Cary gets past his initial embarrassment to make some new friends during a fun educational program at his mom’s place of employment during bring-your-child-to-work day.

CHAPTER 29
I handed the hammer back to Nell, setting the frame as square as I could. It was only the second we had placed by the stairs, but it was a good one. Pat had set her timer to capture all four of us at the top of Carnedd Llywelyn, sun brightly shining and our jackets covered in lumps of snow from our silliness with axes and polythene survival bag. Just down from that picture, three of us grinned on top of Y Garn. The sunlight in the photos could do nothing to illuminate the staircase, but the memories did exactly that. Nell chuckled.

“What’s funny, love?”

“Just thinking, yeah? Climbing pictures, next to stairs. Fits!”

Part 3 of 6

 
Chapter 6
Two days later Helen and the slightly mystified Penny were sitting in a plastic surgeon's office in Reno Nevada. For Penny, traveling with someone who was almost the woman for whom she worked for many years was a surreal experience.

Intro

Carl had always been different, he was a quiet somewhat effeminate looking boy, taking mainly after his mother. From an early age he had loved playing with dolls instead of cars like the other boys. He way preferred playing with the girls and when they played house, he loved to play the mommy and put on a dress.

The ‘pet funeral’ people came and collected Betty later that day. It was hard for Vivienne to say goodbye to her lovable pet. As they prepared her body for transportation Vivienne realised that they’d not spent one night apart since she’d first came into her life almost nine years before. It really would be strange without the ‘Madness of Queen Betty’ to keep her entertained.

The people that came for her could well have been undertakers. They were dressed in black and spoke reverently in hushed tones about Betty and what Vivienne wanted done with her. After some discussion, Vivienne agreed to be there for Betty's final journey in two days’ time. She expressed that wish as it only felt fitting that Betty deserved a proper send off as thanks for the part she had played in her life these past years.

Positively fuming, I did something that I thought I'd never do. It was something that was so unlike me but felt so right in the moment. I slapped Rob Martin directly on the right side of his face... hard.

He rubbed his cheek, and started saying "OK, I deserved..."

I fumed at him. "You deserved way more than that. My mother was murdered, and I'm only hearing about it now?!"

He hung his head. "I'm sorry..."