'Well hello again Doctor.' Trixie said opening the door many hours later. Dinner had come and gone and they had all retired to the lounge where a fierce game of chess had been restarted. 'Long time no see.'
'Trixie stop grinning at him like that, he'll think you're demented.'
'I've come to collect the boy who is legally and biologically tethered to my bank account.'
'Right this way.' They walked through and Patrick was pleasantly surprised to see Shelagh and Timothy playfully glaring at each other on the floor.
'Well well well, what do we have here?'
'Hi dad. Shelagh's teaching me how to beat you at chess. She's really good. Too good.' He grimaced.
'Oh is she now? Surely as my uh...girlfriend? you should be helping me.' He faltered over the term that didn't quite seem right to describe the woman he loved.
'Ah yes but as your girlfriend, which is a ridiculous term as I am no longer a girl, I am 31 years old, or merely your friend, surely it is a good idea to win over your progeny.'
'The progeny was already sufficiently enamoured with you.' Patrick rolled his eyes as sat on the floor next to her. Grinning Shelagh leant into his embrace as he wrapped an arm around her waist to take her hand in his.
'Sufficiently enamoured is not enough my love. I want the progeny to love me more than you.'
'You're stealing my progeny?' He mock gasped.
'The progeny is very stealable. I think I could get some good money for him on the black market.' She said sagely.
'Will you please stop referring to me as the progeny?' Tim complained.
'Hmm I don't know. What do you think darling?'
'Whatever the progeny wants the progeny gets whilst I'm making a play for favourite adult.'
'Shelagh!'
'Sorry you just look so progenous.' She shrugged.
'Is that even a word?'
'Not a clue. Look it up when you get home and report back on Friday.'
'You three are adorable!' Chummy cried delighted as the picture before her.
'Ew. I don't want to be adorable!' Tim screwed his nose in disgust.
'Too late son.' Patrick grinned as Shelagh laughed.
'So so adorable.' She pinched his cheeks playfully.
'Geroff me!' Tim frowned.
'Tim!' Patrick warned.
'Oh it's fine Patrick.'
'You're just lucky I like you.' Tim smiled.
'Only like? I've been downgraded! And after I taught you how to beat your father at chess too!'
'If it's any consolation I love you.' Patrick murmured in her ear before dropping a kiss into her hair. 'I'll say hello to you properly when sister Evangelina isn't glaring at me so much.' He laughed as Shelagh locked eyes with the rotund nun and glared right back before giggling as the nuns disapproving glare softened to a mildly embarrassed what do you expect this is weird for me smile and shrug. 'Now come on Tim, time we were heading home. Have you already eaten? Sorry it took longer doing paperwork than I thought.'
'Yes I have and I never want to eat anywhere else again. Shelagh's threatening to beat you with a cook book unless you improve soon by the way.'
'Is that so? I think I do alright.' He cocked an eyebrow at her.
'Fish and chips from Mr Palmer twice a week, whilst very delicious,does not constitute culinary prowess.' She equalled his challenging gaze.
'I never claimed to have prowess only acceptability. And I feel that son of mine has been telling porkies about his diet.'
'Did we or did we not have fish and chips twice this week?'
'An exception to the rule. I can cook!'
'That's not what you implied at Christmas.'
'I can cook!' Patrick defended himself.
'I'll believe it when I see it!'
'Alright then. You're coming over for dinner tomorrow right?'
'Yes.'
'Well it will have to be simple because I've got a busy day at work but I will cook for you. Unless I'm very busy in which case I'll get Mrs Taylor to make something and I'll cook for you Friday. And it will be fully edible!'
'You're on! But if it isn't you can take the 3 of us out for dinner wherever I want at the weekend.'
'Yesterday you claimed you knew nothing about local dining establishments.'
'I have my ways.' She shrugged grinning wickedly at him
'I'm slightly terrified by that comment but okay. If I cook something inedible then I'll take you 2 out where ever you want. But if it is edible then...I will think up a forfeit.'
'Shake on it?'
'Pinky swear.'
'What are you 8 years old?' He laughed
'I trust nothing but pinky swears.'
'Compromise. Pinky swear and a kiss.'
'You drive a good deal. I shall accept .' She grinned as she linked pinky fingers with him.
'Tim look away.' She laughed but accepted his kiss with pleasure but cut it shorter than either really wanted. Such overt displayed of affection in front of the nuns was uncomfortable for her. It had technically only been 3 days since she had been a nun. She opened her eyes and pulled back sloghtly to find him grinning at her, still only inches from her face. He looked so appealing at that moment that she gave in to the urge to kiss his lips briefly once more.
'Are you two finished being gross? Argh! No you're not! That is disgusting! There are impressionable young minds here! I would like to keep my dinner down please. Thank goodness Freddie is being spared this horrible picture. He's too young for such horror.'
'Alright alright let's get you home young man. You can continue playing chess with Shelagh when she comes over for dinner on Friday.'
'Can't I see her tomorrow?'
'You're going to granny Parkers tomorrow remember. You're staying the night.'
'Oh yeah. Bye Shelagh! He flung himself at her and sent her onto her back laughing.
'Bye Tim. I'll see you Friday.'
'Bye love.' Patrick picked up her hand and kissed the back of it.
'Bye Patrick. Ha, would you like some help getting up old man?' She stood and pulled him up.
'Thanks love. You are far too cheeky for your own good missy.'
'And yet you love me so it can't be all bad.'
'I must be mad courting you.'
'It's a very real possibility. I mean who goes around falling in love with a nun for goodness sake? You must be some kind of freak.'
'And on that scathing attack on me I shall depart.'
'Night freak.'
'Night freaks girlfriend.'
Yes yes you're both disgustingly in love with each other. Can we go now? If we leave now I might just make it in time for The Lone Ranger?'
'Night Progeny.' Shelagh laughed as the Turners departed. Beaming a smile overflowing with happiness Shelagh settled back on the floor to pack up the chess board.
'I must admit when you first told me you were romantically entangled with Doctor Turner I could not imagine it. I was thrilled for you of course but now I cannot imagine anything more right.' Chummy revealed as Shelagh blushed. 'I hope Peter and I will as good with Freddie as the two of you are with Timothy.'
'Oh wow. Really? I mean I'm only his dad's girlfriend for lack of a better word and I've only been seeing Patrick a few days.'
'But you've been acting maternal towards him for a while now. I remember an incident when he turned up at clinic after injuring himself at school and you took care of him.' Cynthia interjected.
'And you ran the 3 legged race with him after his father had to drop out and helped him win. And the same day I saw you giving him a last minute pep talk before the cub performance. And you helped him fix his costume.'
'And there was that delightful picture he drew of the two of you.' Sister Julienne smiled as Shelagh grinned at the memory.
'And he sent you that dead butterfly. Nobody can be that happy to receive a dead insect.' That was Trixie
'And you wrote that note to him. He was so excited to tell me he'd heard from you.' Jenny smiled. She had always been fond of young Timothy Turner and the joy on his face at correspondence from the woman she loved dearly brought joy to her.
'And when he was upset about his mother earlier this year you talked to him like his father couldn't.'
'You're very special to him. You're basically his mum any way.'
'You think?'
'Did you even listen to a word they just said? He adores you and it's plain to see you adore him too.' Sister Evangelina huffed not unkindly.
'I do. He's a wonderful boy. A credit to his parents.'
'Of which you are becoming one.'
'We've only been on one date. I think it's a tad soon to be calling me his parent.' She frowned. Sensing her growing discomfort sister Julienne changed the subject.
'Isn't it great. We're all together again.'
'It took us a while to get there but we finally have chummy, Jane and Shelagh under the same roof at the same time.'
'And I'm very glad of it.' Chummy smiled as the phone rang.
'Who's first on call?'
'That'd be me.' Cynthia rushed out.
'So what's this I hear about you finally giving in to Jimmy's friend Jenny?' Chummy grinned.
'He's not so terrible I guess. And Shelagh-you never said how you even knew about it.' Jenny frowned.
'Yes I did. The walls have ears.'
'That's not an answer.'
'Well it's the only one you're getting from me. Complete honesty hour was last night. It's over now.'
'I'll get it out of you eventually Shelagh Mannion.'
'I'd like to see you try. Between Morag, sister Evangelina and Jamie I've been subjected all interrogation techniques, all nonillegal torture methods, all scare tactics. I'm immune now. You've just been lucky these past few days that I've told you so much.'
'Who are Morag and Jamie?'
'Jamie was one of my best friends growing up and Morag is my almost identical twin sister.'
'Why was I on a list of torturers?'
'You have to admit we hardly had a harmonious start to our relationship.' Shelagh chuckled.
'That reminds me, you promised to tell me about the time sister Evangelina tried to wake you up and the two of you ended up locked in a room together.'
'Ah yes. Sister do you mind if I tell this story?'
'Go ahead. That was certainly an interesting day.'
'Quite. I have always, as I mentioned to you yesterday Trixie, had a problem with early morning wake ups. This event happened about 5 months into my postulancy when I was even worse at waking up than I am now. I was also completely, utterly, ridiculously terrified of sister Evangelina. I was in the middle of a dream in which sister Evangelina was shouting at me about something and physically attacking me, I forget what I'd done wrong, and suddenly I'm being shaken awake by the real sister Evangelina who is very loudly telling me to get up. So, in a moment of self defense and protestation about being awoken I kicked her right in the stomach and punched her in the face.'
'Surprisingly strong little blighter you are. Completely winded me and i had a black eye for weeks.' The nun in question chuckled.
'Tell me about it. Freakishly strong little Scot.'
'I still claim that was in your best interests Trixie. But there we are, Sister Evangelina is rolling in the floor clutching her gut attempting to shout at me, I'm now wide awake and whimpering because I thought she was about to kill me. One of the other postulants Sister Catherine runs in and shouts that I've killed Sister Evangelina. Sister Marie Claire, the head nun at the time, comes running in because she heard me scream and Sister Evangelina fall. I'm now hyperventilating and Sister Evangelina looks like she's about to strangle me with the bedlinen so Sister Marie Claire berates us and sends us on our way. 3 days pass and Sister Evangelina is storming around like a woman possessed, I'm ridiculously jittery, shrieking at the slighest sound and avoiding sister Evangelina like the plague. Everyone is sick to death of it so sister Marie Claire grabs both of us by the ear and drags us down to the boiler room and locks us both in there until we 'start to act like adults and get on with each other'. At first I tried hiding behind anything and everything I could find before hiding in a corner with Sister Evangelina in the other. I of course apologise but Sister Evangelina just glares at me and I almost wet myself. Every half hour Sister Marie Claire comes to check on us until about 5 hours in when Mum manages to smuggle an almond sponge in for me. Neither of us had eaten anything since the night before so I offered Sister Evangelina a slice. Imagine Sister Marie-Claire's surprise when she checks on us 40 minutes later when we're playing rummy,eating cake and suddenly acting like old friends.'
'The route to my heart is cake. I've never pretended otherwise.' Sister Evangelina laughed as Shelagh grinned at her.
'We've had a few conflicts since but after that cake nothing as bad as before.'
'I should have given you two cake months before.'
'Wait...you're 'mum'?' Chummy interjected.
'She is. '
'I am.'
'Oh how lovely.' Chummy beamed.
'Shelagh were you really that terrified of me?' Sister Evangelina frowned.
'Oh absolutely petrified. One of the reasons mum and I got so close so quickly was because she would let me come to her after the two of us fought and cry into her habit for a few hours.'
'hours?!'
'You once shouted at me because I had my wimple on skewiff and I cried for about 4 hours in her bed. I was a very wet postulant.'
'You did do a lot of crying. And we had to throw you in the shower to wake up once or twice early on but it was mainly the crying. Why do you think I stopped talking to you for 4 months Sister Evangelina?'
'I did wonder. I'm sorry Shelagh.'
'No problem. I got over it years ago and I'm a much stronger person for it. And as far as I know you've never terrified someone so much they not only left the Order but left the country.' Shelagh grinned as Sister Monica Joan who winked back. Sisters Julienne and Evangelina simply winced at the memory
'No way.' Jenny gaped.
'Way.' Shelagh grinned and launched into another tale.
Reviews greatly appreciated xx
Next chapter: some Shelagh and Chummy bonding