Chapter 12

I said, “First stop, a cafe for a cup of coffee or tea to settle you, then I will take you to my girlfriend’s flat. Once she gets back from work, she can have a chat with you and decide what is best to happen.”

“Your girlfriend will decide? Why?”

“She is a high school teacher, so she is used to dealing with bullies and victims. I tend to be pretty direct in my actions; she is more socially aware, not violent like me. You’ll like her.”

“A teacher? Why should she want to help me?”

I looked at Theresa before saying pointedly, “Because she is a nice lady, that’s why. Some people help others because that is what they see as the right thing to do. I do the same, but differently. My army training gives me power to intervene where others would do nothing. It is the way the world is, young lady; not fair, just real.”

“You said something that scared off the younger boy. I didn’t understand what you said.”

“I merely indicated that I had served in the S.A.S. Regiment. It is a world-renowned fighting force that trains their men for any eventuality; that’s all.”

“What does the S.A.S. mean?”

“Special Air Service. It was coined in world war two to disguise the true nature of the unit. Think of paratroopers on steroids. The idea was to make the Germans think that an entire paratroop regiment was in the area, but the S.A.S. fighting modes were more unrestricted.”

“Oh.”

“Yes. In the beginning it was helped in the Libyan desert by the Long Range Desert Group, an intelligence gathering unit that used modified American trucks to raid enemy bases. The SAS were transported by the LRDG and attacked three German airfields, destroying 60 aircraft and proving their ability as an effective force. It went on from there.”

“So you are, or were, one of them?”

“I moved to an intelligence unit of the army, collecting information, so I don’t usually get to fight these days. Today was an exception, a simple exercise in retribution.”

Theresa now viewed me with more confidence, and we found a small cafe where we indulged in coffee and home-made dough rings. The sugar rush helped her, and soon she was chatting about her mediocre life as a waitress in one of these coffee shop chains where everything is standardised.

This struck me as an opportunity, so I mentioned that she might prefer working at a school’s canteen serving staff and pupils. She wrinkled up her nose, and stuck her hat on more securely to emphasize she was an adult these days.

“Yuck! I don’t think I ever want to go back to a school; all these bad memories.”

“Theresa, every school is different. I know of an academy where the catering boss is new and keen. She wants to run the place like a commercial restaurant, attracting customers instead of placing standard meals in front of everyone. Wouldn’t you like to be part of an organisation like that?”

“Maybe, but I haven’t heard of such a thing. The boss would have to be someone special.”

“She is. She is my other girlfriend, so I know of her ambitions.”

“OTHER girlfriend? You have two girlfriends?”

“Yes. It sort of happened to me. I didn’t set out for it to be that way.”

“You must have something going for you, if two girls fancy you at the same time.”

“I suppose you are right. I was on my own for a while, after a nasty divorce, so I didn’t see this coming.”

“You are certainly an unusual man. I’d love to meet your girlfriend who has this flat, and ask her what she sees in you.” She paused, before asking tentatively, “Does she know about your other girlfriend?”

“She does. She introduced us, in fact. But enough about me. Do you have a boyfriend, Theresa?”

“Me? No. At seventeen, going on eighteen, with a very basic job and few prospects? Any good man is going to look for something better if he wants to aim for a wife. It is easy to find a fella that wants to get you pregnant, but with no long-term prospect in view. That is the most likely destination for a girl like me, without a family to provide support.”

“A terrible view of life, Theresa. You need to speak to Phemie and Fiona, to get an idea of what you can do if you aspire to better than that.”

“Okay. You have convinced me. Lead me to the flat. You’d better not be telling me porkies after all this.” [English rhyming slang: Pork pie = lie]

I told her, “My ladies will not be home until after school times, so there is no rush. We can get to know ourselves a little better, except that as I am in Intelligence, I can’t tell you exactly what I do; or even when.”

“You don’t have work times?” Theresa asked in puzzlement.

“Not exactly. Like policemen, I have to work to suit the events. I can be on duty at any time of day or night. I get told when and where to report to, and what to do.”

“Weird!” was all Theresa could say. I was gratified that I had led her up this path, so that she would not question me further.

After a second coffee and a muffin each, we wandered outside and I directed her towards Phemie’s place, taking a detour through a lovely open park with a curious selection of trees from all over the world, including a monkey puzzle. The park had the flavour of an arboretum, but was that way by accident of council gardening expertise, not as a botanical garden exhibiting all the wonders of trees.

We were still early when we arrived at the block of flats, so I told Theresa that she had the option of going upstairs to the flat with me, or waiting until the women got back from the academy. Seeing that I was not pressuring her, Theresa decided to trust me and said that we could make our way there.

I said, “Fine, as I have to start preparing dinner. You are welcome to stay for that if you want to, after talking with Phemie and Fiona; or before talking with them.”

“I have to meet them both?” she asked in curiosity.

“Yes. They both have a good sense of right and wrong, so they can advise on what is best for you.”

We got inside and I showed her to the lounge for a seat so that I could get into the kitchen and start the meal. Once I had it in the oven, I was able to get back to her, where she was leafing through one of Phemie’s magazines. It was as if we had not stopped, for she picked up where we left off.

“These two; they will be here ... together? Both your girlfriends?”

“Uh, yes. They are cousins, so they are willing to share the flat.”

“And share you as well?”

“That’s the way it happened, Theresa. It was not planned, I assure you.”

“It all seems so ... unusual. You sure you are a normal man?”

“Theresa, there is no such thing as normal. Everyone is different, I can tell you. Do you think of yourself as normal?”

“Me? I am certainly not normal, but then I never viewed myself as being normal, and was never treated as normal.”

“Yes. But just think about it. All your fellow pupils at school were different in their academic abilities, and their ability to socialise was similarly variable, eh? You can probably say the same about the other employees at the chain you work for. Am I right, or am I right?” I challenged.

“I have to agree with you on that, but you are just diverting me from my question about how unusual you are.”

“Oh, I see. I did that by accident, not trying to confuse you, girl. Truthfully, I was on a long-term rebound from my divorce, and Phemie caught me when we met in a cafe. She later found herself hosting Fiona as Fiona’s parents were off on a cruise, and somehow Fiona ended up in bed with us. It is just my good luck that both ladies seem to want me in their lives.”

“You met in a cafe? Like the one we just left? That worries me.”

“Well, a cafe certainly, but I was there for one reason, she was there for another, and Phemie says she found me interesting. Interesting, she said; that surprised me. It went on from there, and that’s where we are now.”

“Maybe so, but don’t imagine you are getting into my pants after being in a cafe. It doesn’t work that way.”

I sighed theatrically and explained, “Theresa, Phemie and I met in a cafe; I didn’t take her there, and it was her choice to want to see me again, so there was nothing similar about it. Don’t assume things that are not there, girl. Coincidence is a common occurrence, I assure you.”

Theresa halted, pondering our words, and came back with, “Okay, nothing was intended, and I was merely defending my virtue in the same way.”

“Fine. Now we can start again. You need good advice, and I have two ladies that can provide it. Wait until they are here and you can either chat to them over dinner, or speak with them later in private; your choice.”

To pass the time more conventionally, I gave her a tour of the flat, which went fine until I showed her Phemie’s bedroom. She stared at the double bed, thinking.

“Alec, that bed seems a bit narrow for all three of you.”

“It works, girl. Don’t knock it.”

“You fuck them both in that bed?”

I grunted and replied, “No. I make love to them, one at a time. The other one may or may not be present. It is all a matter of what THEY want, not me. Anyway, what is it to you?”

“A girl can show interest in other people, surely?”

“Yes, but not usually interest in their love life. That seems a trifle intrusive.”

“I suppose so, but the circumstances are so unusual, I just had to ask.”

As she spoke, I heard Phemie’s key in the door lock, so I broke off our discussion.

The front door opened, and Phemie walked in, followed by Fiona. Seeing Theresa in the flat, Phemie halted and asked, “Who’s this, Alec?” It was not spoken accusingly, but she sounded perplexed, puzzled.

My new companion rushed to introduce herself. “Hello. My name is Theresa Fallon, and your Alec saved me from some bullies. He brought me here to get advice from you ladies, as he says you are the experts.”

Phemie laughed, “I hope he didn’t mean we are expert at bullying him!”

“Oh, no, ma’am. He meant you as a teacher know how to cope with bullies. He is such a nice man. You two are lucky to have him.”

Fiona spoke up from beside Phemie, “Sounds like Alec has been talking, Phemie.”

“That sounds about right, Fiona. Blabbermouth Alec; can’t trust him an inch around a pretty girl.”

She smiled as she said this, indicating her words to be humorous.

Theresa was less sure as she responded, “Oh, no. He was letting me know that I was safe from him as he had two girlfriends looking after him. The rest was just details that I asked about. Please don’t be offended.”

“It is okay, Theresa. We know Alec can be trusted around other women. I hope he invited you to dinner?”

I jumped in to insist, “Of course I did, Phemie. I said you girls would chat to her about her bully problem either over dinner, or later if you want to keep me out of it.”

“That might be a good idea, Alec. After dinner, you can go read a book while we talk with Theresa. Did you make dinner as I asked?”

“I did. The butcher was quite helpful about your sausages, and I got the potatoes I wanted to go with the casserole. Between the two, there should be enough to feed all of us; just needs a bit longer for the pan-fried sausages to be finished in the onion gravy I made. I thought the tastes would all go well together. The potatoes should be ready to be mashed. Onion gravy always goes well with mashed spuds; lovely flavours.”

“Good man. You’ll make a good husband for some woman, or women,” Phemie commented.

Theresa intruded, “But you can’t ... sorry. I should stay out of it.”

Fiona told her, “Don’t get het up, Theresa. We know the law, but there is no law that says you can’t ACT as if married. We just can’t legally marry him, assuming he wants to keep us together for years ahead.”

Stung into action, I protested, “Surely I have already shown that I want us to stay together as a family? You and Phemie have got me infatuated with the pair of you, and I have no intention of seeing that change. I want to love you both for ever.”

That got me hugs and kisses. I did not object to such affection, of course. Why should I? Theresa observed our interaction with genuine amusement.

The chat moved round to the meal, and the ladies set to, getting the dining table laid with all the cutlery, plates into the oven to warm a little, and the condiments put on the table for use as desired. I was reminded that my father used to like salt with almost everything, while my mother and myself preferred very little salt, but plenty of pepper. Both parents had passed away in a road traffic accident. Far too many people die that way, despite seat belts and other modern safety measures. Phemie examined the sausages to ensure they were cooked to her requirements, and from her comments my efforts passed muster.

Dinner was a success, and afterwards I took myself and my book off to a window seat in our bedroom, leaving the girls with the lounge to themselves for their news swapping. I opened up Niall Ferguson’s ‘Empire: how Britain made the modern world’ and found where I had left off. His insights were fascinating, especially his observation that the East India Company had so many Scotsmen within its ranks. I had assumed its composition of staff to be primarily Englishmen, but I was wrong. It is easy to be wrong about the past, and important to learn from such misapprehensions.

Far too many people, especially politicians, assume their opinions to be accurate, and never check the facts. When challenged, they will claim it was someone else’s statement that they were relying on. ‘Pass the buck’ time!

I was still engrossed when Phemie stepped in and called to me, “Alec, love, can we have your attention?”

“Sorry, Phemie. I was in the author’s world. How are you getting on?”

“Theresa told us the whole story, from her being attacked to you saving her. She made it sound chivalrous, and it probably was, knowing your character. We decided, me and Fiona, that she should stay here for a few days and see how that works out for her. There is the question of her waitress job, though.”

“I know. I had an idea of her working for Fiona at the academy, but that depends on there being a vacancy and Fiona thinking she was suitable. If it is just me being a stupid man, forget the idea entirely.”

“No, it is not stupid, and she mentioned the possibility to Fiona. Fiona says that she has the right attitude, but she can’t hire someone unless someone else leaves. However, one of the older catering assistants doesn’t like the thought of being bossed by a young woman, and has put in her notice, so there is going to be a vacancy shortly.”

“Oh? That was sudden,” I exclaimed. “And here was me thinking it was merely a possible idea for the future, if she wanted to leave her present job.”

“Darling, leave it to Fiona to talk things over at the school. The post may have to be advertised and be dealt with by interviews of the applicants. However, the cost of advertising, staff doing interviews, and paying expenses to the applicants, might persuade the Rector to simply approve an interview with her and appoint her if she fits the bill. She would have to fill out an application form, of course, but I can help her with that, as I know what the plus points will be.

As to her present job, that is too prominent, too visible and apt to lead to further unwanted attention, so that has to go. I decided she should simply phone the company and resign forthwith. Her pay goes straight to her bank account, so she doesn’t have to even appear at the workplace.”