Tuesday, March 31, 2020

The Mayor's Bear #6

Bonniebow

Roxie sat back. She knew what she had to do. Luckily her sister was driving to Scotland that afternoon and so there was no time to waste.

Roxie’s sister, Sooshalla, lived close by in a small village. She worked as an editor of school textbooks, usually the science ones. She lived alone with her very ancient tortoise (Darwin) and her black cat (Newton) in a small cottage with an unruly garden and a mysterious bluey-green pond. She got out her phone. “Soosh! I am coming with you to Scotland! Don’t leave without me!” she almost shouted down the phone.

“That is wonderful Roxie! Nishan will be so, so happy to see you. I am excited already. But why the change of plan?” said Sooshalla gleefully.

“It’s complicated, I will tell you on the road trip! See you soon!”

Next she had to tell work. She picked up her phone again. “Hallo George. It’s Roxie. Look I am sorry, but I am going to have to take a few more days off. I have to sort all this out. I will take all the days from my annual leave, of course. I promise I will be back in on Monday”

George was her boss. He had been in the travel business for more than 20 years and was approaching retirement. He went to the same hotel in Ibiza every September for as long as Roxie had known him. He smiled and joked lots. And whilst he could be tough when he needed to be, he knew how to run a small business and manage people well. “It’s OK Roxie, I understand. Everyone in the town wants you to sort all this out. And we know you will. See you Monday.”

And lastly, she had to work out what to do with the children. She had a plan, but this involved a visit not just a phone call.

Next door to where Roxie lived were two women called Heather and Vaneather (well, her real name was Vanessa but Roxie’s oldest had struggled with the word and the mutation had stuck). They had lived in the same house for as many years as Roxie could remember. Heather and Vaneather had met many years ago and decided to run the sweet shop in town. They were loved and known to all the local children and their parents. Roxie’s four children loved them. As each one grew up, they got to know there was always, and would always be, a ‘cwtch bach’* waiting for them on the big floppy sofa in their front room. (Heather is Welsh and a ‘cwtch bach’ has no real English translation. “It is just a small safe spot where nothing in the world can hurt you and everything will be OK” she often said.)

Roxie knocked on their front door.

Vaneather opened it and beamed. “Roxie! How lovely to see you. Are the children with you? Come in for a cup of tea. Heather has just made some Victoria sponge with enough raspberry jam and butter cream to give a doctor a heart attack. And whose teddy bear is this?”

Roxie smiled. “Thank you, the children are at school. But it is about them that I have called. I need a big favour” she said as she stepped into the cosy sitting room and sat on the big floppy sofa, already feeling warm and safe as a result.

Vaneather looked at her seriously. “The answer is yes, of course, Roxie. Anything for you and your children, you know that. Now what is it?”

Roxie explained as much of the story as she could, leaving out the bits with Strumbold of course.

Heather came into the room with a tray of tea and cake. “Roxie has to go to Scotland for a couple of days. And so, we are looking after Jessina, Samalan, Jakomin and Roshanara. How wonderful is that!” exclaimed Vaneather.

“That is going to be so much fun,” said Heather. “And tell me, Roxie, how long had you had a magimistical bear?”

At that moment, Roxie’s mouth was full of cake so she had a few seconds to think about what to say. She swallowed. “Not long” she said quietly, “how did you know?”

“We have one too. She’s upstairs on the landing and keeps a close eye on us. How do you think we managed to run a sweet shop so successfully for all those years. We had a very, very special and magical adviser. There isn’t time today, I can tell. But when you get back, we will introduce the two of them together. What is your bear called?”

Roxie breathed in. “Um, he told me his name is Strumbold”

“Hallo Strumbold”, said Heather looking straight at him. “When you get back from your trip, I will introduce you to Bonniebow. She is very old and quite a character!”

“Thank you” said Strumbold “I look forward to meeting her”

Everyone smiled, including Roxie who wasn’t really sure what was happening. The world felt like it was spinning just a little faster than usual.

She went home and telephoned the schools. She left notes for all the children and instructions for Vaneather and Heather on fridge about food and so forth. She packed an overnight bag and carefully placed Strumbold in her rucksack so that he could see out. She had already texted all the children to let them know what was happening. Nobody else needed to know, she thought.

By two o’clock, Roxie and Soosh were speeding up the M40 heading north. It was going to be a long drive. But they had stories, music and each other. The miles slipped by and the sky was darkening as they finally approached the town in which their brother lived.

Nishan opened the door and stood there for quite a long time, just smiling with his arms outstretched. “Both my little sisters, how fabulous is this!” And they all hugged. And they laughed. And then they hugged some more.

In the kitchen was Nishan’s wife, Elodie-Rae. “So lovely to see you both! I thought you weren’t coming Roxie. But hey, we need an extra pair of hands! And having a Mayor present for the party will make it even more special. Did you bring your Chain of Office?”

“Yes and no” said Roxie as she glanced at Strumbold in the corner where she had just put him down.
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* Cwtch bach is pronounced 'Cooch (hard 'ch') Barch (soft 'ch')

go to part seven

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