Parallel Me

Parallel me Part 19

I got away at ten in the morning and was in Wellington before one. The pre-school Josephine went to, was on the next road to Alice's home. She was walking back when she saw me coming down the road. With thumb out and skirt hiked up a little, she hitched a ride around the corner. I spent the evening sitting beside my mum, holding her tiny hand. Looking at this frail old lady, that used to chase me with a hairbrush when I had been naughty. Dad wasn't looking too well himself, Alice had said worrying about mum was draining him.

They hadn't been out now for ages, their Friday nights out had stopped some time ago. Dorothy and Harold took them out on day trips with them, but not too far or anywhere strenuous. Maybe a trip to the sea, where they would sit on the prom for a while. Not lately though it was far too cold, and mum didn't want to be fused over. She wouldn't let me help her upstairs when they went to bed, even though it took her ages to climb the stairs, and puffed like a train as she climbed.

They were both still in bed when I returned from my run in the morning, so I made them a cup of tea and took it to their bedroom. After a shower, I drove to Alice's at nine-thirty, and after being greeted warmly by her. I was informed she had visitors arriving at ten and didn't know how long they would be there. We were in Josephine's playroom when Alice's visitors arrived.

Alice greeted them and took them into her sitting room, for tea and their meeting. Josephine and I played with her soft toys, building walls and dollhouses, and being two and a bit, she got a bit grumpy and tired after a while. I sat with my back against a soft baby armchair and cradling her in my arms, and serenaded her with how to do you speak to an angel, while she lay there gurgling and blowing bubbles at me. When she didn't sleep by the time I had finished, I sang the naughty lady of the shady lane. Over halfway through the song, I saw her eyes looking beyond me, and glancing to my right, I saw Alice and two ladies in police uniforms looking at me.

"My goodness I wasn't that bad was I?" I asked smiling as I turned to face them, while Josephine gabbled away in baby talk, which Alice understood and asked in cooing mummy talk.

"Is my baby hungry?" Then turning to a cupboard just inside the door, she pulled from the bottle warmer Josephine's bottle of baby milk. As Josephine was holding out her arms for mummy, and her bottle I handed her to Alice. Then as I got to my feet, Alice deposited Josephine into her own little armchair. Where she happily drink from her bottle and watched the four of us.

"Ladies this is my brother JJ, I didn't know you could sing like that?" Said, Alice, as she got up, to look at me.

"Sandy said she could hear someone singing, but there was no music playing. We couldn't work out where it was coming from until we got here to Josephine's playroom. I can remember mum making you sing in the church choir, but you had a high pitched voice then."

I smiled and thought yes something's dropped since then Alice, and I'm sure the other policewomen, thought the same as me. Because when she saw me smiling, she tried to hide her own smile.

"You're not a professional singer then, otherwise your sister would have known?" She asked, with that smile still showing.

"God no he's in the Navy, been away in Singapore for two years," Alice said before I had time to answer.

"So that's why I haven't seen you before, I've been at the station here for two years myself. I like the area and the town, want to make it a permanent posting. Sandra has only been here for four months, and she likes it to don't you Sandy?" Sandy nodded but Alice spoke before she could answer me.

"Roger's in with the rotary club, and along with the police, they're doing some charity work. The ladies came today to finalise some of the events, Roger wants to have a charity fashion show." I think she was going to say more, but Sandy saw her chance to say something.