The Daily Dormouse. (aka Bike) Part 1986 by Angharad Copyright © 2013 Angharad All Rights Reserved.

1986 was a special year for me, it was the year I transitioned: it seems a long time ago.

I’d just got upstairs when the phone rang, it was Stephanie, could we take Danny there for nine o’clock. I agreed it then sat on the bed and sighed, “Oh bugger.”

“What’s the problem?” asked Si.

“I just agreed to take Danny to see Stephanie for nine o’clock.”

“Yes, and...”

“I’ve got to take the girls for a dental appointment at eight thirty.”

“Well I could drop Danny over if you could collect him afterwards.”

“I can’t, Si, she wanted me to babysit while she worked with Danny.”

“I can’t do that, I’ve a meeting to go to for ten, couldn’t Jacquie or Phoebe do it?”

“I think Phoebe’s down the salon with Julie.”

“I ask Jacquie to do it, Stella will have to deal with any remnants of children.”

“Remnants?”

“Yeah, who’s not going to the dentist?”

“Cate, that’s all.”

“Stella can look after her for an hour or so. Hang on, I’ll go and tell her,” he jumped out of bed and pulled on his jeans.

“Could you ask her not tell her?”

He shook his head and frowned, “Damn, I enjoy doing the big brother bit–but okay, I’ll ask her.”

“And don’t bribe her, you know what she’s like.”

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t going to. The amount she does here is risible at times yet she enjoys all the benefits–it’s about time she pulled her finger out of her arse and smelt the coffee.”

I fell about laughing.

“Okay, what’s so funny?”

“Your mixed metaphor.”

“I beg your pudding?”

“You said take her finger out of her arse and smell the coffee–I suspect she’d smell something other than coffee–that’s all.”

He chuckled, “Yeah, that was one of my better ones–yeah, I like that.” He was gone about ten minutes by which time I’d cleaned my teeth and changed into my filmiest nightdress–like hell, it was into my winceyette jammies and into bed double quick–the heating had been off an hour and things were cooling down quickly.

“She’ll do it–in fact she offered to take Danny and Caty and babysit for Stephanie, but I thought first of all, I didn’t want to trust two of our children to her driving, and I also thought, given tonight’s episode, Danny might want to see his mum not his aunt when Steph’s finished with her torture devices.”

“Thank you, darling, that was well thought through–see, it’s why I married you, you can be a very caring and considerate man–how could I resist you?”

“I’m also rather wealthy which is an incentive to some women.”

“In which case why did you take me–if you could have bought any number of other women?”

“Various reasons–you were a woman of mystery and thus a challenge. You were so gauche and naíve it was pleasure to be with you and watch you grow in sophistication by the day. You weren’t interested in my money so I couldn’t buy you and you asserted a sort of independence which was prepared to tell me to shove it.”

I felt myself blushing, “Um–I think I did once or twice.”

“You did indeed, but you didn’t count on my stickability, did you?”

“Um–no I didn’t, and don’t take this wrongly Si, but you were like a long strip of sticky tape in a strong breeze–once I got entangled with you, I couldn’t get you out of my hair–or anywhere else.”

“Perhaps, I’d better check if there’s any still anywhere.”

He started poking about in my hair. “What are you doing?”

“No, there’s no tape there, what about under here?” He lifted my pyjama jacket and started feeling up my chest.

“Ouch,” I squeaked.

“Sorry, did I hurt you?”

“No, your hands are cold.”

Needless to say he got what he was after and I had to stand in that cold bathroom having a little wash before I could put my pyjama bottoms back on. It was also now getting late and we needed to be up early in the morning to get everyone ready.

Speaking of the morning, it was here before I was ready and walking round with my eyes shut meant I whacked my big toe on a door frame–it certainly woke me up–and reduced me to tears. Simon saw me sitting on the bed sniffing and holding my toe and went and got Trish who did ease it significantly–or that might have been the cold water I soaked my foot in. I broke part of the nail and after finishing my ablutions, put a spot of superglue on it to try and stop it flapping in the breeze. Then I put a plaster over it to stop it catching in my sock–by which time, I had to forgo breakfast making do with just a cuppa.

I rushed off with three girls who having been rushed with their oral hygiene–that’s a quick scrub with a toothbrush, they appeared to be frothing at the mouth. Oh well, it amused me, good job I didn’t mention it, Trish would be playing about all the way there.

Of course the dentist ran late, poor chap’s name is Ivor Payne–I know, it’s like one of those silly book titles–and what were his parents thinking about when they named him? Anyway, enough of that, he’s a brilliant dentist and okay, we see him privately, but he does help to keep the kids sporting lovely smiles although anytime now they could start losing their milk teeth. It’s funny how gaps with small children look appealing in adults they look awful. I have a phobia about losing my teeth, so I make sure I brush them every day, usually twice.

We got to Stephanie’s house at ten o’clock, we stopped off at a supermarket to fill up the car with diesel and I bought one or two things I fancied, like some plain chocolate Hobnobs and the girls had an apple each.

They’d just finished the therapy session and Danny was upset again, so I took him to one side and calmed him down for a few minutes while the girls played dollies with the baby watched by Stephanie and Jacquie.

“Does anything feel easier?” I asked Danny.

“I dunno, I dreamt about them blokes again but you an’ Dad came and stopped ’em hurting me an’ Pete.”

“Would you like to call by his house and see if he’s home–I’ve got an Easter egg you could give him or ask his parent to give him if he’s still in hospital?”

“I dunno, Mum, what will his parents think?”

“Hopefully, that you still want to be his friend and that you care about him.”

“Okay then.”

So that was what we did, he was there and his parents asked us in–just Danny and I for a few minutes. They called Peter down and he gave me a hug and thanked me.

“What for?” I asked.

“You saved my life–I’m not sure how I’m going to cope–but at least I’ll have a chance of a sort of life.”

“Peter, you’re a nice boy and life is what you make of it. This business is a setback but it isn’t the end of the world.”

“It’s not gonna get me many girlfriends is it?”

“Who knows what they’ll be able to do in a few years and besides there are more important things than sex in a relationship, and other ways to pleasure a woman than with a penis.”

His eyes began to fill with tears. “It’s still very hard, Dr Watts.”

“I know sweetheart,” I wrapped him a huge hug and he cried into my chest. I could feel the energy pulsing through both of us.

I let him go when it stopped, “You’re an angel, Dr Watts–I saw you standing very tall with wings all bathed in a golden light–you are an angel, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, but don’t tell anyone, it’ll be our little secret.”

He smiled weakly and nodded.

I left him to chat with Danny who presented him with the Easter egg while I spoke with his mother. “Would you like some coffee?” she asked.

“No, I’ve got half the family in the car,” which was true, except Jacquie who’d opted to walk home for some exercise and fresh air–I think as well being that close to an assault stirred some feelings in her and she needed some space. When she told me that she wanted to walk, I gave her a knowing look and she told me she’d be okay and not do anything silly. I hugged her and let her go.

Mrs Grimshaw was concerned that Peter would become a recluse, we were the first ones he’d seen since coming home from hospital. So I invited them to dinner on Easter Sunday and to my surprise she accepted.

All I had to do now was tell David and hope he wasn’t taking time off.