Campfire songs Chapter 22

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Chapter 22.

Sam was really appreciative of the song and gave a really long cuddle as a thank you. Harriet wanted to do more to help. Although she was enjoying the dancing her main area of expertise was computing. We discussed setting up a website and a youtube account or even selling the videos, but there were a lot of expenses and legal stuff. We all knew you had to pay somebody if you were going to sing their songs and make money from it. More research was going to be required. In the meantime, Harriet suggested setting up a facebook account giving links to the videos and create a following that could be informed later, depending on what was possible to set up. She was happy to do it and loved being involved in something both fun and rewarding.

It was getting late, so after our goodbyes we retreated to Lucy for a good night's sleep. The next morning, after our Tai Chi and breakfast we returned to the campsite to see if we needed to help with the clean up. It is surprising how much mess that is created when you get large groups of people together. We stayed cleaning up until nearly lunch time so had another pub lunch and then navigated Lucy back to our home. Tracy disappeared to do some work at 23 and I was left to my usual research and work.

Tracy booked our flights for Friday. The passport hadn't arrived yet but was due any day and she said that she could cancel easily if it hadn't arrived by Wednesday post. We had fun going over our trip. We scheduled the surgery for a week after we had arrived. Most of the rest of the trip was going to have to be of a relaxing nature as I had major surgery to recover from, but it was still fun to look at the different options and chose some fantastic locations. We decided, as we were there for almost 5 weeks, that we would swap hotels halfway through to enjoy two beautiful resorts.

We talked about the extras that I could have and what we decided was that further facial surgery was not required. We wanted me to look significantly different to Laurence, but I already did. The unintended nose and cheek job, along with the fact that nobody had seen the results due to me wearing a mask, had made all the difference. I was going to have hair extensions and dye it all dark brown to keep the contrast to my natural blonde. I wanted permanent hair removal, except for my groin. One of the more debated options was permanent make up. I have never really applied it myself and girls my age are expected to be proficient. I could learn, of course, but I didn't really have an interest in it. It also took my look further away from Laurence's, so I decided to go for it. There was a beauty consultant who would help us decide colours. I didn't need a boob job, even if they stopped where they were, which was the bigger end of B cup, considering my small size, I felt comfortable with what I had. In fact, I was hoping they would stop growing.

Tuesday morning and my passport arrived. I knew stealing someone's identity had its risks. Receiving the passport made me feel like we had overcome a huge hurdle and there was nothing stopping me from living my life. That evening I did get a frisson of fear though. Tracy and I don't normally watch a lot of TV. Martha phoned earlier and had found out somehow that there was a chance the BBC would show the Sunday Campfire. It was only a 5 minute clip that, I have to say, did show us in a good light. The singing was good and the dancing, excellent. I guess there was enough interest that someone had researched me and at one point mentioned that I had previously gone by the name Abigail Faulkner. Chances were, telling the world the name of the person whose identity I had stolen, wouldn't matter, but it raised the level of risk considerably. I was glad that in only a few more days we would be out of the public eye and in Thailand.

There were no immediate consequences, so we were hoping we had gotten away with it. The days before we left had a higher level of stress. Every time the phone rang, or Tracy spoke to Martha, I was checking her face to see if there was anything wrong. The more time that passed with no one after us, the less stress I felt. I did have stress of a different kind on Thursday.

Steph had been told that my mother, Gale, was going to appear on TV to request my safe return. I guess they had got my letter, verified it was me and now were trying to find me. I have seen a few of these before. Distraught parents begging, with tears in their eyes for the safe return of their loved ones. Truthfully, I was more worried about Tracy's reaction. If my mother pulled off a good performance, and after experiencing 16 years of her care I figured she would need to be a fantastic actress to do that, then Tracy would continually feel guilty for taking me away from her. I couldn't make Tracy unhappy, so I would have to do something and I had no idea what I should do.

I was working myself up into quite a tizz and it was all for nothing. The time arrived, my mother addressed the nation and asked politely for my safe return. She used all the right words, but there was no emotion visible. No tears, no sobs. Maybe, if I was being generous, there was a bit of upset. They couldn't do a recreation of the scene, as they had no idea how I had disappeared. The picture of me, looked nothing like I did now. If anything, I felt better after watching it. I think we are all born with a belief that our parents love us. It really doesn't take much to keep that going. The occasional smile, hug, words of encouragement. A bit of emotion on their face, saying, yes, we love you. Despite not really getting any of that from Gale, I think a small part of me was feeling a bit guilty for abandoning her. She hadn't had an easy life, growing up an orphan and probably feeling abandoned by her parents, for me to do the same seemed a bit cruel. After watching her, my guilt, faded away. If she cared at all, it was so deep, I was never going to find it. She had her life to lead and I had mine.

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Comments

Ties

WillowD's picture

Less ties with her old life. More ties with her new life. I like the way the story is going. I'm looking forward to the trip.

one empty mother

"If she cared at all, it was so deep, I was never going to find it."

Yesh, she really is a piece of work ...

DogSig.png

Took her long enough

Jamie Lee's picture

Seems like every plan gets a fly in the ointment which causes turmoil. Taking the risk of using another ID has its own risk, but add another potential problem and that turmoil increases.

How long has she been away from home? Why has it taken dear ol' mom this long to ask for her return? She seems to be doing it now because it's on the telly. Had she really wanted her child to return there would have been fliers on every pole and flat surface. Every agency dealing with this might have been searching. But that isn't how things turned out. Their plans are already in motion and going home isn't on the list.

Others have feelings too.