Continue the story.....

[itsmeagain]

it's private..and private girls like me don't take all this curiosity very kindly..  so let's just get on with the matter in hand', and , passing me a kettle, and a dirty teapot 🫖 🤔 to wash, she sat about rooting in biscuits tin for ...

Edited February 24, 2024 by itsmeagain

[poppy]

her custard creams. She managed to extricate her hand holding at least half a dozen. I couldn't help admiring her talent but I was concerned there wouldn't be any left for me!

'Hoy! You better not have eaten them all!' But it was too late, she'd crammed every last one into her mouth and all that was left were a few boring, rather soggy, water crackers.

I sighed and put the kettle on, it didn't look like Dolly had any intention of ...

[itsmeagain]

playing second fiddle 🎻  to.me

 That was just fine...I began to see  a glint of mischief in her fiery dark eyes, making.me worry about consequences for me if she tried anything  ' funny.' I had enough on with Rosie,  no way could any other individual come to desecrate my book absorbing, story telling, non licentious, life. Next minute, we

[poppy]

finished our tea and it was swiftly back to work for me. I still suffered from panic attacks when recalling my traumatic experiences with Pythagoas and the ex-Missus. I wasn't going to risk a repeat from 'Little Miss Mischievous Fiery Dark Eyes' no matter how cute.

I was hard at it in the office, catching up on the latest news in The Sun, when the phone rang.

'Darling, is that you? I have a problem ...

[itsmeagain]

with the ....jxzsae ..is..there..zzxfsarn branhgtr..jhru....loan ...vvvvv. '.

Then silence. What is going on? Reaching for the zoom , I 

[poppy]

managed to contact her. She looked like the wiggly lines on an old out of focus TV set but I could hear most of what she was saying.

'Fiona has disappeared,' she wailed, 'and I don't know what to do!'

Personally I would have been relieved to get rid of the annoying little blister, and got on with my life, but Rosie obviously thought otherwise.

'Calm down, darling and tell me when you saw her last.'

'Well we went ...

[itsmeagain]

to an onsen.. oh Johnny..and we were in  kertttrereeebbbbbb nnnn zzxx you see, and in this lovely onsen, she got chatting to an American couple and they were ..khkhkhkgraxxxxxlllee..and then ..sob..so.. she's gone and the Americans..Donny and Posie..sniffle..cannot be found..'

' Tell the police.'

'Oh I have tried Johnny..sniffle..sniffle..but they took ages to see me here in Kyoto and..sniffle..sniff...you remember the Blackman girl..world'

'....famous I know..darling dont be thinking that anything awful..'

'The police dismissed me,saying she is likely some bloody fly by night who goes to seedy establishments in Roppongi and lights cigarettes for creepy old men who then expect....

[poppy]

her to do things ... unmentionable things. Do you think the white slavers have got her? I wish you'd come with me instead, this never would have happened, ' she sobbed.

I entirely agreed, but now wasn't the time to tut tut and say 'I told you so' and 'now let this be a lesson for you!'

'I'm sure nothing like that has happened, darling. She's always struck me as flighty and unreliable. Are you sure she hasn't just gone off with the Americans? Have you checked her room?'

'I hadn't thought of that! I'll go now. Just hang on a minute.'

About five minutes later, ' Guess what?? ...

Edited February 28, 2024 by poppy

[itsmeagain]

......she's staying with Mr and Mrs Nakata in Kyoto..says on the note she's dong a vow of Buddhist silence,  and, like Gandhi did, will be living on crunchy pickled vegetables and rice for the foreseeable...shoes off when entering the abode when we visit..'

' Needs to get her facts right. Gandhi.lived on goat milk and plain vegetables for years, but there was no Japanese vegetables in there', I said, just to put the record straight. 

'Oh Johnny..she's safe..it's  such a relief'.

'Do you mean sushi a relief?', I asked, 

[poppy]

my little attempt at jocoseness.

'I don't think she mentioned sushi at all,' Rosie sounded perplexed.

'No, it was a play on words, dear, a kind of ... oh never mind.

So what are you thinking of doing now?' I asked, hoping she'd  say she was coming home. 'We're all missing you terribly.'

'I'm missing you too, Johnny. And all the moggies. And of course Daddy. I thought I'd...

 

[itsmeagain]

invite daddy over to admire the blossoms near Hokkaido and I wondered if we could pay for daddy to go on a tour of Hokkaido and the surrounding..'

'Are you serious? How much does the old man have stashed ....

[poppy]

away in his offshore bank accounts? Not to mention the pile of readies he keeps under his mattress, he can bloody well afford to finance his own trips!'

'Johnny! Please don't use profanities. After all Daddy's done for us! And how do you know about his money under the mattress??'

Because, dear reader, I'd had a good fossick around the old fossils premises on several occasions and helped myself to the odd tenner or three, but I certainly wasn't going to tell Rosie about that!

'Just a wild stab in the dark, precious, it's the kind of thing dear Daddy would do. I'm really hurt that you'd rather have Daddy or Fiona as your travel companion, than me.'

'Well, Johnny, I've just been feeling lately that ...

 

[itsmeagain]

daddy hasn't had the rub of the green..at times you seem to ..mhfhjggd craaaaccckllee..hiss..granted and I think its not on..bbbbbvvvvvxzcraaacklekkkjsssaa..Will you?'

'Yep ..'

'Oh Johnny Revolting, I knew you'd see sense..after all, it's scarcely every day a man, mid senescence as he is so indubitably,  gets to see wonders like The Hirohito Palace, the Kwonzabahino jewels, the Mitsubishi Mantras, and the Quartz lullaby office...he'll be.. '

'Just a sodding minute woman', I intoned, my hair now...

Edited March 3, 2024 by itsmeagain

[poppy]

standing on end and instantaneously going grey, 'I wasn't agreeing to anything for your father!'

'Sorry, Johnny, ...fttzz ...skpppt ... you're breaking ....jtwak ...up again. I'll ring Daddy and ... ybbber ...him.'

'Nooooooo!!' I shouted, but too late.  She'd hung up.

There was only one thing to do ...

[itsmeagain]

so, in a call to my esteemed bank, I made it really clear that I was not allowing any money to leave my account, to a Major Flowers, since I felt it was highly audacious of that man, to simply take take take, when people in Dar es Salaam for instance,  were struggling with issues around poverty and misery. Never ones to oblige, the bank.....

Edited March 4, 2024 by itsmeagain

[poppy]

in this instance broke a habit of a lifetime, and went completely along with my wishes.

'Let me make it patently clear, Mr Revolting, that under no circumstances can anyone, including yourself,  withdraw any funds, whatsoever, from your account. In fact we've written to you on numerous occasions to apprise you of the fact that your balance is critically overdrawn and this must be rectified forthwith. We would like to see you in our office first thing Monday morning.'

Well, one silver lining, at least, in life's little stratocumuli ...

 

[itsmeagain]

of cumulo nimbus, rain drenched white wisps of air and water.

So when Rosie rang up again, at 2pm as I was sipping soya chai through a silver straw, I was happily aware....   

[poppy]

that for once I'd get my own way.

'Darling,' I said, in my most syrupy voice, 'to use dear Daddy's  parlance, there's been a little convexity in life's thoroughfare, I'm afraid.'

'What are you talking about, Johnny? Daddy would never speak like that!'

'Well, to put it bluntly, not putting too fine a point on it, things being as they are... the nitty gritty of the situation is ...'

'Johhny, get to the point, I'm nearly out of minutes.'

'We haven't got the readies to donate to Daddy's gallivants.'

'Whatever do you mean? Our account had a very healthy balance when I left! Where has it all gone?'

 

 

Edited March 8, 2024 by poppy

[itsmeagain]

'Sweet, God, please believe me' , I whispered into the crackly ether , like a stressed teacher found out for philandering by his Mrs, in a BBC drama, 'but truly, dear Rosie, I am in ..financal shhhhhhh, and..well I owe money to..my bank, my ex, my ..'

'Johnny, do talk sense..the business is doing OK..'

'I am not though..when we met I only had 7 quid to my entire name. '

'Oh Crikey Johnny, you really... 

 

Edited March 8, 2024 by itsmeagain

[poppy]

take the cake! You're supposed to have sold all those valuable books you claim to have. What's happening about that, for goodness sakes?'

Rosie certainly wasn't the pushover I took her for when I first met her. What had happened to my sweet, agreeable, biddable wee girl? In retrospect, after a time, this seemed to happen with all my girlfriends. I really felt it was a major flaw in the female of the species. No constancy, a tendency to develop an unattractive firmness of the jaw, along with a digging in of the toes.

'Dearheart, as you've left me to single-handedly run our demanding business, all by myself, alone, on my tod, I have absolutely no time for any outside business deals.'

'Don't be ridiculous, Johnny, you have ...

[itsmeagain]

a stache of cash,  and by Jove, sonny Jim, am I about to find...'

I hung up the blower , tired and wilting from

 

[poppy]

overwork, stress and the heavy burden of responsibility.

Tea was the order of the day ... hot, sweet, strong tea. And preferably accompanied by custard creams, if that little minx Dolly hadn't found and eaten all my secret hoard!

I'd just settled down with my cup that cheers when who should walk in but ...

 

[itsmeagain]

Parson Victor Cross, 43, a minister of oour Lord since 2009.

'I was just wondering if the local deprived youngsters may come and have a look', he said, his goofy teeth, thin arms, and academic demeanour  giving him a quite odd aspect all told. 'Well it all depends on....

Edited March 11, 2024 by itsmeagain

[poppy]

how many, how well behaved they are ... you know, any nasty habits like pinching things, peeing on loo floors, kicking cats etc ... and how much you're willing to pay for the privilege?'

'Well, I was rather hoping, ours being a charitable group and all, you could see your way clear to waiving any charges at this time. I assure you, the boys are very well behaved, they adore cats and have been rigidly toilet trained. Of course we will pay the usual fees for tea and cake. It would be very good good publicity, you know. I have a good friend, Peregrine Farquhar-Smythe,  who ...

[itsmeagain]

started Sudan's 🇸🇩 first ever orphanage,saved a cat from death by timely  vet bill payment for a woman named Celia, and formed a Facebook group, tin clogs your area, which was a cheap shoe shop for..'

A ring of the doorbell.

'PC Colin Foxglove, sir. We wondered if you can attend an ID parade? See, we got a suspect for a knife crime in Southwark,  and we thought a bloke like you.. '

'No but our worthy Vicar will', I said, quickly shuffling to the kitchen, tea and soya milk ....

Edited March 13, 2024 by itsmeagain