The Daily Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 2360 by Angharad Copyright© 2014 Angharad All Rights Reserved.

Out of pure curiosity I checked the paper’s archive and in five or ten minutes had found a picture of me receiving said award. Thankfully, the write up accompanying it was short and just gave my name as, ‘Charlotte Watts receiving the award for best amateur actor in the Bristol area from Evening Post editor Bill Cosgrave.’

That Mr Whitehead had missed that one surprised me a little, unless it was lost. I printed off a picture from it and stared at it. I really did look like the school girl I was supposed to be. Perhaps my acting was better than I thought, I certainly looked better than I remembered, though it was a black and white photo from those days.

David called us to dinner and I left the photo on the desk. As expected the meal was sumptuous, we’re so lucky to have him here. Tonight was a chicken he’d marinated in a garlic and cider liquor then put it in a light flour dressing flash frying it in a very hot oil and serving with fried rice and vegetables—mainly sweetcorn, peas and peppers. Danni smothered hers in tomato ketchup—seems that David’s genius is wasted at times. She ate it all with relish—nah it was tomato sauce—I know.

Simon was wandering about looking for something. “Did you get a letter from your P.A., Cindy or whatever she’s called?”

“Don’t think so, why?”

“They want to set up appointments for interviews for two assistant managers, one for ecological, the other for building improvements. When you’ve appointed them, they’ll work to a schedule we’ll give them from the board via you as director of that department.”

“Right,” was what I said, what I felt was, oh bugger, I’m too busy.”

“She’ll set some criteria for advertising the posts and we’ll recruit over the next couple of months with interviews in August, say.”

“Fine.”

“Well, get off that lovely bum and find the frigging letter.”

“Yes boss.” I stood up to attention and saluted him before running away in case he caught me. In the study, I was rootling through the stuff on my desk when he came in.

“Found it yet?”

“Does it look like it?”

“What’s this?” He picked up the photo I’d printed off. “Charlotte Watts? Your sister is it?” he joked knowing my history.

“Yeah, my evil twin sister, good job you married me, she’d have bankrupted you by now.”

“Why’s that?”

“She’s a notorious child star who’s very self indulgent and generally selfish.”

“Sounds interesting, is she as sexy as you?”

“Meee? I’m not sexy.”

“Sexiness is in the eye of the beholder.”

“I think you might need an optician.”

“So you keep telling me—now about this ’ere twin sister,” he waved the picture about, “Is she sexy or not?”

“How would I know?”

“I thought twins were supposed to be close.”

Yeah, in this case very close. “Don’t be silly, Si.”

I looked at me emails when there appeared to be nothing in an envelope for me regarding the board. There it was. “It’s an email not a letter.”

“Well I was close—now about introducing me to your sister...”

He eventually got bored with the idea of me having a twin and sloped off leaving the photo on my desk, I was busy dealing with the stuff Cindy had sent me. There was a light tap on the door and in walked Danielle.

“Hello, sweetheart,” I said looking up from the computer screen.

“Mummy, next weekend, could we—oh what’s this? Charlotte Watts? This is you, isn’t it, Mummy. When you were a girl.”

“Yes, it’s me.”

“Why didn’t you stick to Charlotte?”

“I preferred Catherine.”

“But you made me stay as Danielle.”

“I asked you about that when we changed your name to Cameron.”

“Yeah, well it was a bit late then.”

“You can change your name any time you wish, you just go to a solicitor and sign a statutory declaration giving your new name. What did you want to change it to?”

“Dunno, haven’t thought about it for ages.”

“Well if you do, provided it’s not something ridiculous, I’ll come with you to see a solicitor to do it.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“That wasn’t what you came for, was it?”

“Uh no.”

“So what was it?”

“Oh yeah—next Friday or Saturday, can I do a sleepover with a couple of girls?”

“Here, you mean?”

“Yeah,” she rolled her eyes.

“Who?”

“Carly and Cindy.”

“You mean Carly Grimshaw?”

“Yeah, who else?”

“You’ve obviously seen her again?”

“No, she phoned me last night.”

“Why?”

“She likes me.”

“She knows what happened to you?”

“Yeah, course she does, they sent Pia away to a secure unit, didn’t they?”

“I thought she liked you as a boy.”

“Well, I’m still the same really, aren’t I?”

“Danielle, you are not the same person—to start with you’re a female now. I don’t recall Dan wearing bras and makeup, do you?”

“No, I s’pose not. But I’m still me.”

“Sweetheart, we all change with time. Those of us who change our genders change more than most people, to start with the hormones can affect the way that you think or feel as well as your physical body. You’ve learned to live as a girl even beginning to think as one.”

“Am I?” she blushed.

“Well not many boys would ask for a sleepover.”

“I s’pose not.”

“As long as you keep it wholesome, and invite Trish and Liv, yes you can.”

“Invite two kids? They’ll spoil it all.”

“How will they spoil it?”

“They’re little kids.”

“They’re nine years old.”

“That’s what I mean, little kids.”

“Do I have your word there’ll be no hanky panky?”

“What with? They cut it off—remember?”

Cindy was still technically male physically, though she’d been on hormones for a couple of years—so it shouldn’t prove an issue. With three of them it should prove harder for anyone to do much as the third would be playing gooseberry, should be safe enough. “On one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“If you’re doing anything I don’t approve of, we either stop it or you’ll have Trish and Livvie join you.”

“I s’pose so.”

“Those are my best terms, take ’em or leave ’em.”

“Okay.”

“Better ask the two girl’s mums call me so I know they approve.”

“Okay,” she rolled her eyes again and sighed.

“I can always say no.”

“No—I’ll ask them to call you.”

“Which was what I asked. Look, sweetheart, while they’re here with us, I’m responsible for their safety and wellbeing. I take that responsibility very seriously and hope other parents do the same when my children are in their houses. You might think you’re all grown up, but the law says otherwise and we have to accept it. All right?”

“Yes, Mummy.”

“Don’t I get a hug for allowing you to manipulate me?”

She bent down and hugged me.

“This was Carly’s idea, wasn’t it?”

“No, we thought of it together,” she said blushing furiously.

“I thought so. Now you see why I have to be careful.”

“Why?”

“I wonder what she’s really up to.”

“Nothing, honestly.”

Wish I could believe you, kiddo.