The Weekly Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 34389 by Angharad Copyright© 2024 Angharad

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This is a work of fiction any mention of real people, places or institutions is purely coincidental and does not imply that they are as suggested in the story.
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We'd somehow got to the weekend and Danni and I were preparing ourselves for the interviews of a new housekeeper. I was going to give the salary structure based on experience and the fact that the cottage next to David's was available to offer as an incentive. Accommodation in parts of this country is difficult, either too expensive or in short supply and first-time buyers have very little chance to get on the ladder. Rents are also high and getting worse and of course, Maggie Thatcher, the Iron Lady who expired from a bad attack of rust, sold all the council houses off and they are still being sold, so the housing stock is shrinking every year.

Now, Farage would have us believe that it's because immigrants have driven up the prices, but I suspect that second homes are an even worse blight, although I plead guilty to having some, although I came to them, in an unusual way.

My parent's house I inherited and couldn't bear to sell or let it. I grew up there for goodness sake and I know that my mother's heart would break if ever I sold it. While I may be living in Tom's Georgian farmhouse, which if you remember we added to, is officially mine but I still think of it as Tom's. I inherited Des' house and also Mr Whitehead's house which I let out at a realistic rental on the understanding that my lessees take reasonable care of them. I suppose I hold one for Cate which Debbie rents, the money goes to my daughter but few people know that. In the event of my premature demise, my solicitor and my husband know what to do with the properties, how to dispose of them and so on.

So I suppose I have a property portfolio, one will go to Pudding, that of Des, who was after all her father. Lizzie would have Neil and Gloria's house which we've kept the mortgage paid on, Whitehead's I may give to Danni if she isn't stinking rich from football. She actually saves quite a bit, but paying for the insurance for her car made a bit of a dent in her savings. I was just determined to make her understand the cost of things these days, and I also, probably erroneously, considered if she paid a lot out for the car, she respect it more. So far she drives quite well, but I am aware that underneath all the lip-gloss and mascara, resides someone who is biologically male and young men tend to wrap cars around things, killing or badly injuring themselves in the process. If Danny suddenly emerges during a trip to Bournemouth, or other venue, the result would be the same, so her insurance is high.

Trish has been living as female for almost all her life and except when she's playing football or her intellectual arrogance, we don't see much of a boy in her. Both she and Danni didn't undergo a male puberty so there is hope that they will live long and happy lives as females, possibly settling down with a partner and may be adopting children eventually. I know I was very lucky in that, all my kids, except the babies wanted us to adopt them, so we rarely have problems in that direction, we have others at times and as you know teenagers are something else, possibly a separate species, because they act so differently to children or adults. It's like a metamorphosis with their brains changing for a number of years until they adjust as humans again. Sadly some never make the transition from teen to adult, some kill themselves, especially boys through regular bursts of testosterone, which causes them to take silly risks - not all of them survive.

Back to our housekeeper interviews, the first was due at ten o'clock and we had one every half hour afterwards. Danni was attired in a nice skirt and top with about two tons of mascara as always. Some days, I wonder if her eyelid muscles are super strong having exercised with heavy coatings on the eyelashes for several years. I wore jeans and a sweater with trainers on my feet. When challenged by my daughter, I declared that I know who and what I am, I was going to be comfortable doing a horrible job, so there. Danni of course went off on one, she'd dressed up and expected me to do the same. I reminded her that I mostly wore tidy things to work every day she wore jeans and sweatshirts, she was a student and that was the uniform, with sweatshirt replaced by a hoodie every now and then, and in hot weather a dress or skirt, something boys can't do although we allow shorts. Some wear shorts or pants that end just below the knee all the year round. How they cope with cold I don't know but then they are all young men and when I see schoolkids just clad in shirts, in coolish weather, my brain is boggled. When they do the same in wet weather, it becomes more so, but that seems the fashion and seeing students in tee shirts and shorts in this rather wet and cool spring and early summer, makes me shiver.

Danni raced upstairs and came down in jeans and some stilt high stilettos and next our first candidate arrived. I took charge of the interviews doing my spiel about working conditions, the safety of my children, some housework although Emily shared that, perhaps, occasional cooking, and when I got on to the cottage, eyes widened.

We interviewed six and conducted tours of the house, I put down comments about how big the house was by adding that the pay was good and the cottage made it especially good. One of the women still carped and I asked her if she still wanted to be considered or leave now. She left, for which I was rather glad.

We had two candidates who were head and shoulders above the rest, Anne McDonald and Leah Curtiss. Both had shown enthusiasm and asked intelligent questions. They'd also done their homework by researching who I was, via the university address and realised that I was a trans woman or used to be one. They asked if any of the children were transgendered and Danni asked why, did it make any difference? Both replied that it didn't and one had experience of neighbours with a transgender son, so it didn't bother her at all, the other said she knew someone at college who was a trans woman and she was quite a pleasant person if a little inhibited at first, not being used to dealing with boys but by the end of the course she was dating strongly with one of the boys. She lost contact since but hoped she was okay.

Danni then broke the ice on the subject by saying that transgender kids should be no problem but we had several teenagers who were more volatile and harder work than most, she admitted that she had overdressed for today, saw how I was dressed and flounced upstairs and changed into jeans. Leah asked her how she walked in her shoes, they had four-inch heels. Danni told her they were comfortable provided she didn't have too far to walk, so make sure her car was in good running order, she also kept some flat shoes in the boot along with a waterproof in case she had to walk home. It was a lesson she learned from both Julie and Sammi.

Our two probables left and I promised to phone the successful candidate as soon as we had made up our minds, they both drove so transporting the kids who still went to school looked fine, but often Danni or Daddy, or Sarah, or David did the ferrying to and fro so the issue was well covered. It was only Cate, Lizzie and Hannah who were still at St Claire's the rest were either working or at university or in Trish's case would be going to Cambridge in October.

Danni thought Leah was the pick of the crop and I thought Anne was. We went to a lovely lunch David had created, jacket potatoes with cheese and a side salad, with coleslaw which I love as well as all the other things, and it was homemade too, even better. He'd put the potatoes back into the oven for a few minutes after sprinkling on the cheese so it melted and mingled with the spud, they were delicious and after Danni and I decamped with cups of tea to my study to resolve our dispute.

There wasn't much between them, Anne was about five or ten years older than Leah and the maturity showed, so I thought. Danni thought that Leah had the edge because she was more switched on to younger issues and supporting the youngsters she thought she'd be better, although Hannah was in her last year at school and had taken her A levels with the hope of going to Chelsea school of art, which was attached to London University. She brought us fresh tea and I asked her who had taken her eye. She said she didn't really notice any of them, but both had looked nice, the one who'd left halfway through she didn't think was a good idea to employ.

Trish was still abroad and Emily called in to see if we had appointed yet. She wondered who she'd be working with and when I asked her who she favoured from our descriptions, said either would be okay with her. Her mother's house had been renovated and redecorated and was warm and dry again. Her mother was in better health than she'd been for many years and she still came occasionally with Emily to play granny for the two younger girls.

I told Danni I was making an executive decision and appointing Anne. Danni said I was being biased because she had a Scottish name. I told her I hadn't even thought of the surname, so her claim was wrong. Anne had been the only one to ask why the position was being advertised and I told her honestly, that I had a demanding job and needed help about the house. Danni had joked that I need a wife which had made Anne chuckle but she asked what had happened to the last housekeeper. Danni said that we ate her but I told her not to be so silly. I told her that several had said we were the best employers ever but they still left so I was open to comments during employment and if she left us would she tell me why? She promised she would.

I explained about the security needed for the children was paramount as they had been threatened with abduction before and Anne said she understood and was happy to undergo any checks we wanted including CRB. Leah wasn't quite as happy but she said that when she was a teen, she'd gone to a party and they were using cannabis and cocaine and there'd been a bust and she was arrested with the others. She got a discharge as she hadn't actually taken any drugs but that it may show on her records. I thanked her for her honesty. Danni thought it showed some integrity. I wasn't so sure, that incident had been ten or more years ago and it didn't say what her position was today. But I did say that anyone using drugs would be considered to have broken the conditions of employment and have their contract terminated forthwith.

I stuck with my gut instincts and offered the job to Anne. She wasn't free for a month but thanked me and asked if the cottage was still available. I told her it was and agreed to send her the terms for its use.

Now I just had to get through all the work that was backing up at the university knowing that things should be better in a month. I sat back relaxing feeling quite tired after the interviews when the phone rang. It was Esmond Herbert, he wondered if we could meet asap as he needed to tell me something but not over the phone. I invited him to Sunday lunch checking that David was available the next day, he accepted and rang off with me wondering if that was about taking up a post in the US or if the TERFs were regrouping or something else. Oh well, have to wait and see.