin excavations. She also studied the photographs recording the work and she recognised ‘the little blond’ in a couple of the pictures. Next she went to look at the little museum that was approaching completion next to the stable restaurant suite. After satisfying her interests she returned to find that Dot had replaced Sam behind the bar while Sam was preparing to collect Georgie from the bus stop because the sleet had turned to snow.

Allison’s husband Fred had also noted the snow,

“Weathers turning mucky!” Fred frowned as he stared through the pub’s ancient bay window. “We’d best be making tracks.”

“Oh let’s wait awhile,” Allison pleaded. “Some of the snow is sticking and I’d like to take a couple of pictures with snow to see what a Christmas scene would look like for a card. Those warehouses look stunning and positively Dickensian, while this twilight just sets it off perfectly.”

Reggie shrugged. He was already too drunk to drive so Allison would have to drive home through the snow, or at least as far as the little hotel in the town. He was au’ fait with his wife’s visual and photographic skills and if she said the failing light was just perfect to get the shades and shadows right, then far be it for him to question her. He settled comfortably into one of the wing-back chairs beside the open fire while his wife ventured out into the snow with her camera.

Once outside, Allison quickly took her coat and boots from the car and set out across the basin to get her pictures. Then her professional photographer’s eye caught The Harbour Light in the encroaching gloom and she also got some excellent pictures of the pub as the snow dusted the old stone-slab, roof tiles and ancient polled stonework. The contrasting polled stone and patterned dustings of snow served exquisitely to emphasise the pub’s rugged antiquity and she was ecstatic with her results. Her joy was complete when she spied Sam’s car returning to the pub forecourt with Georgie at the wheel.

Allison timed it so that she met Georgie in the pub porch just as she was stamping the snow off her school uniform shoes.

“Oh hello again. Trevor’s friend I believe. – (Or is that Trevor’s son?”) She asked sub voce.

Allison had to admire the girl for not appearing to flinch or twitch as she appeared to just lean casually against the door-post before gazing steadily into Allison’s face.

“Are you asking or telling?” Georgie inquired while she seemed to successfully hide any alarm.

“Well if you are Trevor’s child, and you are what your mother believes you to be, then she desperately wants to meet you.”

“Too late!” Georgie replied forcibly. “She’s got no say now cos I’m technically fostered!”

“She would still like to meet you though, probably to apologise I suspect, if nothing else.”

“No way!” Georgie snapped sharply. “And I’ll thank you not to go blathering to her about my whereabouts. I’m technically in the care of the S.S., and I’ll be eighteen in a few weeks anyway. Even if she does want to see me, she’d have to go through the S.S.”

“Well, can I give her your mobile number? She’ll be able to contact you without her new partner knowing.”

Georgie paused thoughtfully then offered a compromise.

“No, those sorts of deals never work. Her new partner Terry is a bully and if he suspected my mother was in contact with me he’d steal my number from her phone, or worse, come searching for me. Give me your number, then after I’m eighteen, I’ll revisit this issue. That’s only a few weeks anyway and I want to discuss everything with my dad first.”

“Okay then, I’m glad to see that you’re still fond of your dad; I knew your dad when we were at school together; oh! and by the way.”

“What?” Georgie squinted suspiciously.

“You make a beautiful girl. I’m really impressed.” Allison remarked with a knowing smile.

This brought a delightful smile to Georgie’s face and she brightened up immediately.

“Thank you, thank you very much! How did you clock me?”

“As I said, I’ve known Trevor since we were at school and I know what children he had. Truly, you’re very pretty but be careful, don’t go breaking some boy’s heart!”

On this note they parted and Georgie almost bounced into their living room were Sam and Dot were just about to share a pot of tea. Dot looked up expectantly, for she had remembered Allisons face from the previous visit.

“Isn’t the lady staying to meet Trevor again?”

“Yes. She’s an old school friend of dad’s from way back. Her husband was concerned about the snow even though he isn’t driving.”

Sam grinned as she observed.

“If he moves down here, he’s going to make one hell of a customer, he likes his whisky.”

Georgie nodded and smiled with amusement.

“Well at least he seems to be a nice drunk, he was thoughtful to his wife about not driving too far. He said they’re staying at the Blue Boar Inn by the Cross in town.”

“Well, that’s a nice establishment so he’s not skimping.” Dot added. “He’ll be welcome, provided he doesn’t invite ‘Load’s a’ money’ and his mates down here too often. We’re a respectable establishment.” She finished somewhat ‘tongue-in-cheek.’

Georgie let out a shriek of amusement as she scolded Dot in jest.

“Respectable!? Mum! We’re a bloody gay pub that puts on drag shows every weekend.”

With that the three of them fell to chuckling before Georgie went upstairs to do her homework. She also called her dad to discuss the day’s events and Allison’s visit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On the phone she had a genuine ‘heart-to-heart’ talk with her dad as she revealed all her feelings and fears. What she liked about her dad was that he listened and didn’t keep interrupting with suggested solutions. He only spoke if Georgie asked him something. It was obvious that Trevor knew his daughter well and she was the sort of person who would find her own solutions eventually. Georgie finished by asking her dad the ‘make-or-break’ question.

“Should I reconnect with mum and will it upset you?”

“Well the last part is easy darling; it certainly won’t upset me; though I don’t think I would want it to get between you and me. By that I mean, you don’t have to take sides. Now as to the first part, well, might I make a suggestion?”

“By all means.” Georgie enthused.

“Okay, if you do decide you want to pick up with her again, arrange to meet her at a neutral location and meet her alone. Test the waters before you think of going deeper like meeting your brother and sister and be very cautious about that Terence fellow, her new husband, your step-dad. Make sure he doesn’t find out where you live. You told me he physically manhandled you out of your home when he found you dressing.”

Georgie nodded slowly as she confirmed it and Trevor could hear the resentment in his daughter’s voice.

“Yes.” She finally replied softly. “He nearly dislocated my shoulder, tore some ligaments and caused a hairline green-stick fracture in my humerous.”

Trevor expressed his anger then felt there was little more constructive to be said so he finished the call and left Georgie to lie on her bed staring thoughtfully at the bedroom ceiling. Trevor however immediately dialled Allison.

“Yes, it’s me, Trevor.” He confirmed. “You met Georgie today?”

“Yes. Her mother want’s to meet her.”

“Well I think it best that we leave that decision to Georgie. I presume you know that Lucy’s new partner was violent towards Georgie when he caught her cross-dressing.”

“Yes, she told me that and I agree we should leave it to Georgie. She’s nearly an adult now.”

Trevor felt a weight lifted of his mind as he realised that Allison still seemed to be the sensible girl he had always known her for. He thanked Allison for her thoughtfulness and then he went to bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~