Dot and Sam 15

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
Allison. Old school friend of Trevor
Fred Allison’s husband.

On the morning of her eighteenth birthday Georgie woke to find some small packages on her dressing-room table. Her eyes lit up with delight as she recognised it as jewellery from Dot and Sam, and an envelope with her dad’s writing. There was a substantial cheque and a letter.

“Dearest Georgie I am so sorry that I am unable to give you any of your grandmother’s jewellery but I gave it all to your sister Elizabeth when your paternal gran died. Please understand I did not know you were a girl then. Here is your eighteenth birthday present by way of compensation. I was thinking originally of a car but I leave that decision to you. The cheque would cover it if you chose to but I would advise waiting until Uni when there will be another check to reward your efforts if you succeed in gaining an entry scholarship.

I’ll be down on to see you late on Friday, so until then xx.

Dad.

P.S.

If your sister Elizabeth is as caring as your gran was , perhaps one day, she might give you one of your grandmother’s pieces as a sisterly token of sharing. They are quite valuable.

Love Dad.

Georgie shed a slight tear, half in sorrow and half in joy, then she placed the letter and birthday presents in the locked drawer of her dressing table before getting ready for school. After thanking Dot and Sam profusely, she set off to school on her bike. It was late February; very cold and wet. At the school, her friends had prepared a ‘cake party’ and there were enough titbits to go around the class several times. By way of thanking them, she declared that there was a party after Friday’s drag show at the Harbour light. Unsurprisingly, the offer was taken up by the whole class.

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

On the Friday, news of Georgie’s birthday party had spread further than her classmates had anticipated and eventually, Dot was forced to hire some extra security as some unsavoury characters appeared and tried to blag their way in. Billy the regular doorkeeper found himself hard-pressed to keep the prospective gate-crashers at bay and he was eternally thankful for Dot’s foresight. Additionally, several of the regular attendees to the drag-shows offered to back Billy and his team up. Dot was also eternally grateful that The Harbour Light pub had been built with historical piratical raids in mind. For when gate-crashers had endeavoured to force entry via the fire escapes, they had been chagrined to find that, whilst easy to open from within, the old medieval oak-studded doors were virtually impossible to force from without.

The consequent mayhem outside the pub on the muddy banks of the river when the drug dealers found themselves locked out, was further exacerbated when the police and sniffer dogs arrived. Cold wet February nights are not the best times for drug dealers to find themselves falling foul of the police on a slippery, muddy riverbank. The gangs found themselves seriously out of pocket after having to dump their drugs in the river.

Inside the bar of The Harbour Light, Sam’s drag show was a resounding success while the karaoke competition produced some surprising stars from the school’s ranks. When Trevor arrived long after midnight he found the party only just beginning to wind down as parents collected some children while others made their prearranged ways home. Eventually he located Georgie ensconced with her coterie of close female friends in the ‘snug’ chattering about the nights events. When she saw her dad, she sprang from her seat and lurched across the snug.

“Drunk I see, but safe!” He charged his daughter as he exchanged a knowing wink with Dot who had obviously kept an eye on the wayward friends.”

Georgie swayed as she tried a comical excuse. “I’m not pregnant Dad!”

“I’d be bloody surprised if you were kiddo! But you’re stupidly drunk.”

“Y – yes.” She stuttered, “B – but drug free!”

“Well, that’s a small mercy. Bed’s the best place for you.”

“Aaww Da-ad. The night’s still young.” She begged.

“Yes, but sadly you’re no longer young Missy; you’re eighteen and an adult and it’s nearly five o’clock! Too late even for a pyjama party!”

“Can’t I stay up until late?”

“It’s already late girl. Look, the bar is empty, there’s the dawn and Dot’s locking up.”

Then Trevor had a sudden nervous thought.

“Where are your friends sleeping?”

“Up in my bedroom, you said it just now; a pyjama party!”

Trevor’s eyes widened with concern as he caught Dot’s eye across the bar. After extricating himself from his drunken daughter’s embrace he crossed to the bar and whispered to Dot.

“Do the girls know?”

Dot nodded and shrugged with a grin.

“Modern times Trevor. Yes, all those in the snug know. Look they’re making their way upstairs even now.”

Trevor turned disbelievingly as the last girl was giggling drunkenly up the stairs beside the bar.

“Jeeze! I’d better lock my door tonight, that lot look loaded for bear!”

Dot let out a snort of laughter and chuckled.

“Most men would be dreaming and hoping Trev. I applaud your morality. Six nubile seventeen and eighteen-year-old’s scampering about on your landing.”

“Six would kill me Dot. I’m not a young man anymore, and by that I mean under fifty.”

“Come and have a hot brandy to warm you up. In half an hour that I’ll bet you that twitter of canaries will all be asleep!”

Trevor gratefully accepted the offer and waved to the security camera simply to record his probity as he ducked behind the bar into Dot’s living room. There he fully availed himself of Dot’s half hour pratique. Eventually, it was an hour before Trevor reached his bed and the whole landing was as silent as the grave.

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

Late Saturday morning eventually produced the ‘teenaged-walk-of shame’ as the girls argued about descending into the public bar. Trevor emerged onto the landing as he heard the collective whispers debating such a public stunt.

“Go on down you silly scaredy-cats. Dot’s closed the bar so no one will see you. The diners are using the stable restaurant instead.”

“Thank you Mr Aitkins. Your daughter’s a scream.”

Trevor just gave a knowing look as he contemplated the fact that the girls knew Georgie’s secret.

“Yes, so I’ve been told. I’ll need to chat with her later.”

“Will that be the mummy daughter chat?” One wag asked and the whole bevvy of girls shrieked with laughter.

Trevor reddened slightly and wagged his head with concerned amusement as he made his way down the stairs.

As a gang, the girls trudged down collectively to find decent brunch awaiting them and with grateful thanks soon demolished the lot.

“Thank-you Miss Philpot, that was delicious.” They chorused as they filtered back upstairs to decide what they were going to do for the Saturday afternoon.

It being Georgie’s eighteenth birthday, she was excused duties and she was accompanying the girls into town. Her birthday money was trying to burn a hole in her purse but Trevor smiled inwardly as he found her stashing most of her birthday money in the pub safe.

“Asbestos purse love?” He grinned as Georgie slammed the safe shut on her envelope.

“Yeah” Georgie grinned self-consciously. “No holes were burned during the accumulation of these monies!”

“Glad to see it darling. If you carry on like that, I’ll see you right for uni, you know; no debt after three years.

“Thank you daddy,” she whispered tearfully as she went up to join her friends planning for the Saturday afternoon.

After chatting briefly with Dot about Georgie’s hoped for future and other things, Trevor donned his waterproofs and went for another walk around the basin followed by a long, brisk walk along the old canal behind the town centre. When he returned, he met Georgie already returned from town.

“I’ve had some letters,” she told him.

“Birthday cards?” Trevor asked.

“Some are but there’s two important ones.”

“Go on. I’m thinking you want to talk.”

“One’s from Allison, asking if I’m interested in meeting mum. I’m not ready for that yet. The second one is from the SS and it concerns my education after eighteen.”

“Have you told them I’m back on the scene?”

“No. I need some advice on that. It might affect my allowances it they think you’re supporting me.”

“Well, we’ll make it legal love. The last thing you want is worries about funds when going to uni and transitioning simultaneously. I’ll meet the SS soon and we’ll sort it. Best if your honest love, it helps you to keep your self-respect.”

“When are you going back to Birmingham?” She asked.

“Tuesday morning. I’ve got some business to do with the developers. How do you like the new cottages behind the warehouses?”

“They’re really good, they’ve all been sold I see.”

“Yes, Allison and Fred took the last but one. They intend to retire there. I told them to take the furthest one and sleep in the back bedroom. It’s deathly quiet over there, even when The Harbour Light is rocking.”

After sharing a light dinner with Dot and Sam, father and daughter separated to shower and they met as the Drag queens were arriving to dress for the show. Marty also arrived on her bike because Sam had invited her to see the artists getting prepared.

“You perve!” Georgie chided her jokingly. All those weird men and you such a pretty girl.”

“So what!” Marty scoffed. “You’re in and out all the time! – And as for pretty; - well! Pot, – kettle?”

“I can’t get pregnant though,” Georgie teased.

Soon, Georgie was busy behind the bar while Marty managed to wangle a couple of hours as a pot girl once the show started. At the end of the show, that was by mid-morning, Marty was dead on her feet and she flopped down exhausted on the bed as Georgie appeared after helping Dot to lock up.

“Which side d’ you sleep on?” She asked Marty.

For a moment, Marty had to think because usually, she tossed and turned all night. Finally she decided her right side and Georgie nodded approvingly.

“Okay, you sleep this side then we sleep facing each other and hopefully, nobody gets kicked out of bed.”

The pair grinned knowingly for it was the first time they were to spend the night together. As Marty started to undress, Georgie reached nervously for the switch and plunged the room into darkness. Only the cold light of the full moon picked out their pale ghostly bodies and Marty demanded.

“What j’oo do that for?” Marty demanded.

“I don’t want you staring.”

“Crikey! Are you that afraid? I thought I was the one who should be nervous.”

“It’s not that, it’s just, well it’s just that I’m you know, not right down there, I’m small.”

“Well you ain’t small up there anymore. I can see them clear as day in this moon light.”

“They’re not that big!” Georgie protested.

“Well maybe not but they’re sure as hell attractive. Lovely and creamy and white. Get your balcony bra off and lets just cuddle for now.”

“Don’t go down there then. You know I don’t like being reminded of it.”

“What’ choo doin now?” Marty demanded.

“Getting my nighty.”

“Jeeze Georgie. Just come here!” Marty giggled as she picked just the right moment when Georgie was unclasping her bra.

Caught off balance, Georgie plumped down onto the bed only to feel delicate fingers reach over to trace a path across her freed breasts.

“Hmm, that’s nice,” she gasped as Marty’s leg slid gently between her knees.

Georgie shuddered with nervous anticipation and Marty sighed with pleasure as her lips found Georgie’s. Soon the only sounds were those of inquisitive, urgent exploration as Georgie eventually lost all inhibitions surrounding her ‘abnormality’ and discovered that sex was good even when her equipment had initially seemed inadequate. Sleep soon came after they had satiated their urgency.

Eventually, it was the rattling of driving rain on the bedroom window that dragged them to consciousness the following noon.

Before the calls of nature, Georgie found herself admiring Marty’s delicious derriere as her friend kneeled on the bed and pushed her face between the curtains to savour the view across the river. Georgie slipped out of bed and couldn’t resist one last gentle stroke of Marty’s bum before slipping to the bathroom. Marty quickly followed her and they shared the next new adventure, namely soaping themselves together in the shower.

Nothing was said when they eventually arrived downstairs but the indulgent smiles told the girls that the adults in their lives held no censure. Self consciously they made their own breakfasts then Trevor suggested they go for a brief walk in the estuary. Marty responded that she would prefer to walk along the canal towpath as she was looking for material concerning the final chapter of her history dissertation. She defended her preference by declaring that there was plenty of interesting bird life around the canal so Trevor could indulge his hobby.

~~~~~~~~~~~