CHAPTER 62
I ended up in a daze for weeks after the wake, in an odd way. I functioned at work, with no distraction or concentration issues when driving, and I apparently managed to act human when at home, but all the time I was chatting about school and college, trips to the hills or to the far West, I was asking the same questions of myself, over and over again.

Is this worth it? How am I making any difference, doing anything useful, when a girl goes up a chimney as soon as she finds her family again? I found myself planning ahead one evening, working out when the last of my brood would finally hit eighteen, and I could pull myself back into my shell. I went all the way through January and into February assigning a departure date to each girl, as Heidi kept away and Paul kept his counsel limited to an occasional prod to take the urn out to Splott or other places of need.

“You know the expression ‘Men are from Mars and women are from Venus’, well it’s only partly true, it’s not just different planets it is sometimes a different galaxy."

Part 19

Friday evening we gathered in Tavleens’ rooms and fitted Balnoor with the right outfit. We had him put on a bra which had seed-filled stockings put into the cups and when he put the burqa on he didn’t look pregnant like he had before.

“Mom, me and Catlin want to get married before we start our careers. I know you are going to be using Catlin in whatever fight you and uncle Bounty are involved in.” Krisha looks at her mother and watches her facial expression.

“You do know that my enemies and whatever enemies Catlin make will either come after you or try to use you as bait. Are you two sure about this?” Cheshire didn’t want anything to happen to her daughter or Catlin.

Hatter and Shade meet up with Terry at the coordinates several hours later. The ramp on the back of Rhino opens and they pull inside. Once they were loaded, Terry starts heading towards a property that Bart’s company owns. There was supposed to be a transport waiting for them there to take them back to New York.

Shade looks over towards Hatter, after securing his motorcycle “did you have some fun?”

Hatter had a big ole smile on her face, as she lifts her helmet off. She looks over towards Shade “oh yes! I even took pictures.” She hands the camera she used to Shade.

Another Side of My Life
Chapter 21 (Final)
By Julie D Cole

This is Chapter 20 that I tried to edit. I re-issued an extended chapter to complete the story as interest in this story seems to be in decline.

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‘So is my invite to breakfast a yes or a no?’

‘It’s a yes thank you.’

Part 18

Balnoor snorted “No way!” He folded his arms and carried on “it would never work, you must be mad. Besides, I am a proud Indian man and proud Indian men would never stoop to that level!”

Tavleen glared at him and said “So you think that being a woman is a lower level, just like all those haughty rapist men in the old country?” “No, I didn’t mean it like that” he was on the back foot from her attack. I said “OK. Proud Indian Man, just take a look around the table and tell me what you see.”

Lilly wakes up and stretches as she stares up at the ceiling above her. She felt so energized and rested, which was something she hasn’t felt in a while. She slides out of bed and slips the robe that Mouse gave her to wear.

She wonders if Mouse was already up and about as she heads towards the kitchen. When she walks into the kitchen, she spots Mouse talking to a young girl dressed in a black lace bodysuit and faded blue jeans. The blue jeans looked like someone had painted them onto the girl. She had dark brown hair that was cut short.

Not leaving the last chapter's hand grenade to fester.

CHAPTER 60
The year had been a decent one, all told, and I was looking forward to the usual festivities, even without Malcolm and Graham’s presence. For once, I had not only the Christmas Day off but Boxing Day as well, and some sad man without a life had actually volunteered to cover New Year’s Day for me. My plans took a slight hit when Heidi dropped in to sort a couple of things at the end of November, those ‘things’ actually being Serena and Alicia. The four of us adjourned to the dining room as soon as Paul turned up with Nita, which I hadn’t been expecting. As I was sorting out a tray of drinks for us all, the kitchen door banged, and it was Kim.

“They here, then?”