At last ‘A life’
By Julie D Cole
Chapter 53. Pizza chat

I wondered what the doctor had said that could have enabled her to be so forgiving of Judith and dad. Mum went quiet and it seemed an age before she continued.

‘He told us that he’d fought hard to save both of you and both of you were slipping away. Then he thought he’d lost you so he switched his effort and then her heart failed. As he dropped his head one of the nurses said she noticed you move again so they managed to recover you. It was as if you’d come back to life.’

Julie, ever the first to speak jumped in and said ‘But mum why would that affect anything?’
‘Well dear the doctor just said some words of comfort to us ‘Sometimes death means just leaving the stage long enough to change costume and comeback as a new character’.

‘I couldn’t get it out of my mind and even though we went home to see Gran without deciding anything I couldn’t forgive Judith or dad for what they’d done.

When we arrived home Father O’Brien was with Gran and he comforted us. He took me aside and dad disappeared somewhere. I told him everything and finally what the doctor had said. He said I should forgive these sins and perhaps Judiths’ spirit would live on in you.’

Gran had clearly not heard any of this before as I looked at her reaction. She took mum to her arms like a baby and she kissed her and kissed her. ‘You did the most forgiving thing in the world and sincerely believed the doctor and the Priest. Bless you forever.’

Mum turned and sat up and recovered herself to tell us more. She’d then decided that she’d still marry dad and raise me as her own child because she realized in me she could still remember Judith every day of her life.

Dad had been relieved to be forgiven but Gran was not so forgiving of herself because she didn’t know anything about what the Priest had said to me and she was upset with herself for the awful things she’d said to Judith.

She didn’t know that dad was the father of her grandchild until mum told her a few days after their wedding when it was decided it was time to christen me.

Gran wouldn’t attend the christening and refused to have anything to do with dad and couldn’t accept what the doctor and the Priest had said because as she reminded mum many times I was born a boy.

Gran squeezed my hand and took hold of Julies hand too and said.’I’m so sorry that I was blind and filled with anger and self pity all these years. Please forgive me.’
Julie was quick again and said what I wanted to say ‘So seeing Chris as Chrissy has made you believe it might be true?’

Gran just said ‘Of course it’s true.’

What a day I’d had. What a true family we were at last despite my doubts and concerns that Darren Harper might be my father or some other boyfriend of Aunt Judiths.

As we tidied round and decided to go mum said she’d like to stay the night with Gran.
As Julie drove us home she asked how I felt to hear this news.

‘I feel relieved and I feel different. It seems to explain a lot about my unhappiness and why mum and dad were sometimes arguing and why we were uncomfortable at Grans house. Maybe this explains why I am so comfortable as a woman. I don’t seem to have had any problems with the switch over to Chrissy.’

‘There is one problem I’ve noticed sis’

‘What?’

‘You aren’t very good at getting your purse out yet because you still haven’t paid me for the pizzas.’

Julie was so funny that we laughed all the way home. I did make the excuse that I was still waiting for the bank to sort out my replacement credit card and Julie said we must still find out who was responsible because she was still wanting to punch Jessicas nose.

As we pulled up in the drive I turned and kissed Julie and said she was just as kind and understanding as mum and because of this I felt that I was coming to terms with my life as Chrissy but that I still needed to decide if I could accept the promotion that Kate had offered.

A taxi pulled up behind and Sally stepped out and waved goodnight to her friends inside.
I was pleased to see her and couldn’t wait to get inside and update her on everything.

Julie then decided to leave us alone and she’d go meet Gary and she’d be back late.
As we opened the front door and turned on the light Sally said ‘You look so relaxed and so nice tonight. What’s happened today?’

I couldn’t wait to take off my shoes. Whilst I really felt feminine in heels and as comfortable as they are the freedom afterwards is now just as pleasurable as eating a chocolate éclair. But at least the shoes don’t add to my waistline that I felt is getting slimmer each day.

My skirt almost need a belt now since my waistline had reduced more than one inch already so I thought maybe some shopping might be needed this coming weekend.

‘Oh my God Sally.’

‘What’s wrong?’

‘I was just thinking we might go shopping together this weekend but I’ve still not heard anything about my credit card. Where is the post?’

While I checked my post that mum always placed in a small letter rack Sally checked the answer phone for messages.

I had two letters and glad to say one was a replacement card and a message that the lost money was being re-instated and the other was a letter from the special service section of the bank providing me with a new pin number. So I was relieved and now the only problem I had was that the card was marked Mr.Christopher Taylor.

Grrr. Well at least I could use it for drawing cash and I had to decide about changing it depending if I decided to carry on.

Sally said that the fraud section had left me a message to call them for an update and she wrote the number down whilst I signed my card in case I lost it again. As I signed I had to remember to use my original signature rather than the one I’d started to use that was smaller and more feminine. I’d practiced signing Chrissy Taylor a lot at the office so it was difficult to revert back to Chris Taylor.

Such small things were necessary to sort out and I thought one of my first steps would have to be a visit to my bank to meet them.

In the meantime I thought I might sit with Julie and write down as many things as we could that needed to be seriously considered so I could make a final decision. Sally was OK but not so organized and clear thinking as Julie.

Since there was some white wine in the refrigerator we decided we’d both have a glass and sit and chat in the lounge. I put on the soft lights and we curled up either end of the sofa.

It must have taken me almost 2 hours to talk through the days events because I looked at the clock and it was 11-30pm. Most of it was because Sally was interrupting to ask questions.

She was particularly interested in my relationship with Kate and Darren Harper and I think in her heart she was hoping that I’d be Kates half sister since she is fixated by the thoughts that she fancied me.

On the other hand she didn’t want me to have any family connection with Jessica because as she said she was top of her hate list these days. She still suspected she was involved with the card fraud even though I tried to explain that I’d discounted her and decided that it was to do with the club in Birmingham.

We must have talked about Judith and her relationship with dad for almost an hour and Sally said she thought I should get dad and mum together now that I was living as Chrissy because in her opinion this was reinforcing what the doctor and Father O’Brien had said.

It took us about thirty minutes to get ready for bed and I needed a shower even though I’d have preferred a long soak in the bath. Julie sent me a text to say she’d be back around midnight so we were just tidying up the bathroom when I heard her open the front door and then put on the deadlocks.

She came upstairs and asked if she could have a word with me because she’d been thinking a lot on the way home about what mum had told us.

As she followed me into my bedroom she said ‘Sis do you remember exactly what mum said tonight about what the doctor told her?’

‘I think so why?’

To be continued………