Wuthering Dormice (aka Bike) Part 683 by Angharad

“I’m worried about that child,” I said as I snuggled up to Simon, in our bed.

“Which one? I have three to guess from.”

“Which one do you think?”

“I thought you did the thinking, I fund it.”

“Simon, behave—besides, I pay my way.”

“Okay, okay, I was only joking. I presume you mean our latest acquisition?”

“Simon, we’re talking about children, not furniture or other possessions,” I snapped, admonishing him.

“Hey, calm down, I didn’t mean it like that, as you well know.”

“I’m sorry, I just feel worried.”

“Well she has just lost both her parents, you can hardly expect her to act normally, can you?”

“That’s what I’m worried about, she’s acting as if I just told her she lost pair of shoes, not the flesh and blood humans who brought her into this world.”

“Maybe she’s in shock?”

“She’s not even acting like that, she’s behaving as if nothing much has happened.”

“Maybe to her it didn’t.”

“And yet, when she thought I was going to make her leave, she got very upset.”

“So her current security is of paramount importance to her. What’s that guy and his thingy of need?”

“Maslow and his hierarchy of need.”

“That’s the fella, how come you know what I’m talking about, but I never have a clue about you?”

“You’re a bloke, Simon—you don’t listen half the time, and the rest of the time, you change the message to fit what you want to hear.”

“So you don’t want sex tonight, then?” He started to chuckle.

“Simon, will you behave, this is serious.”

“Sex always is, Babes.”

“I can’t; I have a headache.”

“Paracetamol?”

“No! Now behave—you overgrown schoolboy.”

“Damn, you understand me so well.” He kept his laughter silent but the way the bed was shaking, he was sniggering or having a fit. I suppose he could have been doing something unhygienic, but it was unlikely as I had my hand on the top of his pyjama bottoms.

“I know you are a tremendous piss-taker, now please, either help me with this matter or go to sleep, so I can worry in peace.”

“Okay, what do you want me to do?”

“I don’t know, that’s the problem. I suppose we have to just go with what happens, and if it looks to be getting messy, get her some professional help.”

“I don’t know what’s in the letter he wrote to his advocate chappie, nor the one to me or Livvie—the police have ours, so we might never get to see them.”

“Let the old man know if you have a problem with anything Scottish, he does carry a load of influence up there.”

“Maybe later, I need to see what’s happening by itself first, before I try to change things to suit our needs better, especially those of Livvie, it’s her future we’re talking about, after all.”

“Sounds to me, as if you have it organised, Babes, so if you still have a headache, I’ll go to sleep.”

“Sometimes rubbing my breasts makes a headache ease...”

“Does it now, shall we do some empirical research?...”

Despite Simon’s best efforts, my headache remained and I had to go and get some pills for it. I was sure my bantam’s egg was fast approaching ostrich size. It certainly felt like it. Simon fell asleep and I went down to make myself a cuppa and take a painkiller.

Tom came down to see who was up and share in a cuppa. “I ken it’d be ye, ye’re worried aboot wee Livvie?”

“Yes, Daddy. Look there’s no need for two of us to lose our beauty sleep is there?”

“Sae, ye go back tae bed, and let me worry aboot it.”

“No way, this is my problem, I’ll solve it.”

“Hang aboot, we’re a team, are we no? Sae we work t’gether.”

“I’m sorry, Daddy, I’m worried she could be taken off me, which really would create problems for her.”

“Aye, I can see that, she loves ye like ye’re her real mither, no the woman ye replaced who happened tae be there when she wis born.”

“Sort of, but I’m worried that she seems to have no affection for these two people who created her and whom she’ll never see again.”

“Mebbe one day, she’ll feel something, and then we can help her, but until she does, we hav’nae ony richt tae interfere.”

“I know, Daddy, that’s the problem, if I’m her acting parent, I want to make it all better for her. I’d love to be able to mend her relationships with her parents.”

“Aye, but ye’d miss oot then?”

“So, it would have been so much better for her natural parents to value her and treat her as if they did.”

“Aren’t ye bein’ a trifle judgemental?”

“I though I was being objective, in wanting what is best for the child.”

“No, ye’re wantin’ whit ye think is best, which may no be the same as whit is actually best.”

I sipped my tea, “My head is spinning with all this, I think I need to go back to bed.”

“Ye’re no on yer ain wi’ this, ye ken?”

“I know, and thank you, Daddy.”

“Wi’oot bein’ personal, ye hae nae difficulty in callin’ me, Daddy, an’ yet ye had a faither o’ yer ain.”

“Yeah, so?” My head was throbbing and all I wanted was to sleep and ease it.

“Jest ye think on it.”

“Yeah, yeah, I will. Good night, Daddy.” I kissed him, “I do appreciate your help, even if I don’t always show it.”

“Aye, well think on that, tae.”

I staggered into the bedroom and crawled under the duvet and snuggled against Simon. No it wasn’t Simon, it was—who the hell was it? I switched on the bedside light, It was Livvie. I was too tired to argue and felt less than well myself. If she got too hot, she’d have to go back to her own bed. Finding her there sleeping with Simon, totally threw me. These bloody kids, they used to be predictable—now, I’m out-manoeuvred by five year olds.