Chapter 49

(Author's note: And now for something completely different!

When I first started writing this stuff, I read a story, Runaway, here on SOL. I loved the story. The author and I have emailed back and forth a bit over the years and he and I talked about interweaving the characters of Runaway with my girls in Community.

Here it is. Be advised that Duncs is British, so you get a bit of different slang and a different tone, and he insisted on using the wrong spellings, like 'colour' and 'honour' and such.

This is mostly his lead into the connection. Do wait patiently because there WILL be more to this story.)

Meanwhile, in a small town in Yorkshire, England...

I swung my car through entrance gate to the office and factory complex where I work. I'd been on a road trip, working away for two weeks and it felt almost like returning home. The result of increasing friction between my wife of 22 years and me has increasingly led to me gravitating more and more to the office rather than home. My effervescent, extrovert daughter used to be my one respite, my one reason to look forward to returning home. But now 17 years old, her head buried in books, immersed in studying for the final year at school, or busy with her part-time job or spending time with her long-term boyfriend, she doesn't really have much time left for Dad any more...

So I smiled to myself as I entered the office building and headed towards the large communal engineering office. Within that messy, noisy but productive office I would find the usual bunch of misfits euphemistically known as the technical staff; my closest colleagues. Folk who I have worked with for years, folk whose strengths, weaknesses, foibles and families I know so well. Before I even enter that office, I know I will be faced with greetings on a scale ranging from polite to downright rude. I know all this but, I still love it. I also happen to know that if one particular person is resident in the office, a person very close to my heart, then I can expect to receive at least one very warm welcome offered with genuine affection; an affection that goes beyond that normally bestowed on a colleague. For the latter, I wasn't about to be disappointed. I opened the door and entered...

"Ah, Duncs, so you've returned from skiving-off work eh?"

"Been thrown off site again, Duncs?"

"Oh, so, you DO remember where the office is, then?"

"Oh, so the roving engineer has decided to grace us with his presence; we're so honoured..."

"Hey, ugly-mug; you're back!"

"Hello, Duncs, nice to see you back!"

Yep, so the usual range of greetings. I studiously ignored most of them, choosing to simply acknowledge Lisa, the one and only person to greet me politely. That's when one particular person looked up from her laptop.

Squeal! "DAD! Um ... I mean, Duncs! You're back earlier than expected!"

With that said, 120lbs of insanely beautiful, slim, blonde female rose quickly from her desk and bounded and skipped like a ten-year-old across the office towards me, threw her arms around me and planted a huge kiss on my cheek. Her actions were met with general cries of mock derision by other colleagues, all except Lisa who I heard utter "Awwww, I think she missed you..."

I gently pushed this blonde beauty away from me and cupping her face in my hands, planted a kiss on her forehead.

"Lovely to see you too, Amy. I really don't know how you and Lisa stand for the childish and rude behaviour that surrounds you!"

Amy smiled back, and gave me one of her wonderful infectious giggles, a sound guaranteed to lift my spirits.

"Oh, you know, Duncs, they're not so bad. Lisa and I can and do tolerate them! So, how was commissioning on the Ransome's project? Get everything done? Come back with your usual site scribbles for me to decipher and turn into proper test certs and 'as fitted' schematics, did ya?"

She said this with a deadpan expression, but the humour behind it was betrayed by the corners of her mouth twitching slightly and her eyes twinkling. I chose not to rise to the bait, though the smirk on my face betrayed me too.

"So, any chance of a coffee, sweetheart? And in return, I'll tell you some really exciting news."

"Yes sir, anything you say sir, one coffee coming up right away sir. You just make yourself comfortable sir!"

Ah, so there it was, her facetious side coming out. It took less than a minute from her initial warm, genuine greeting, through to being sarcastic to then returning to her true form, a form that I had to admit I totally loved and revelled in.

So what can I tell you about Amy? This fiercely intelligent, beautiful young woman standing in front of me now, with her elegant poise, her non-arrogant, quiet confidence and sharp wit is a person poles apart from the undernourished, sullen, waif of a 17 year-old street kid I happened upon back in October 2009; you wouldn't believe it was the same person. And the period of time between me first discovering her and the person she is now is the subject of a story in its own right. It would also not be an exaggeration to state that our relationship is unusual and complex.

That 'Dad' reference? Well, that came into play much later in my acquaintance with this delightful young woman. It was some months ago she decided to adopt me as her Dad, a title I wear with much pride. My own blood daughter adopted Amy as her sister some years ago and they remain extremely close to this day. As well as gladly accepting her as my daughter, I also consider Amy my best friend, companion and confidante and yes, we were at one time lovers too; a relationship that to some would be seen as immoral, especially given the thirty year age gap between us. Some might also say that at the time, I took advantage of a very vulnerable seventeen year-old girl. Well, all I can say to that is this: if the result of my actions a few years ago helped transform Amy into the young woman I look at now, then yes, I guess you could say I took 'advantage' of her ... But as I already stated, the previous four and a half years is well-documented in another story.

Amy returned with steaming-hot mugs of coffee for the pair of us. She sat down next to me, a look of expectation on her face.

"Thanks poppet, just what I needed," I said, picking up my coffee. I deliberately ignored her obvious expectation that I would tell her my exciting news immediately and pretended to be deeply absorbed reading some online technical article. I can play too!

"So, are you going to tell me your news, or as usual, are you just going to act like a twat?!"

I smirked. "Well, seeing how you asked me so eloquently, how could I possibly refuse to tell you, my sweet?"

Giggle. "You're always suspicious of me when I'm too polite, just like you are with Jess, so I thought I'd be like you and be rude!"

Ah, Jess, my sweet, 'butter-wouldn't-melt-in-her-mouth' daughter. A girl who when she reached double figures, seemed to suddenly develop a head way older than the ten year-old shoulders that supported it. Jess was thirteen when she first met Amy and was the vibrant, young teenager that Amy so needed in her then troubled life. Now seventeen-going-on-thirty, I don't see so much of her, especially since she passed her driving test this February and we bought her a car. I know she's all but an adult and will be flying the nest next year to go to university, but it's still a wrench, still something I can't fully accept. I don't want to acknowledge that 'daddy's little girl' is now an adult.

I started 'Outlook' on my laptop and opened an email from one of our major suppliers based in Germany; the 'Big S' as we liked to refer to them. By major, I mean they are huge – they dominate the electrical supply and controls sector. The email was from Franz, an applications engineer who both Amy and I very much like and respect. Slightly eccentric and quirky, he is, nevertheless, an excellent engineer and good company.

"Here, read this," I prompted Amy, twisting the laptop towards her.

I love watching her read or study something. Her brow furrows slightly and she's the kind of reader whose lips move as she silently speaks to herself as she reads.

"Wow, cool!" was all my excited partner-in-crime stated a couple of minutes later. But after her initial excitement, seconds later she looked pensive.

"But America? The 'Big S' wants us to work with an electrical engineering company over in America? D ... d ... do you really think I'm up to this challenge? I mean, it's America, those guys over there are going to expect perfection, you know, really high standards. I'm not so sure I..." She trailed off, her eyes boring imploringly into mine.

Yes, it is true she had come on in leaps and bounds the last four and a half years; overcome many personal demons and obstacles, surpassed all my expectations and her own and faced challenges with fierce determination, winning all the time. Yet, from time-to-time, her self-doubt could still surface and I and others close to her had to be ready to nip it in the bud before she became too despondent.

"Amy, sweet Amy, so it's America, it's another country, so what? You've worked in The Netherlands, You've worked in Germany. You've worked in Republic of Ireland. You've worked all over the UK. So what's the difference? Hell, girl, they even speak a form of English in America!"

"I know, I'm being silly, but well, it's just..."

"Just nothing, poppet. It's not as if you'll be by yourself. I'll be with you. You know how well we work together on site. It'll be a great experience for you and nice for me too; I haven't worked across the pond for some years, and Birmingham, Alabama is somewhere in the USA I've never been to before. I doubt it has much in common with OUR Birmingham."

"Well, um, okay, I'm sure I'll probably go, but I would just like to know a little more about the company and the folk we'll be working with before I make up my mind."

I studied Amy's face. I knew her facial expressions intimately. I saw hints of a young girl staring back at me, not the confidant young woman I usually expected to now see. I smiled at her in a fatherly way and gently thumbed her cheek.

"Look, as you read for yourself, Franz has personally recommended you and me to do this project. He explains he knows some of the folk at this American engineering house, 3Sigma, and reckons both of us will fit in with their style of working perfectly. Quite what that means, I've no idea yet. But you know as well as I do that Franz is never wrong. Anyway, as you read, he's asked me to contact one of the engineers at 3Sigma, a Mr Dan Richards, and introduce myself. I'll have to do that later this afternoon, to allow for the time difference and once I've spoken to him and sounded-out the project, I'll be able to tell you far more about it. How's that sound to ya?"

"Okay..."

If any confirmation of the 'little girl lost Amy' was needed, it was in this single word reply. She always becomes very monosyllabic when she's unsure or stressed. I really wanted her to go with me on this project; not only is she a formidable colleague to work with, she's a great companion too. However, ultimately I would never force her to do anything against her will and if necessary, I had other colleagues who could go with me.

Later that day

"Good morning, 3Sigma Engineering, how may I help you?" said a very pleasant female voice, with a lovely soft American accent.

"Er, good after ... I mean, good morning to you too. My name is Duncan Smith from Controltech Systems, based in the UK. May I speak with Mr Dan Richards please?"

"Certainly, Mr Smith. I'll put you through right now. By the way, loving that accent!"

I smiled; the number of times I had heard "I love your accent" whenever I had worked in the States! There was the inevitable pause as I waited to be patched through but thankfully, no awful on-hold 'muzak', just a pleasant 'ping' every few seconds to confirm the connection was still alive.

"Hello, Mr Smith, Dan Richards speaking. I've been expecting your call."

"I'll give you just one chance to drop the Mr. Smith. It's Duncan, or Duncs!"

"Ah, well, I thought what with all that Brit 'stiff upper lip' thing you guys have going, I would have to be more formal!"

I detected a hint of mirth in Dan's voice.

"Ah, a British stereotype that thankfully is reserved for the entitled upper-classes. Please, call me Duncan or Duncs and I may I assume by return I can call you Dan?"

"Oh no, not at all, it's definitely Sir for now, and then once I get to know you a little better, I may let to call me Mr. Richards!"

I liked and warmed to this guy already. Seconds later I could just make out a young female voice, obviously nearby to Dan and gently admonishing him.

"Dan one! Whose chain are you yanking now? Behave yourself!"

"Just kidding around with a guy from England, baby, that's all. Sorry about that Duncan, just being put in my place by my wife!"

"Well, SIR, as you know, our mutual contact, Franz, from the 'Big S' has decided that it would be a good idea for 3Sigma and Controltech Systems to combine resources and talents to work on this Co-gen and greenhouse project out in the wilds of Alabama. So where exactly do we fit in and why does an engineering house based in high-tech America need the resources of a little old company from England?"

Dan chuckled. "So, Duncan, you're gonna yank my chain right back! I like your humour! Listen, Duncan, don't sell yourself, your company or for that matter, the UK short, my friend. Everyone knows a lot of high-tech and original thought still comes out of the UK; you guys just lost out on your manufacturing base, that's all."

"Way I see it is this: 3Sigma is coming up with the control strategies and design for the Co-gen plant and high voltage switching. Another company based in Cincinnati are supplying the greenhouse controls package. What we need is that bit of magic in between to make reluctant co-gen 'control system A' talk to recalcitrant greenhouse 'control system B' and make 'em cooperate with each other."

"Now whilst 3Sigma certainly have the in-house talent to do it, this is a fast-track project and time is of the essence. Franz tells me that you guys do this kind of interfacing all the time, with your eyes shut and with one hand tied behind your back! He tells me that in particular, you have a young woman working for you that is a natural talent at interfacing A to B!"

"Dan, or what was it I heard your wife call you, Dan One? Yep, we are certainly used to getting otherwise non-standard control systems to cooperate with each other. And the young lady that Franz mentioned is Amy. Yep, she's certainly a natural; seems to possess the intuition of a much more experienced engineer, yet she's still shy of 21 years old. I've been mentoring her for the past four years, but more often than not, I'm just along for the ride. She has an insatiable appetite to learn, almost an autodidact if you will; in a nutshell, she's a breath of fresh air!"

I heard Dan chuckle and wondered what I'd said to humour him.

"Not quite 21 years-old Duncan? Autodidact? My wife Cindy is fifteen and in about a year's time will graduate from Auburn University with a degree in electrical engineering. Her sister Nikki, sixteen, is on track to do the same. Her other sisters Tina and Susan, seventeen and eighteen respectively, may take a little longer to qualify with engineering degrees but they will, without a doubt. Then there's the little pixie Terri, daughter of my associate, Alan. She's eight years old and could easily pass the high school GED right now. Not in any way wishing to denigrate Amy's abilities, but what you're telling me does not surprise me!"

"Cindy, your wife, only fifteen?" I parsed that little snippet about Cindy being fifteen and married to Dan but decided not to question it there and then. There was obviously a story behind that and I realised it was probably not suitable for a phone call, let alone a first call at that.

"Electrical engineering degree at sixteen? Wow, that and the achievements of the others girls you mention is certainly very impressive! Now I think I might know what Franz means when he said we might fit in with your group, more specifically Amy. But Dan, without giving you the long version, I have to say that Amy's achievements are all the more remarkable if you know a little about her background."

"This girl didn't start living what might be deemed a normal life until just after her seventeenth birthday. Up until then, she merely existed. Born to a teenage girl that didn't want her, never loved her, never cuddled her, always called her the most dreadful names and constantly reminded her just how much she'd messed up her life, Amy was off to a bad start right from the start."

"Then, as soon as Amy was old enough to do chores, this disgusting person that bore Amy, I refuse to call her a Mum, she never earned that title in my book, then put Amy to work in the house, cooking, cleaning, washing, whilst she went out partying and having a good time with her cronies. Then, when Amy hit puberty, things turned even darker for the poor lass when her so-called 'mother' allowed her twisted and depraved boyfriends to pleasure themselves with Amy, in other words, molest and rape her."

"Eventually, after a massive fight, she got the courage to run away and then spent nearly two years living on the street. It was October 2009 when I purely by chance came into her life and with help from me, my own daughter and some of my colleagues, well, we have slowly but surely turned her life around..."

I realised that by now I was pretty emotional and was practically shouting at Dan. I took several deep breaths.

"Um, Dan, I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to blurt all that out; I don't even know you yet to dump all that personal information on you. I guess I get pretty defensive on all matters relating to Amy."

Dan was quiet for what seemed like minutes but was probably only a few seconds. I knew he was still on the phone because I could hear typical office clatter in the background.

"Duncan, dammit man, I really don't know what to say other than given that potted history you have just recounted to me, then I have to concede that Amy does indeed sound like a very remarkable young woman in achieving what she has so far. My Cindy and her adopted sisters Nikki and Tina also have pretty messed-up childhood stories to relate, but nothing like the hell-hole of a childhood you have just described for Amy. You know, I really want to meet her and I know the sisterhood will take her into their hearts too. Damn, I feel quite cut-up about this."

"Sisterhood?"

"Oh, that's quite a long, complex story, or series of stories, but yeah, the girls all eventually came together and refer to themselves collectively as the Sisterhood. They're a tight-knit bunch who take care of each other and those close to them. But they also extend that care to others in need. Only recently, we have taken-in within our community a lovely girl named Kara."

"Community? The more I hear, the more I'm intrigued, Dan. Oh, and why Dan One?"

"I have another associate named Dan, so the girls named us Dan One and Dan Two, to avoid confusion. Formally speaking, we're Dan 1.0 and Dan 2.0, like in software revisions. Whereas the Sisterhood is the nucleus of the group, The Community is the greater whole of it and that includes me, Dan two, Alan, Jason, our little blonde pixie Terri, The Desai's, and finally the Weismann family. Long story short, we built a complex of apartments and offices, plus a couple of community areas, there's a unit turned into a Indian restaurant and well, we all live under one roof, so to speak."

"Ah, that makes sense, well, I think it does and I have to say, I'm all the more intrigued!"

"Well then, you two get your hides over here and come and see for yourselves! We'll welcome you with open arms!"

"Dan, I have to confess, there is a small chance that Amy may not accompany me to carry out this project, which I admit would be a shame as not only is she a damn good colleague to work with, I also love her companionship and last but not least, I feel the experience working in the States will be a great opportunity for her.

"Listening to what you've told me about the Sisterhood and the Community, I think there may be a way to finally convince Amy once and for all. Do you think one of the girls would be prepared to talk to her?"

"Without a shadow of a doubt buddy. My Cindy would be more than happy to do that and she tends to be the spokeswoman for the group anyway. Does Amy Skype?"

"She certainly does. She loves her tech. We often Skype each other when she or I work away. Plus when Amy works away herself, she frequently Skype's my real daughter."

"Good, then lemme just speak with Cindy a minute."

I heard a muffled conversation that I couldn't entirely make out, but I heard 'Amy' mentioned a few times and the word 'Skype' a couple of times.

"Duncan, Cindy would love to talk to Amy. She actually said how about right now but I guess you'll need to arrange it with Amy first. What time is it with you guys; by my reckoning its three forty five PM in the UK, right?"

"Spot on, Dan. And please, Duncs, okay? I'll go and discuss it with Amy now, but how about I tentatively say five PM UK time, will that be good with Cindy?"

"Just a minute Duncs. Cindy, is five PM good for you if Amy agrees? That's noon here." He paused. "Yep, Duncs, Cindy says she's good to go. Go and arrange it. And I promise you, this visit won't be all work, we want you guys to have some fun too. We like to make our own entertainment and it can get pretty rowdy at times! You guys into music by any chance? Do either of you play instruments or sing?"

"You haven't met my colleagues Dan. Bunch of misfits, most of 'em; overgrown kids with grown up toys, so I know all about rowdy. But you know, when they knuckle down to it, they do some serious work. And as it so happens, yes, I play piano and accordion, though I'm pretty rusty now and quite recently, we discovered at a Karaoke night that Amy has the sweetest singing voice imaginable. I'm talking an angelic, ethereal quality to her voice that is totally spellbinding. However, she's pretty shy and needs a lot of encouragement to get up and sing. Not sure if she'd sing for the community."

"And talking of work, we seem to have strayed off from that topic, which was the initial purpose of the call! Can you email over any relevant information, schematics, P&ID's etc., so that I can start to get a grip on what it is we need to do and the kit we'll need to ship over ahead of our visit? I'll need to ship over equipment as soon as possible; there's no way the TSA goons are going to allow us to bring strange technical equipment with us on our flight over to the US."

"Sure, give me your email address and I'll email you a link to some files in my Dropbox account. You guys have AutoCAD?"

"We do, the latest version, with an electrical bolt-on package too. And email me Cindy's Skype details too and I'll go and talk to Amy. Dan, it's been a pleasure talking to you, I'm really looking forward to working with you and your team on this project."

"The feeling's mutual Duncs; look forward to meeting you too and thanks for your time. Good luck with Amy!"

I gave Dan my email address and we bade each other goodbye. It was a fascinating conversation in more ways than one. I'd never looked forward to working on a project as much as this one in a long time. I had lately become somewhat jaded and disillusioned with life, especially as things at home were not so rosy now and I genuinely looked forward to this project. I left the office in search of Amy. Eventually I found her in the electrical workshop, talking to James, her very understanding fiancé.

"Amy, found you lass! I've just finished having a really long chat with Dan Richards from 3Sigma. You know, you really need to come on this project; based on what I just heard from Dan, you'll gonna love it and I don't just mean the work."

Amy shot a glance towards James. From the lack of surprise on his face, it was clear he already knew something about this project, so I guess Amy had just been discussing it with him. I know I can count on his support, even though I would be taking the love of his life away on a business trip for a couple of weeks. James encourages Amy in all she does. The lad absolutely dotes on her and within reason, will do anything for her.

I know James very well; after all, it was me that took him on in the first place. Due to cutbacks and downsizing, he'd been made redundant from his previous job but instead of wallowing in self-pity, he'd simply got on his bike that same day and started riding around all the local businesses asking if they had work, any work. Just so happened he stopped by our place as I was standing outside, getting some fresh air. He explained his predicament to me and I liked his attitude right from the start and offered him a job on the spot. My hunch at the time has since been proved to be spot-on and he's become a much-valued addition in the electrical workshop. The added bonus was that he and Amy hit it off from the start, which so happened to coincide with my plan to wean Amy off me as my lover (my so-called 'tough love' approach towards her a year ago).

As much as the selfish side of me would have kept Amy as my lover forever and a day (and by return, she was more than happy with this arrangement), the caring, practical side of me ultimately only wanted what was best for her. It would have been unfair and unrealistic for me to keep her as my lover. Assuming I live to 75, that would make Amy 45 and she would by then be so attached to me that she would find it almost impossible to find new love, if at all. So about a year ago, after a lot a soul-searching on my part and some very tricky and careful negotiations with Amy (she initially thought I was rejecting her entirely), I finally persuaded Amy to stop being my lover and just continue to be my best friend and companion.

Well, shortly after this change in my relationship status with Amy, I had a long-term trip abroad coming up, a massive project. I'd taken James on about a month prior to this trip and, well, it transpired that whilst I was away, James and Amy became close friends, leading to dating, finally leading to them being joined at the hip. By the time I returned home from my six month business trip, I was faced with a very nervous Amy telling me about her relationship with James. For some reason, the silly lass thought I'd be upset with her. Far from it, I was over the moon; it couldn't have worked out better. It was shortly after this first major revelation when one evening at my house, a tearful Amy asked me if I would consider being her adopted father; she wanted to have a morally acceptable relationship tie with me. I didn't even have to think about my answer to this request. I was truly honoured.

I looked at James and gave him an almost imperceptible nod. He picked up on my vibe instantly.

"Sweetheart, you really must go on this trip. The experience will be brilliant for you. You might never get the opportunity to go again. You must do it!"

"But, James, it's America; it's a long way from home. What if I can't do the work? What if I let everyone down?"

"Sweetheart, that's just not gonna happen. I know what you're capable of, even more so Duncs knows what you're capable of. Do you really think he'd offer to take you with him if he didn't think you were capable of doing the work?"

James can pull the tough love routine too. He has a knack of allowing his voice to give just a hint of authority without coming across as being mean or patronising towards Amy. Sometimes, Amy needs to be told things in a direct, firm manner. I noted not for the first time that James is better at this than I'd ever been. I tend to give in to her too easily! Amy then tried to change her tact.

"But what about you? Will you be alright? Won't you miss me? Won't you worry about me?"

"Sweet pea, of course I'll worry about you and miss you but I'm a big boy now, I can look after myself and besides, you'll be with Duncs and I know he won't let you come to any harm. Plus, think of all the fun we'll have the first night you return home..."

By now, James was grinning at Amy like a Cheshire cat and it amused me to see her blush. I grinned at her embarrassment. I had a brief flashback to an image of the sexual dynamo I know Amy was capable of being and knew exactly what James meant by 'all the fun'...

"Okay then, I'll probably go but I still need to talk to Dad, I mean Duncs, about what he's just found out about the project."

"And that's the main reason why I came looking for you. You have half an hour to prepare for a Skype call with a girl named Cindy. She wants to talk to you about 3Sigma, the Sisterhood and the Community. She's fifteen years old and will be graduating university with a degree in electrical engineering in about a year, so she's nobody's fool!"