Life Swap

Baby Girl

"Stay on this side of the yellow line please, Kelly dear?" Sheila Blackstone said for the third time as Kelly/Oliva strayed from our little group, acting very much as if she did not want to be with us. It was the Wednesday of half-term week, in early May, and Caroline had succeeded in getting Professor Hoyte-Hughes to let her take Kelly to London for the day, to see a matinee performance of Swan Lake at the Royal Opera House. Ballet was not her scene any more than it was mine, but her apparent reluctance had made the Professor more inclined to allow it than not. "Felicity...will you hold her hand please, darling...we don't want to lose her even before we get on the train?"

"Yes, Mummy." Felicity replied, grabbing Kelly/Olivia's hand before she could move away again and frowning at me. Auntie Sheila did not seem to be so enamoured by Kelly as she was twelve months before, after what had been a difficult six weeks at Deepdene. But as she turned away to talk to Caroline, who was just coming back from the ladies with Louise, I moved closer to Kelly/Olivia and whispered in her ear, standing on tiptoe to reach.

"Stop being a pain...we are going to see the Dream Stone?" I hissed, taking her other hand for a moment and feeling the familiar connection between us, the remnants of the Stone stirring as we came together as one.

"But I haven't got the diary?" Kelly/Olivia murmured, looking suitably stunned.

"It doesn't matter...the Stone will have to cope without it?" I suggested as our train pulled into Redhill Station, and the adults started to fuss. It was a warm spring morning and we were all wearing light summer coats over nice dresses, because the ballet was an occasion worth dressing up for, according to Caroline. I had pointed out that a weekly visit to the supermarket was much the same with her involved, which she took reasonably well, to be fair, before producing my pale pink sheath dress and the matching coat. But I did not care what I looked like, or about going to the ballet, as long as we went to the museum first.

"We are having lunch at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Kelly?" Mummy said once we were all sitting down, sharing six seats around a small table. Well, five, because I was sitting on her lap and our coats were neatly folded on the spare, between us and Auntie Sheila.

"Oh...good...that's nice...Mrs Buckingham-Montague," Kelly/Olivia stammered, chewing on her bottom lip, because she had not had three weeks to prepare herself for what we were about to do. But she knew why. I had felt it when I took her hand, as the remnants got all fired up inside of us. "Thank you for inviting me?"

"Thank Olivia...it was her idea to have a treat and invite you, dear?" Caroline said as she shifted me into a more comfortable position and let me rest my head against her shoulder. "One more go on your precious Dream Stone..."

"I want you to touch it too, Mummy...with us?" I said, out of the blue. I did not know why but I knew it was important, somehow. I looked at Kelly/Olivia, and she nodded, because she knew it too. "And Felicity and Louise...and Auntie Sheila, if she wants to?"

"Why, pickle?" Caroline asked, sounding confused, and I frowned, trying to find the right words to explain what I thought the remnants had been saying to me.

"Because we can all help, Mummy?"

"Help with what, exactly, Olivia?" Auntie Sheila enquired, not sounding particularly keen on the whole idea. But I had an answer for her, of sorts.

"Auntie Sheila, you are the best auntie...and godmother...and this is important to me, and to Kelly...and I know you would do anything to help me, wouldn't you?" I said, using my best Chloe-eyes, which made her shake her head and chuckle. "We all just go up together, put our hands on the heart of the stone for a minute...and then you can buy us all burgers and chips before the ballet?"