Chapter 42

The next morning Jenny set off for work early, telling me she’d collect us around 10am.

Lia was up and putting out the breakfast things for her sisters when I entered the kitchen.

“Are you OK?” I asked, “ahh, that’s a silly question.”

“I guess I’m fine, kind of apprehensive, I’ll be seeing someone I’ve hated all my life, but he’s dead, he can’t hurt me anymore, so why am I still nervous?”

“It’s our fear of death,” Belle replied brightly as she bounced into the kitchen, “even though it’s completely illogical, you see a dead body and think you’ll catch something off it.”

“Maybe I could catch something from him, urghh, the places he’s been, I shall not be touching him.”

“I don’t think they let you touch them, although I was like 11 when my parents died and they don’t even let tweenies in to see bodies, so what do I know.”

“What you said makes absolute sense, and I’ll try to remember that whilst my mind is whirring like mad.”

“Cool, now I’ve sorted your life out, can you fix my hair, I’m all fingers and thumbs this morning.”

“Of course I can, take a seat.”

Lia was pacing up and down the hallway as we waited for Jenny to arrive, I’m so glad I decided to stick with a wood floor rather than carpet, or she’d have worn it out by the time Jenny pulled up at the gate.

“I’m so sorry,” Jenny announced as we fastened our seatbelts, “the superintendent is rather inconveniently using his BMW, and all the unmarked cars are out, so I’m afraid we’re stuck with this marked Astra. I hope the neighbours don’t think you’re being arrested.”

“I’ll make sure I look all sheepish when we come back,” Lia replied with a smile, I was glad she could manage a little humour.

“Get Belle to tell you about the time she was arrested. She’s still furious about it, with good reason,” Jenny told her as she pulled away from the kerb and headed for the A3 towards Westminster.

“Will he be, like, in a room and I look through one way glass?”

“Ahh, no, that’s just how it is in the movies. Here he’s in a drawer, the mortuary attendant will open the drawer and uncover his face so you can identify him.”

“You know it’s him, right?” Lia asked, suddenly panicking, “you’re not relying on me being able to recognise him if he’s been beaten up and stuff.”

“Oh yes, we’re sure it’s him, this is purely a formality.”

Lia relaxed in the back seat, she closed her eyes and was quiet for the rest of the journey.

Jenny drove around the back of the mortuary and parked in one of the spaces reserved for police vehicles.

“We’ll go in through the back, there’s always someone from the press out the front. They won’t be interested in you at all, but it’s much quieter going in this way.”

We followed her along a corridor and down a flight of stairs. Everywhere was clean and smelt strongly of disinfectant.

“Yeah, they use masses of pine disinfectant to hide the smell,” Jenny told us, as if she’d read my mind, “close your ears if you don’t want to hear this Lia, but not everyone arrives here in one piece. It can get messy.”

“Did those girls Poppy found come here?”

“The girls in Swiss Cottage?”

Lia nodded silently.

“Yeah, they’ve got a special room for bodies like that, ones that have been buried a long time. It’s at the far end of the corridor, they have all the best equipment down there, because ahh, you don’t want to hear all that stuff, not after you’ve eaten at any rate. Come on, Joseph is in here...”

Jenny pushed open a door and we followed close behind and entered a small lobby area, there was a vacant desk in the corner, Jenny popped her head through a doorway behind the desk and whistled.

“She’ll be here in a sec,” Jenny whispered as she took hold of Lia’s hand, “relax, you will not be asked any questions you can’t answer, and I’ll help if you get flustered.”

“Thank you,” Lia whispered back.

A moment later a young woman with jet black hair cut short and spiked rushed out to meet us, “oh hey Jenny, are you here to see 109?”

“Yes, Joseph Jackson, this is Lia, his daughter.”

“Oh great, I’m sorry, I really shouldn’t sound so chirpy when civilians are here. I’ll try to calm down in a second.”

“Are you OK?” Jenny asked.

“Absolutely, err, I just had my paper published, I’m properly a doctor now.”

“Dr Polly, amazing.”

“Thanks, err, give me a minute, he’s in a top locker, I’ll get someone to bring him down, take a seat, do you want coffee or anything?”

“No thanks, we’re fine,” Jenny answered.

Polly dashed off, we took seats against the wall.

“She’s a doctor?” Lia asked, “she looks about 12.”

“I know, she’s 25 I think, and she’s not normally out here, there’s usually a far more professional receptionist around when the public are expected.”

“I like her,” she replied, “see her hair Alex, that’s how I wanted mine, but my foster parents wouldn’t let me.”

“If you want it like that, I’m fine with it.”

“Not anymore, I’m thinking of going for red, like a proper red, not Poppy’s auburn colour, I’m thinking like a post box.”

“That would be great,” Jenny replied, “I love girls with red hair, I normally go for regular redheads like Helen, but I’m definitely liking the sound of bright red hair.”

“Thanks Jenny, I hope Katie won’t mind.”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine with it,” I told her, “when we found you at first there’s no way we could tell what colour your hair was.”

“Haha, I guess that’s true. I tried to keep myself as clean as possible, and I brushed my teeth every day, so I didn’t have stink breath at least when she kissed me.”

We were silent for a moment, Lia eventually broke it, “you know, it’s so nice being loved. It’s not something I’ve felt before, but it’s good to know that someone out there is thinking about me, just like I’m thinking about them. Life’s worth living when you know you’re important to someone.”

“It really is,” Jenny replied, giving Lia’s hand a good squeeze, “it’s not just Katie that loves you, remember that.”

“I will, thank you.”

Polly returned a few minutes later, much more sombre now as she led us through to the mortuary.

Lia and I both looked in awe at the room, everything but the floor and ceiling was made of shiny stainless steel, lit from above with bright LED lighting. One wall was floor to ceiling lockers.

“Are all those full?” Lia asked.

“Oh no, we’re only about a third full today.”

“Who comes here?”

“Anyone who dies in suspicious or unexplained circumstances in the City of Westminster and the surrounding area.”

“So my dad’s death was suspicious?”

“It’s hard to tell, the coroner hasn’t called it yet?”

“Why’s that?”

“He died of liver failure, that much is clear, but he also has massive internal injuries and external bruising. Is it OK to talk openly like this, Jenny said you weren’t close.”

“It’s fine, not close is a massive understatement. I’ve come here to make sure he’s dead.”

“I see, you’re not the first person to come here for that reason, so let’s get this over with.”

Polly walked over to a table that was draped with a blue sheet.

“Ready?”

Lia took a deep breath, “ready,” she replied.

Polly lifted the cloth and folded it back to reveal his head.

Lia looked at the body for a long time, walking around the top of the table to look at both sides.

“It’s him, definitely. Can you pull the cover down some more please?”

Polly folded the cloth back a little way, revealing his cheat and upper arms.

Lia lightly traced a finger across the bruises on his chest, “see this tattoo?” she asked, pointing at a heart on the top of his right arm.

“Yes,” Jenny replied quietly.

“He got that the day after he raped me the first time. The one on his other arm was after he’d raped mum. She was 11, just like I was, the first time he raped her, his little cousin, he stole her from his aunt. They never married, She was 13 when she had my oldest brother, Jayden, 22 when she had me, 33 when they killed her.”

“Why did your aunt let him do that?” Polly asked.

“Probably glad to get rid of her, she was a smackhead, one less mouth to feed left more money for drugs.”

We were silent for a long time,

Lia just looked at her father, no pity or sorrow in her eyes, just a blank stare as she took in every detail of her dead father.

“Ok, I’m done. What happens now?”

“We’re doing some more tests today, the coroner will decide a cause of death once we’ve finished.”

“Then what?”

“The body will be released, who’s his next of kin?”

“I’ve got three older brothers, ahh, no, two older brothers, one of them was killed in a prison riot the other day.”

“Ahh, does he have the same surname?” Polly asked.

“Yeah, Mikey ... Michael Jackson, I always hated that they’d called him that.”

“He’s in 24, if you want to see him.”

“No thanks, he raped me just like dad did.”

“Ok, so what normally happens is the family claim the body, arrange for a funeral director to collect it, and, well, have a funeral.”

“And if no-one claims it?”

“We keep the body for 90 days, if it’s not claimed in that time we have them cremated, the cremains are kept for three years, then we bury them.”

Lia thought for a long time before she looked at me, “can you lend me the money for two funerals please.”

“It’s ok, I’ll pay, I’ll speak to the people who handled Nikki’s funeral, they were very good.”

“Thanks Alex.”

“Cool, so, I’ll let Jenny know when we’re done. We’ve finished with Michael, he’s not going anywhere, we’ll release them both at the same time.”

“Thank you so much Dr Polly,” Lia said as we left, “oh, I love your hair by the way, it’s awesome.”

“Thanks, my brother did it in the kitchen, our mum went mental, but I’m 25, so what can she do?”

Lia turned to Jenny, “would you go mental if I got Katie to do my hair in the kitchen?”

“Probably, you’ve got your own bathroom to get messy.”

“Let’s go get coffee and cake,” Jenny said as we left the mortuary.

“I’m always ready for cake,” Lia replied with a smile.

“It’s mostly Government and Civil Service offices around here, if you’re up for a little walk I can take you to a lovely café that’s straight out of an Agatha Christie story.”

“We won’t be poisoned by some mysterious stranger, will we?”

“Hopefully not, but your dad is going to have to get his credit card out.”

“Are you my parents now?”

“If you want us to be.”

“I’m more than OK with that.”

“So am I,” I added, “now how badly are you going to hurt my credit card?”

Jenny whispered our destination in my ear.

“Ouch,” I replied.

“Can you think of anywhere better?”

“Nope, and as it’s cakes you want, it’s definitely the best place around here.”

With that we set off walking north towards Mayfair, and a splendid art-deco café.

“A few years ago the Government Minister in charge of welfare and benefits caused a lot of controversy by claiming a family could live on £80 a week, then he tried to claim a £35 breakfast on his expenses. It was this place.”

“Seriously? How many people was he paying for?” Lia asked, appalled.

“Just himself.”

“Fucking hell, what was he eating, scrambled phoenix eggs?”

“I guess we’ll find out shortly.”

As we entered the café, Lia was awestruck for the second time that day. The marble floor, brass and crystal chandeliers, gold leaf covered plasterwork ceiling, glass topped tables; all stopped her in her tracks.

“Oh shit,” she whispered, “this is amazing. I’ve never seen anywhere like this before, will they serve us?”

“If they don’t I’m fully prepared to flash my badge, but I doubt they’ll turn down paying customers, they’ll probably sit us in a corner somewhere.”

Jenny approached the maître d’.

“Good morning, can I help you?”

“I hope so, we’ve just taken our niece to identify her father’s body, so she needs a special treat. Do you have a table free for lunch?”

“I’m sure we can fit you in, please come with me.”

“So, you’re my auntie as well now,” Lia whispered as we followed the maître d’ through the café and into a second, smaller room. This was just as lavishly presented as the main room, but here the tables were in booths for a little more privacy.

Lia slid into the booth beside me, Jenny sat opposite as the maître d’ placed a thick leather-bound menu on the table between us.

“The specials today are swordfish and venison meatballs, the soup is French onion. Sean, will be your waiter, he’ll be with you in a few minutes.”

“Venison, that’s deer isn’t it?” Lia asked.

Jenny nodded, “it’s very nice.”

“It’s still Bambi, and I can’t eat Bambi.”

“Fair enough, what do you fancy?”

Lia spent a long time looking at the menu, “this all looks fantastic, but it’s wasted on me, Belle would have a field day here, and probably bankrupt you. You know what, if I eat something big I’ll fall asleep on the drive back. Why don’t we have the sandwich tray, then some cakes, definitely cakes.”

The sandwiches arrived on a three-tiered tray, perfect triangles with their crusts removed. Roast beef with red onion, egg mayonnaise, salmon and cucumber, brie and cranberry.

Lia was ecstatic, “I’ve never seen anything so cute, they’re just perfect little marvels.”

She bit into a brie and cranberry, “oh my god!” she gasped, “and so tasty. Have you eaten here before?”

“Oh no, I could never afford to eat here,” Jenny pointed out of the window, “see that apartment block over there?”

Lia followed Jenny’s arm, “the one with the policeman outside?”

“That’s the one, when I first started in the police that was my job for about 6 months. There’s a bunch of minor royals live in that block, along with a few models and at least one footballer.”

“So you guarded the queen?” Lia asked, excitedly.

“Oh no, she’s got her own guards, both an elite police guard and soldiers. No, these are all minor royals, one of Prince Andrew’s daughters, Eugene, Princess Anne’s son Peter, and a couple more. We just stood by the door, one inside, one outside, and made sure no-one got inside who wasn’t supposed to.”

“Did you have a gun?”

“Oh no. Nothing terribly exciting ever happened, just princesses sneaking unsuitable boyfriends home. We were mainly there to keep the press away.”

“You got to see all the scandal though.”

“I did, and I signed a form that means I can never tell anyone what I saw. Anyway, it meant I’d be standing outside watching people going in and out of this café, eating food I could never dream of affording. Yet here I am, making your dad buy us expensive sandwiches.”

“Do the princesses come in here?”

“Oh yes, in fact there’s one coming now.”

A tall, elegant woman in a red dress approached our table, did a quick double take then stopped beside Jenny.

“Oh my, PC Jenny! It’s been so long. How are you?”

“Gosh, Lady Marina, thanks for stopping by. I’m doing well thank you.”

“Is this your husband? I kind of recognise him.”

“Not yet, just my boyfriend, Alex, but one lives in hope. He’s an author.”

“Oh, I never have time to read, I’m so sorry.”

“I was on The Late Review once with you, a couple of years ago.” I reminded her, “you were talking about your boyfriend’s exhibition.”

Lady Marina thought for a moment then broke into a broad grin, “of course, that’s it. Anyway, he’s an ex-boyfriend now. So, who is the gorgeous girl?”

“This is Lia, our daughter.”

“Surely you’re not old enough...”

“Hahaha, Lia’s adopted, along with her sisters, Poppy, Katie and Belle.”

Lia held out her hand, “it’s such an honour to meet you, oh my god, this is all so weird. Last week I was on the streets, this week I’m meeting a real life princess!”

“I’m not a princess honey...”

“But you’re royal, right?”

“I am, but it’s very complicated. Only a few people get to be princesses, you have to be a child or grandchild of the queen, and I’m not. Do you mind if I join you?”

“Not at all,” Jenny replied as she shuffled along the bench, Lady Marina slid into the booth and sat opposite Lia.

“Help yourself to sandwiches, Lady Marina,” Lia told her, “I’m saving room for cakes.”

“A wise decision, and please, drop the Lady. I’m Marina to my friends, and we’re all friends here.”

She waved the waiter over, “ahh, Sean, a bottle of my champagne please, and whatever cakes my friends want.”

“Yes m’lady, and 4 glasses?”

“Of course.”

“Very good, I’ll have someone wheel the dessert trolley over presently.”

“Thanks Sean.”

“Champagne!” Lia gasped as Marina handed her a glass a few moments later, “I’ve never had champagne before. This is the best day ever.”

“I always like a glass with lunch, it helps with the digestion.” She waved a hand over the table, “I think we’ll put all this on my father’s bill,” she whispered conspiratorially as she picked up an egg mayonnaise sandwich.

Lia selected three small cakes from the trolley, a strawberry tart, a pair of exquisite gold flecked profiteroles and thin slice of Black Forest Gateaux.

“Did I hear correctly before, you said you were homeless last week?”

“mmmm,” Lia replied, quickly swallowing a piece of strawberry tart, “sorry, yes. It’s a long story that’s not the sort of thing you want to hear over nice food.”

“It all started,” I told Marina, “when I found a badly injured girl at a bus stop across from my house, I took her home to get her warm and dry. As Poppy healed, with the help of my sister and her girlfriend, I grew very attached to her and we decided to adopt her, then we adopted Poppy’s school friend, Katie, then we adopted Poppy’s girlfriend from the streets, Belle, and during our travels looking for Belle we found Lia, Katie became very attached to Lia, so we took her home as well.”

“Oh wow, it’s like you’ve got your own little shelter.”

“Kind of,” I replied, “my house had been empty for far too long, so it’s good to have it filled with laughter.”

Lia swallowed a mouthful of gateaux and wiped her mouth with a linen napkin, “Poppy and Belle have started a charity to help street kids. Unless you’ve lived on the streets it’s hard to understand the life. Because Poppy and Belle have both spent a few years in squats and shop doorways, they know how hard the life is, but also how close some people become, and how hard it is to escape the life, so between us we’ll be working to help them. Initially with food and other essentials, like clothes and soap and sanitary products, then we’ll go in there with other charities to give more constructive help, like English and maths lessons, job interview training, that kind of thing. We’re even looking at the possibilities of providing the kids with an address for post.”

Marina hung on Lia’s every word, as Lia paused for breath she asked, “how would a postal address help?”

“Earlier this year there was the national census, loads of charities came round and recorded the details of as many street people as they could find. The census people were happy for the address of the doorway, archway, squat or whatever to be recorded. Unfortunately, the Department for Work and Pensions aren’t quite so understanding, if you don’t have a postal address, you can’t get benefits, the same with most employers, they want a postal address even if they pay into your bank, then again, every bank wants a postal address.”

“I’d like to know more about this charity, can I meet your sisters?”

“Of course, I’m sure they’d love to tell you more,” Lia checked the time, “it’s lunchtime, I’ll just give Poppy a call.”

Lia dialled, a moment later Poppy answered, “hey Poppy, you’ll never guess what. I’m having lunch with a princess ... well, a Lady, but she’s proper royalty, and she wants to learn more about the charity, are you OK talking to her,” she listened for a moment then looked across to Marina, “she says fine, I’m paraphrasing, she’s as excited about meeting a princess as I am, yeah, I know, not a princess. Anyway, your place or mine?”

“Well, Jenny knows where I live, why don’t you come around about 7:30, I’ll order us a nice meal.”

Lia turned back to the phone, “whatever Belle had planned for dinner, tell her to postpone it, we’re eating out in Mayfair.”

She held the phone away from her ear for a moment, “they’re quite excited about eating in Mayfair as well,” putting the phone back to her ear she told Poppy she had to go and slipped it back in her pocket.

“It’s a date then,” Marina said as she grabbed another sandwich, gripping it with her teeth as she slipped on her coat, “see you at mine around 7:30.”

“I can’t believe we’ve just met an actual princess, and yeah I know, not a princess, but she’s directly related to the Queen and that’s enough for me. And she wants to speak to Poppy and Belle about the charity, how amazing is that? Oh my god, I think I might faint.”

Lia chattered aimlessly all the way back to the car, ideas about the charity, how she was going to decorate her office, how much she loved her new life.

“I hate to bring your mood down,” Jenny said to Lia as she pulled out of the morgue carpark, “but I need to bring you up to speed with what we’ve found out about Joseph.”

“Oh, he’s gone now, I’ve seen him, you can tell me anything.”

“Well, the investigating team have been digging into his life, asking questions in the pubs he frequented, speaking to informants, you know how it works, and it seems he’s helped us stumble upon an illegal fight club.”

“What the fuck! Like in the Brad Pitt film?”

“Kind of, but instead of blokes fighting to lift themselves out of an ennui brought on by the modern-day obsession with consumer goods, this is more about getting sad old drunks to beat the shit our of each other whilst people bet on who’ll be the last one standing.”

“Oh fuck, bum fighting, I’ve heard of this, I bet Poppy has too. There was this guy in Camden who used to go to watch them every weekend, we all hated him for that, he moved away eventually. It’s like a big secret, nobody talks about bum fight club.”

“Are you taking the piss Lia,” Jenny asked.

“Oh gosh no, it’s a real thing, but it’s a secret, like dog fighting, everyone who goes knows it’s illegal, so they don’t talk about it. I know it goes on, but I don’t know where it happens.”

“So the fight club explains the bruises and broken ribs.”

“I’m not even sorry about it, this is what he did to mum, and to me. Live by the sword, die by the sword.”

“Yes, it sounds like his last few years have been pretty miserable.”

“But he also spent those years looking at little girls. I hope to god he never touched any of them, I’d hate to think he took any other girls’ innocence.”

“We’re doing what we can to look into his activities. We’re pretty sure he used some of the Eastern European prostitutes who are, unfortunately, used to rough treatment.”

Lia pulled her phone out again and made a call, “hey Jeremy, it’s me, Lia, listen, I’ve just seen my dad, he’s definitely dead. Thanks for watching him these last few months, it’s really appreciated. It seems he’s been involved in bum fights ... yeah I know, brutal, but I’m not sad about it ... yeah, mum’s on the case, they’ll be trying to take the fights down ... I know, they’ll just move on, but if we can inconvenience them a bit ... anyway, I’d like a little favour, I need to know if he hurt any little girls, I don’t know what I’ll do about it, but I need to know. And it sounds like he used the Romanian prostitutes, I need to know any of the girls he mistreated, I want to help them.

“Last thing, when your guys do their thing to Jayden, can they do whatever needs doing to make him tell where he dumped my mum.”

Lia listened for a while, then replied “I guess it might not be possible, but if the chance arises, please see what they can do, because I want to give her a proper burial, she didn’t have a good life, neither of us did, but I loved her with all my heart, and I’d like to give her a nice headstone ... thank you Jeremy”

She slipped her phone back in her pocket and sat back, closing her eyes as she spent the rest of the journey home in deep thought.

As we approached the house she opened her eyes suddenly, “I need a dress!”

“Why do you need a dress honey?” Jenny asked.

“For tonight, I can’t go dressed like this, and jeans is all I’ve got.”

“What about all the dresses Helen left?”

“I’m a bit too tall for them. They’ll fit my arse, because I’ve got a nice arse, but I don’t have the kind of boobs needed for them. They’re made for Poppy, not me.”

“Tammy was your size, Belle bagged up all her stuff, I meant to take it to a charity shop, but never got round to it. It’s all piled up in the cupboard under the stairs. She spent a lot of my money on clothes, there must be something in there that you’ll like.”

“Are you sure, I don’t want to bring back bad memories for you.”

“I’m sure you’ll look so good in her clothes you’ll erase any bad memories.”

“I know you don’t mean that, but it’s a kind thing to say.”

“It’s 100% true,” I replied as I opened Lia’s door to let her out, a police car, so the child locks are permanently on, “you are so much prettier than Tammy, and I’m not just saying that. Belle has some photos, she’ll show you I’m right.”

“After you’ve finished flirting, can you pick one of Helen’s dresses for me, I’m sure I can squeeze my arse into one. I need to get this car back and sort out some paperwork, I’ll be back before 6.”

We’d not been back long before Katie arrived home, “where’s the other’s,” Lia asked as she hugged her girlfriend.

“They’ve popped over to the charity shops, Belle is refusing to wear a dress, so they’re looking for a boy’s suit for her.”

“I need Belle’s help when she gets home, Alex says I can wear one of Tammy’s dresses. Belle packed them away, so she’ll know where to look.”

“I’ve seen those dresses, there’s some amazing ones. You’ll really suit them.”

“Have you seen a photo of Tammy? Do I look like her?”

Katie looked across the kitchen and smiled at me, “grab the bags from the cupboard and come upstairs.”

I was just rinsing the coffee pot when Poppy and Belle arrived, “hey dad, where’s Katie & Lia?” Poppy asked as she gave me a quick hug.

“They’re upstairs, Katie’s helping her choose one of Tammy’s dresses.”

Poppy looked at me quizzically, “are you finally over her?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, when we first spoke about her you could barely mention her name, now you’re letting your most Tammy like daughter wear her dresses. I see some improvement in your wellbeing, also, she’s told me she’s ready, so I think we’ll borrow Katie tonight.”

Belle ran up and hugged us both, “if I wasn’t so excited about sleeping with Katie I’d ask if I could watch. Anyway, you go upstairs Poppy, I’ll show dad my new suit.”

As usual, Belle had no qualms about stripping off in the kitchen, as soon as she was down to her knickers she tipped the contents of a carrier bag onto the floor.

“We tried three different shops before Poppy found a suit my size, we got this from Bernardo’s, which is nice, because they help homeless children. Poppy was very happy when she found this suit, it’s for a 10-year-old boy apparently, so perfect for me.”

I picked up the jacket and examined it as Belle pulled on the trousers, it was a dark navy blue, the fabric was a rich lambswool, very well cut, the lining was silk, I knew it was a Ralph Lauren before I’d even seen a label, it just felt right.

“How much did you pay for this Belle?”

“They wanted £10 for the suit and £2 for the shirt and tie, Poppy made them take £30, she said it wasn’t right to pay so little for such a nice suit.”

“She’s a good girl,” I replied.

Belle was buttoning a pale pink shirt, “do you like this,” she asked, “Poppy said I could wear one of my school shirts, but I saw this shirt and I wanted it so much. It goes with the trousers, doesn’t it?”

“It does, pink is a good colour, you’ve done well to find a shirt your size.”

“I know, I’m really pleased. I think if I was built like Poppy, I’d have to wear a girls’ shirt, boys’ shirts aren’t cut for boobs.”

I picked up the tie, navy blue with tiny white spots, not a perfect match for the shirt, but still an excellent choice. I helped Belle tie a proper Windsor knot then stepped back to see how she looked.

Perfect, that’s how she looked. It wasn’t a style that would suit anyone else in the house, but for Belle it was just fine.

“Put your shoes on and go show your sisters,” I told her, “oh, before you go, do your hair in those buns you like, I think that will be the perfect finishing touch.”

Belle thought for a moment then smiled, “yes, it will. I’ll get Poppy to do them, I can never get them properly balanced myself.”