(aka Bike) Part 1955 by Angharad Copyright © 2013 Angharad
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“Jacquie is planning on doing a civil partnership with her girlfriend,” I said to Simon who was reading the paper after dinner.
“If France beat England and Wales beat Italy and we beat Ireland, the Six Nations would be wide open.”
“I’m going to get a rugby ball tattooed on my left tit.”
“Yeah, okay–none of the pundits give France a chance–what did you say about rugby balls?”
“Does anyone really care about a silly rugby match?”
“Silly? it’s better than those idiots on bikes rushing round in circles.”
Damn, I’d forgotten the track championships were on. I’d have to look on the internet later.
“Did you hear what I said about Jacquie?”
“Of course I did, though why she would want a rugby ball tattooed on her tit defeats me.”
“That was me?”
“You what?”
“The tattoo.”
“Tattoo? Cathy you can’t stand tattoos.”
“I was trying to catch your attention.”
“You had it all the time, I was listening.”
“Simon, if you’d been listening you’d have heard me tell you that Jacquie wants to do a civil partnership with her friend.”
He looked at me for a moment trying to take in the information I’d just given him. “What for?”
“What d’you mean, what for? They live together as lovers, I’d have thought it was obvious.”
“Do they, what’s her friend’s name?”
“I’m not sure, she calls her Jerry so it’s probably Geraldine.”
“Um–Irish catholic I expect, oh well that should piss off the pope.”
“Simon, what are you on about, what’s the pope got to do with anything?”
“Nothing, he won’t marry them anyway.”
“Of course he won’t, he’s celibate.”
“I meant perform the marriage.”
“It isn’t a marriage, Si, it’s a civil partnership.”
“Oh, I thought namesake had brought in same sex marriage?”
“I think it’s got through the Commons, but still has to get through the Lords and that’s where the bishops sit plus one or two other sky pilots.”
“That’s an old army term.”
“What is?”
“Sky pilots.”
“Is it?” I wasn’t too concerned if it was invented by Donald Duck except I couldn’t do his silly voice, though at times I seem to be as crabby as he is.
“So why are they having this civil wotsit? And can’t you talk her out of it, she usually does what you tell her?”
“Not this time. I’ve asked her to bring Jerry or whatever her name is over on Sunday to meet us and discuss the arrangements.”
“Discuss them–don’t you mean talk her out of it?”
“She’s over eighteen, Si; she can do as she wishes.”
“Doesn’t she want to be a blushing bride with half a dozen bridesmaids?”
“Think about that for a moment, Simon, when did you last see Jacquie in a dress of any sort?”
“I have no memory for that sort of thing, when was it?”
“When Julie did a makeover on her.”
“When was that?”
“When she first came.”
“She’s not a girly girl like you then?” He smirked just in time to save his life and I glared at him. “Ooh, Little Miss Grumpy, I do believe,” he said and chuckled to himself because I wasn’t laughing. “Why d’you find that so insulting?” he asked and I wasn’t sure I knew the answer.
I shrugged instead and hoped he didn’t ask. When I was child, I’d have loved to have been bedecked in frills and ruffles but I guess I just grew up. Being a woman isn’t being covered in perfume and petticoats but an attitude of mind, a declaration of something inside not the external fripperies which are more likely to say, ‘I’m immature and need a parental figure in my life.’
It’s fine for others, don’t get me wrong, I don’t care if other females or some males want to dress up like that, that’s their affair but it isn’t for me. I do wear very female clothing on occasion when I want to emphasise my gender or even sex, but mostly I wear practical clothing, usually trousers and tops because it’s easier. I still feel female and care about how I look but I don’t need to flaunt it. Simon knows what’s under my jeans so I dress for comfort.
Mima is the girliest of our lot with possibly Julie in second place. Livvie can be girly but as she has to wear a skirt to school she’s happy in trousers the rest of the time, so is Trish. They do occasionally play with dolls but not very often, if you recall when Cate bit the head off Trish’s Barbie, it was weeks before she got another one. As far as I know it’s still in the box in her cupboard.
They each have a cupboard which has a combination lock on it so only they know the number to enter their cupboard and their toys or prized possessions. They all sleep together–in separate beds–but in a shared room, so some sort of privacy for their possessions is essential.
Meems’ bed is like Noah’s ark with soft toys and dolls stuffed all over the place. There’s barely room for her to get in some nights. Livvie and Trish have some soft toys, but nowhere near as many. Meems also likes to play with her dolls and likes to help with the little ones in the house. I suppose she might grow out of it, but it could also indicate she has leanings towards being a mother. Having said that, I didn’t get to play with dolls very much I sort of waited until I had real kids to play with–not that I had much choice.
“Now who’s not listening?” Si enjoyed getting his own back.
“Sorry, I was thinking about something.”
“I think that was rather obvious, anyway aren’t you supposed to be able to multitask?”
“That’s a myth.”
“Yeth, only mitheth can do it,” he said in a silly voice.
“So what do we do about Jacquie and her friend.”
“What can we do, are they coming for sure?”
I shrugged, “She said she’d think about it and phone tomorrow.”
“That’s kind of her.” His voice conveyed a sense of hurt which he then elaborated, “Without your help she’d still be sitting in a room sucking her thumb.”
“I don’t think she was that bad.”
“Come off it, Cathy, you did a lot of work on her, she had no self esteem and she barely knew which way was up. Now look at her, completely different, doing a degree and getting on with her life.”
“Isn’t that how it should be?” I asked.
“Yeah, but she could show a bit of gratitude to the woman who gave her back her life.”
“Children don’t necessarily show gratitude to those who help them once the initial moment has gone. They’re too wrapped up in themselves.”
“But she’s not a child.”
I wasn’t sure about that, so once again I shrugged.
“If I answer the bloody phone I’ll give her a piece of my mind–how dare she do this to you?”
“Please don’t.”
“Why not, she deserves it.”
“Because if you do we’ll lose her forever.”
“It might be a case of good riddance.”
I felt my eyes tear up and a drop of boiling water ran down my cheek.
“Now what have I done?”
Comments
I think cathy
Needs to put Simon under a heart attack with her blue light and impress upon him his life could be snuffed out at any second to get his attention to his bigotry. Wake his silly behind up to the fact that what he says could easily apply to Cathy as well.
Sephena
If you've invested a lot in a child ...
It hurts when they turn out seeming to be ungrateful.
Cathy's showing all the angst of any mother when a chick grows pinion feathers and finally flies the nest.
Good chapter Ang.
Still lovin' it.
Bevs.
XXX
I think that you mean Simon - not Cathy
Simon is the one acting like an ahole. He's trying to act like some god forsaken king and have everyone lick his boots (at least he feels they should anyways) while Cathy is doing the hard day to day work making things run smoother and does care about everyone. She teaches by example and lets a child know when they have strayed the line. And she really needs to teach that baby ahole Simon he has strayed too far.
Simon is the one needs his brain rewired or else have a groin accident and join the right side of sexuality and learn how to properly think.
His bigotry towards civil partnerships is why i read even deeper into his personality. He is extending onto Jacquie with excuses.
And you wonder why I almost hate all men? This is mild compared to what I put up with where I live :(
Sephrena
Simon is trying to protect
Cathy from any hurt caused by Jacquie. But being a typical bloke, has found himself at odds with her reasoning.
May Your Light Forever Shine
You can't win them all Cathy
Frankly, yes 18 year olds especially these days are pretty much children. Whatever happen will happen and you have to accept that as a mother sometimes.
Kim
Can't comment tonight.
Too close to home.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\g
What I try to keep in mind with Jacquie is she is possibly...
the most *damaged* -- mentally as well as physically -- of Cathy's children.
If she is acting a bit childish remember her childhood was taken away from her by the tragic accident compounded by that crooked cop.
Her family was convinced, as was the court, WRONGLY, she was a 5 year old murderess. She was institutionalized to *cure/punish* her. There she was abused, raped, got pregnant from it. To cover it up they gave her either a shoddy abortion that necessitated a total hysterectomy OR they did the hysterectomy DELIBERATELY. The likely reasoning: no evidence of the rape anymore and "she's a murderess she doesn't deserve to know love or be a mother." THAT kind of sicko thinking .
Then they gave her no HRT which could have and may still cause her serious health problems as she ages.
Only years later, gutted, mentally abused, ignored medically they find out what really happened and nail the crooked cop.
BUT has she gotten any compensation? An exoneration and apology FORMALLY and PUBICALLY from the crown prosecutor for the crime she was falsely convicted of? Her family informed "Oops, we lied , Your daughter was innocent of any crime and by the way we raped and sterilized her."
The girl had NO childhood and WAS a fragile young woman when they let her out having *served her time*.
If she makes mistakes it is because she never got a chance to make such mistakes when younger and with the help of a loving family
She never got justice. More like she's been swept under the rug and ignored.
Cathy and Simon need to remember that. Support her or at least be neutral about her civil partnership while keeping an eye out for Jackie's safety. And to be there if she comes running home should the relationship turn bad.
My fear is though this relationship may prove a good one she has entered into it because she is still so starved for love, affection, esteem that she may have mistaken a crush, a fling for *the real thing*.
I am not fully convinced she is even a lesbian by nature. More by nurture given how cruel MEN have been to her since she was arrested. Many rape victims have difficulty with intimacy due to the trauma they suffered. Even with a woman she may find it troublesome. What she would have been if she had lived a *normal*m childhood we may never know.
This can end so badly. I hope it does not.
For a fictional character I feel for her greatly.
No one should be subject to such abuse and then to have an intuition *circle the wagons * when they learn THEY were in the wrong only makes it worse.
A bit like those prosecutors -- some still in office, many retired or now judges -- who on learning years later DNA evidence proves they convicted the wrong person still insist they *got the right man*.
IE "We never convict an innocent man."
John in Wauwatosa getting off his soap box
P.S. Another fine chapter. Proof you and Bonzi have yet to run out of fresh ideas.
John in Wauwatosa
If I can get you on your soap box, John,
then I might just be doing something right or should that be write?
Angharad
Angharad
The crazy thing is...
for the last twenty years or so we have bought almost exclusively liquid laundry detergent.
Heck, even as a little kid all the dishwashing detergent was a liquid. WE hand wash. Yes SOME people still do that. Dishes that is. We have a washer and dryer. Great for clothes. Murder on glasswear.
So the only soap box at home is likely a little box of Spic-n-Span, for the vinyl floors. And I think that is a liquid too now.
VERY tricky balancing on top of a plastic jug of Tide TM.
John in Wauwatosa
P.S. Still a danged addictive serial. Bonzi has us on our toes... and that gets painfull after a while.
John in Wauwatosa
Fresh Ideas?
Really John?????
If you don't have cats in your household, or have never had any who adopted you, then why do you have a soapbox at all? Soapboxes are good for only one thing, and one thing only! - And that is a pizzpore attempt our (human) part to show they - the cats -are wrong (which is the wrong thing to do, because those of us who have cats in out houses, or have dealt with then, either lovingly or not must give them the status of gods, as the ancients (the Egyptians amoung others) did.
CATS AND ANARCHY RULES, AND ESPECIALLY THE FELINES!
I rest MY case, but where CATS and their humans are concerned, how long will that last?
Don't let someone else talk you out of your dreams. How can we have dreams come true, if we have no dreams?
Katrina Gayle "Stormy" Storm
Whilst i'm sure Simon
feels he is right about Jacquie and that his way is best, Perhaps he ought to to ought to try and open his mind and listen to his wife first .... Too many times in the past he has acted like a bull in a china shop and has then had to deal with the consequence of his actions.... If he wants to drive Jacquie away then he is going the right way about it if he speaks to her whilst in this frame of mind. Hopefully Cathy will talk some sense into him, Because if he drives Jacquie away then i doubt very much if Cathy could forgive him....
Kirri
The next episode
is up, and I have not read it! There have been some predictions made (and I have made many in the past in this wonderful saga that have proved to be wrong (in my viewpoint at least LOL!)
So what have Bonzi and Izzy done to us this time? (leers uneasily at our favorite felines, and wonders if he should let them up into his lap for scritches, scratches, and tummy rubs?
Cue in Bonzi and Izzy rolling over on the floor for tummy rubs in a gesture only cats can do as they insist on innocence.
Don't let someone else talk you out of your dreams. How can we have dreams come true, if we have no dreams?
Katrina Gayle "Stormy" Storm
A cat innocent? Any cat innocent?
Really? There is no such thing as an innocent cat, male or female! A CAT is right, A CAT is always right, A CAT should never be accused of being wrong (the Cat will convince you he or she is right in that situation, and you should henceforth yield to the Cat's decision in all things in the future!) PERIOD! END OF DISCUSSION! (at least so far as the CAT in concerned!!!!!!!!!!)
Is it any wonder the Ancient Egyptians considered a cat as a GOD? The cat was then, and still is, in all likelyhood the closest most of us may ever be to heaven! And if a cat is NOT part of IT'S household that includes you and your loved ones, I am sorry for you, my friend. May your life not have been lived in vain.
Don't let someone else talk you out of your dreams. How can we have dreams come true, if we have no dreams?
Katrina Gayle "Stormy" Storm