Emerald Oasis 6/18

Joyce was the first person in the dining room. She spent two hours on her own. She wasn't really on her own, she had the company of fairies promoting their favourite political parties. As they spoke, she thought of King Fore, and how she never expected him to be the leader of a left-winged party: she saw him as the most right winged thing in existence.

The nurse, Harold Moody slammed the door to one of the cabinets. "Who keeps pinching all our teaspoons?"

"Maybe it was the fairies," Joyce said.

Harold scolded Joyce for her talk about fairies. He said in a bold and crystallized voice: "There are no such things as fairies. Don't be so silly."

Joyce wasn't surprised. Harold was most probably having a bad day. That bad day seemed to pass onto her when she saw Rodger walk in in a usual outfit. By that time, Dorothy and Victoria were already in the dining room.

Hisashi Iwao was walking around in his dressing gown. He had a towel in his hand. "Ohayo Gozaimasu!" He wandered around a little more, took one look at Rodger and laughed. "Hakou, hakou, oni no pantsu."

"What are you doing?" Joyce asked Rodger. He strolled into the dining room with his underpants over his trousers. He was the centre of attention for all the wrong reasons. Rodger laughed as he sat down between Victoria and Dorothy.

"It's the new fashion trend!" Rodger said, pulling his pants up above his belt. Joyce wanted to cringe. She wasn't even sure if she wanted her breakfast. Her rumbling stomach was mute. Rodger appeared to be getting excited the more Joyce cringed. "Now look here, my grandson wore it like this the other day when he came to visit me."

"Doesn't mean you should do it," Joyce said, squinting at Rodger. Her cheeks were covered. "It's cute when kids do it, but when fully grown men like you do it, it looks like an embarrassment."

"That's right." Victoria pulled the pants down to Rodger's knees. "Take them off now. Before I call the police on you."

"Oh have a laugh." Rodger sighed and listened to Victoria. His cheekiness didn't stop there, he pulled the pants over Victoria's permed hair.

Harold slammed his trolley. "Look, Rodger, please stop. If you're going to be silly then go to your room."

"Haha!" Rodger felt no remorse. Victoria pinched the pants at once and flew it out the window. "Cheer up you miserable sods. Can't we have a bit of fun for once?"

"Don't be rude," Harold said in the rhythm of his medicine trolley.

Rodger rubbed his stomach, then placed a handkerchief over his collar. He clutched onto his cutlery with the sharp points facing the ceiling. "I'm hungry now. Where's my breakfast?"

"It's on its way," Harold announced. "They'll be here at 8:30. "

Joyce looked at her watch. "It's only 8:20."

"What are you having?" Rodger asked.

"Just toast and marmalade I would imagine," Victoria said with a slight groan as if she didn't want to speak.

"Bacon sandwich for me," Joyce said. She hoped that the bacon wasn't thin and flimsy and in soggy bread like the ones in the hospital. So far, the food in the home has been edible. The fairies informed her that the food in the home was generally good, so her hopes were high.

"I want a full English," Rodger announced, letting go of his cutlery and rubbing his hands together. "And by full English, I mean full English. I want the whole works; baked beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, sausage, bacon, hash brown, black pudding, eggs of course - preferably fried. And toast – you've got to have toast with lots of butter."

"You greedy gannet," Dorothy snapped. "I'm going to have toast and marmalade as well. Some people actually care about their health"

"I don't like English food," Victoria admitted. "Food abroad is so much better."

Rodger gasped. "I never heard such blasphemy in my life. No food is as great at British food."

"Have you ever tried foreign foods?" Joyce asked.

"No."

"Then how can you say that British food is the best when you haven't tried an Indian meal or a Chinese?"

"I just know."

"And this is why I will never marry you," Victoria said to Rodger, folding her arms. "You're greedy and intolerant of other people's tastes and opinions."

"Well, I'm glad that my wife is coming today!" Rodger snapped.

"I thought your wife was dead." Joyce raised her eyebrow at Rodger. He didn't look like a guy with dementia. Judging from last night's conversation, Rodger appeared to be a man full of creativity and showed no signs of dementia at all.

"Is she?"

"Yes," Joyce insisted. "You showed me drawings her and your rag dolls of the daughters you had."

"I'm sure Olive said she was coming today."

"You said she died when they were very young," Joyce reminded him.

"Oh yeah..."

"Are you sure this wife even exists?" Dorothy asked. "I've never seen any pictures of her."

Rodger had his hands on his hips. "I can assure you that she is very much real. She'll always be real to me." His eyes begin to water.

"After this conversation, I'm so glad I never married you," Victoria announced with pride.

"I think that's enough talk on that for now," Joyce said with a suggestion, "Let's change the subject. Look the staff are coming. The food will be here soon."

"About time too," Rodger puffed. "They're always late."

"Rodger... It's 8.25 - they're technically early."

"I've been waiting 2 hours for my breakfast."

"Hang on, I came in at 6:00 and you came two hours after me."

"You shouldn't go around telling tales," Rodger snapped. "It ain't nice."

"There's no point arguing with him," Victoria advised Joyce. "He's always playing up like this in the morning."

"Oh my gosh. I can't believe how different he is in the morning."

"I'm right in front of you," Rodger roared. "Don't talk about me like that: it really hurts me. " He got up stormed out of the room like a fox on the run.

"Sumimasen!" Hisashi called out, walking over to to the chef carrying a big silver trolly. "Onsen wa doko desu ka?"

The chef smiled. "Good morning, Hisashi."

"Gomenasai...wakarimasen."

Hisashi came over to Joyce's table. "Onsen wa doko desu ka?" he asked again.

Joyce shook her head, raising her shoulders. "I don't know." Rodger was convinced that Hisashi was speaking Chinese, but Joyce had remembered some Mandarin phrases that she learned when she went to China on holiday and none of Hisashi's words stuck out for her.

"So desu ka..." Hisashi muttered as he took Rodger's empty seat.

After breakfast, Joyce marched straight into the garden where she found Emily sunbathing on a daffodil. "How are you doing Emily? You okay?" Emily looked up at her and nodded. "It seems like you're doing okay."

Emily flew on her shoulder. "How was breakfast?"

"It was fine," Joyce lied, trying to get the bacon fat stuck from in between her teeth. "As well as could be expected. Rodger being silly as usual. And I'm wondering what language Hisashi is speaking, do you know?"

"He's Japanese," Emily confirmed. "He's fluent in Russian and Korean as well. He used to be good at talking English, but he's forgotten most of it along with Chinese."

"I'm impressed," Joyce said. "Keeping up with one language is hard enough for me. I think people who are bilingual are amazing people."

"By the way, don't worry about Rodger: he's always at his worse in the morning," Emily said. "He's the one that keeps stealing all the teaspoons."

"Why would he do a thing like that?"

"For one of his inventions most likely," Emily said. "He's so desperate to win Victoria that he would do anything to impress her."

"Why can't he move on?" Joyce asked. "What they had was just a childhood fling at school."

"That's the thing, Joyce," Emily said. "Some people don't move on. Rodger had a very successful career and has been a wonderful father to his children, but he's never been truly happy. He's been clinging to dreams to the point of madness."

"Will this wife of his ever come?" Joyce wondered.

"That's not possible," Emily said, gulping. "You see, he's never been married."

"Never been married?" Joyce gasped. "So, all those pictures of Mavis..."

"Mavis is a fictional character," Emily explained. "Rodger had some one-night stand with a young woman. They lived together with her brother until the girls were born."

"What happened to that girl?" Emily asked. "Was her name Mavis?"

"I'm not even sure, to be honest with you," Emily admitted. "I just know that she died in childbirth and they were most certainly not married."

"I just hope there wasn't any foul play involved in her death," Joyce sighed. "The poor girl. Why would Rodger do something like this? He was always such a nice boy at school. Yes, he was cheeky, but was never cruel."

"He's never gotten over Victoria," Emily told Joyce. "The truth is that Victoria absolutely despises him. I can't be so sure what happened between them, but if Victoria had it her way, she wouldn't have anything to do with him."

"How sad. And to think at school they were the most popular couple in the playground. Then after the prom, things went sour."

"Well, I don't suppose the cheating helped." She sat on one of the flower pots as Joyce sat on the bench. "I bet it was all over the girl he got pregnant. I don't know who it was though. Maybe my mum might know but we're really meant to be gossiping over humans. I mean, I'm only saying this cause you're my friend and I can trust you."

"I understand. King Fore didn't tell you off over last night did he?"

Emily shook her head. "I don't even think he knows."

"I still don't understand why Rodger would invent such a character and how did he get away with it?"

"Easily," Emily said. "Rodger was living with his disabled brother. He acted well, in fact so well he started to believe in his own lies as well as the others. Only his brother knew the truth, but who do think people were most likely to believe, a successful businessman or a man with learning disabilities with no idea how to fit in with society? Now Rodger has dementia, he now actually believes the lies that he crafted in the past."

"So, Dorothy was right the whole time," Joyce said. "I know Dorothy was never the brightest bulb, but we were so surprised when she got top grades in her O levels."

"She was always underestimated. There's a reason why Dorothy and Victoria stayed in contact."

"Now I feel bad for not staying in contact with them over the years," Joyce admitted, shaking her head.

"It's all right, you're here now and you can make up for lost time."

"Well, I'm not even sure if I want to help Rodger now."

Emily jumped out of the flower pot. "Help him with what?"

"Help him escape the home. I thought I could ask you guys to help me."

"Us?" Emily shook her head as if she was headbanging at a heavy metal concert. "There's no way King Fore would ever let us do that."

"I had this idea that maybe some of the fairies could pretend to be us whilst we went out to all these places."

"There's no way on earth that King Fore would ever let that happen. We would need permission from The Fairy Empress herself."

"Who's the current Fairy Empress then?"

"Empress Fee Ickersurfs, the leader of the Legend Party. King Fore hates her, but when they were younger, they used to go out. They had quite a lot of kids together. But apparently, they were cheating on each other with other fairies. Empress Fee and King Fore were planning a coalition, but when Fee was elected as the empress, she never did it."

"That's just typical of politicians," Joyce muttered. "Always promising fields of gold and never fulfilling the promises they said they would keep."

"That's how it's always been in the land of fairy politics and royalty," Emily said. "All fairies are related if you look further enough. Many of us share common ancestors. You'll find that lots of fairies that support the Cascade Party are direct descendants of Misty Cascade. King Fore is an exception, he's Iris Legend's 13 times great-grandson, and yet he's the leader of the Rainbow Party. Empress Fee and King Fore are actually cousins I think."

"Why would anyone want to marry their cousin?"

"Blood supremacy I guess," Emily guessed. "But I'm so glad the coalition never happened. It would have ruined the reputation of the Rainbow Party for good. Poor Serena would be turning in her grave if it ever took place."

"Why would it have been awful?"

"Because the founders had their own sets of views and beliefs. They tried to work together to make the world a better place. King Fore doesn't represent the ideals that Serena Rainbow held so near to her heart. I'm a member of the Rainbow Party, but I don't want King Fore as our Fairy Emperor. I can't have a leader that makes me and my people feel so much fear. The world is already a scary enough place as it is. When the election comes up, I may vote for Empress Fee, but she's not better than him. I might have to stick with voting for King Fore and hope for the best."

"You should vote for you want to vote for," Joyce advised her. "We have the general election every 5 years and I've always voted for Labour even though my husband voted for the Conservatives. We still got on."

"Who are you talking to?" asked the man strolling past with his strimmer. She took one look at the gardener and decided he was mad: wearing a silly hat with frills to his chin and skimpy shorts in winter.

"I was talking to Emily," Joyce responded. "She's a fairy." She saw no point in hiding their existence. "Do you live here?"

"Nah! I work here!"

She didn't believe him. All the staff had a special uniform and a work badge. Joyce had assumed that he was a resident, but then if he was a resident, why would he be carrying a strimmer around. Maybe he was a volunteer or just a man who never looked after his appearance.

"Oh David!" another man sighed in his dapper suit. "I do wish you would stop wearing your silly hats at work."

"I wish you'd stop wearing your cravats at work, Martin," David retaliated, pointing his fingers. "They're going to get dirty anyway."

Martin had his hand on his hips and spoke in a very sophisticated voice. "Unlike you, I take pride in my appearance."

David cackled. "Oh, come on, you're almost as arrogant as Mr Discord."

"Is that the manager?" Joyce asked. "He did seem to be a strange looking fellow."

"Is he talking about me or Mr Discord?"

"I think he's talking about you."

"Are you both gardeners?" Joyce asked them.

"We're the handymen."

"I'm handy," Martin said, walking over to David. "This one is about as handy as a wet fish."

"Oh, don't be so cruel."

The two men walked off to opposite patches of the grass and got back to work. It was going to take them all day: it was a massive garden after all.

"Those two make me laugh," Emily whispered, popping her head out of the flower pot. "They always dress in silly clothes that aren't fit for their job. They're nice people though."

"Those sandals them men were wearing don't look very suitable for their job."

"I guess it's the only thing they can fit their feet into," Emily laughed.

"So, is the manager of the home really that arrogant?"

"They're just having a laugh, but yeah, Gaston spends lots of time touching himself up in the mirror."

"That sounds wrong."

"I don't think he's all that special," Emily admitted, fluttering her wings. "He swings for both teams you see. Anything he can get his nimble fingers on."

"Which teams are they?" Joyce asked.

"Men and women."

"I wonder if he's married?"

"... No one in their right mind would marry him. Even if he was a bachelor, he's got so many kids that he can't keep with child support."

"Sounds like them blokes that turn up on The Jeremy Kyle Show but without the rotten teeth."

"Don't get me started on that show," Emily moaned. "My mother was a tooth fairy and she saw one episode of the show and was mortified by the state of their teeth."

"I bet she was. I would have thought Dorothy would be coming into the garden."

"She's upstairs doing a painting."

"I bet Rodger and Victoria are there as well."

"Maybe you should join them," Emily suggested. "I've got to go. They've got a big debate happening later."

"What's the debate about?"

"Can fairies co-exist with humans? I want to get my opinion heard."

"Who else is going to be there?"

"All the political party leaders."

"And they're also the fairy kings and queens?"

"That's right," Emily responded.

"Do you think I'll be allowed to watch?"

"Maybe..." Emily didn't sound very convinced. "King Fore won't like it, but maybe the other leaders might."

"So where is this meeting taking place?"

"In King Fore's shed!"

"That's an odd place to do it. Why a shed of all places?"

"King Fore reckons it's really private and no one will disturb us."

"But the handymen are doing the gardening today, they could open the door at any moment."

"Well, nothing is going to change King Fore's mind."

Joyce followed Emily into the shed. She noticed a flock of colourful fairies also jumping into the door leaving trails of glitter by their toes. She was uneasy with them all looking at her with their pixie little eyes as she sat down on a stool in the shed. King Fore rolled his eyes.

"Sorry Joyce, we're having an important debate, you're not allowed to be in it."

"Let her stay!" a golden fairy squealed. "She's a human, she's relevant to the discussion."

"Empress Fee, you really don't understand..."

"I understand perfectly!" Empress Fee rose above King Fore and buzzed off to the top of the room.

"Now let's get this meeting started," King Fore announced as he got onto his podium. "No time for messing about."

"No there isn't," Empress Fee said, plonking herself on a golden throne reserved for her. "Now be quiet." Empress Fee coughed and then smiled at the audience. "I would like to thank you all for coming today. We shall be debating about whether humans and fairies can co-exist with each other? You all my opinion, but the voices of you, my precious minions, are what I need, so we can improve the quality of life for all fairies."

"What about our jobs?" King Fore yelled. "You closing down the tooth industry made millions of fairies unemployed."

"The industry was dire," Empress Fee explained. "Fairies were working ridiculous hours for peanuts. Besides the teeth were a big source of infection. 10% of fairy deaths were linked to dirty teeth."

"That's low," King Fore said.

Empress Fee squinted at King Fore. "You seem to be missing the point. It should be zero. The fact of the matter is that humans are using too many chemicals in products nowadays. Whatever they are using in their mouthwash products can burn our skin. There are a lot of fairies allergic to toothpaste. Then there are people who just don't brush their teeth at all, leaving dangerous bacteria and acid erosion."

"Quit waffling on," King Fore mumbled. "Get to the point."

"The tooth industry has and will always be a shamble. The humans get money for it. What do we get in return? Nothing but a low wage, exhaustion and the risk of infection. If humans did clean their teeth properly then it wouldn't be a problem, but they don't. So, for the health and safety of my minions, I have banned the trade."

"Health and safety: MY ARSE!"

"King Fore!" Joyce pulled King Fore by his collar and dragged him towards her face. "You're not going to win the election talking like this!"

"She's a liar!" King Fore hissed. Joyce let him go. "I'd like to see where she gets all her facts from."

"From my mind," Empress Fee said.

"That's about as reliable as public transport."

"Get back to your podium!" Empress Fee clicked her fingers and King Fore did as he was told. Joyce could see why King Fore had never been able to win the fairy election. "Now I think we should all take turns to put our points across. Let's start with King Fiddle Scotch from the Cascade Party."

King Fiddle Scotch was a tall pixie wearing nothing but his wings and neon shorts. "As the fairy king of the Cascade Party, I take environmental issues very seriously."

"What a load of bollocks," King Fore roared.

"You can disagree me if you want," King Fiddle Scotch said with a smile on his face. "I know what I'm talking about. We've been living in peace in our homes for centuries. And at any time, we may be expected to leave or go elsewhere. The current president of the United States of America believes that global warming is not real. And yet so many believe in gods that do not exist."

"But what they might do," King Fore muttered.

"Until I've seen evidence of sighting of these gods then I shall remain an atheist. Back to my point, humans need to know of our existence. Their habits are destroying our homes. We need to tell them to stop littering and polluting our planet."

"The American president will be out within eight years," Empress Fee announced. "And there are lots of other countries aiming to reduce global warming soon. Humans will soon be extinct within the next couple of centuries if they carry on the way they are."

"You make it sound as if all humans are bad," King Fiddle said. "We have a human in the room now. There's a reason she can see us and yet so many cannot. There are good humans out there who are happy to help us: Joyce Patrick is one of them."

"How did you know my name?"

"I saw you come out of your room this morning. I've been observing you all since I've arrived here from Australia."

"What a long way..."

"Some very good points," Empress Fee said. "Next we'll have Queen Mocha Chocolate from the Balance Party."

Queen Mocha Chocolate looked so delicious she appeared to be edible. Her skirt was shaped like a cupcake and she was many shades of scrumptious bronze.

"We can't rely on humans to do everything for us," Queen Mocha said. "How can we? They don't know anything about us. We are more powerful than humans, we can help out if we can, but we shouldn't do too much for them. We need to work on our education system, so we can have proper jobs for our fairies. I'm sorry," she paused and looked over at Empress Fee. "Empress Fee, I don't like the way you call our fairies minions. I think it's degrading. We are all citizens and should be treated as equals. That's what my great ancestor May would have wanted."

"Which furthers my point to why humans should not k know about us," Empress Fee said. "Anyway, moving on. How about Queen Viola Latte from the Relic Party."

"She's from the right-winged party," Emily whispered to Joyce. "Empress Fee will agree with most of what she will say."

Queen Viola seated as she spoke, her white dress and caramel hair floated by her sides. "I am impressed by the strong will of our leaders and citizens, but we must remember that we are a fragile species. Iris Legend's protective charm will last for eternity, but there are so many poisons out there. Humans wouldn't understand how dangerous it is for us. We have to be so careful. They used to burn their own women for being witches. Their own people! Most of the people they burned were innocent people. They still do it to this day. Humans die every day to brutal killings and disease. They would never accept us. Even their own teeth are dangerous to touch."

"Oh, come on," King Fore roared again. "I've touched loads of teeth in my time and it never did me any harm."

"I understand that there are bad people out there," King Fiddle announced. "But there are good people as well. There are humans out there who fight every day to oppose the evils of human societies. Just how there are good fairies and bad fairies. When you think about it, we have a lot in common with humans."

"I like how you look at me when you say there are good and bad fairies," King Fore hissed. "Well anyway, nobody has actually answered the question properly. Can humans and fairies co-exist with each other? My answer is yes and no."

"You say that haven't answered the question," King Fiddle said. "But I said perfectly clearly that we can because we are so alike."

"None of you guys are making any sense," King Fore muttered.

"The only fairy that isn't making any sense is you," Empress Fee responded with a slick smile. "Well, I think that sums up our debate. Has anyone got any questions for fairy kings and queens? Ah yes, Emily."

"What can we do to protect ourselves from these poisons?"

"I'm going to create a charm," Empress Fee announced with her hands in the air. "It's going to be the greatest charm you'll ever see."

"What kind of charm?" Joyce asked.

"A charm to protect us from poisons," Empress Fee confirmed.

"That's fair enough," King Fore said, leaning onto his podium. "Iris Legend created a protective charm on fairies but the side effect was the extreme weakness to poison and steal. What will the new side effect be?"

"Ha! You dare to insult our great late empress!"

"I'm not insulting anybody," King Fore insisted with his hand on his hips. "Iris Legend and many of the kings and queens that succeeded her are quite frankly, very poor leaders."

"And now you insult the founder of your own party," Empress Fee said, twisting her finger around her curls. "Serena Rainbow was the one that succeeded Iris Legend after her first term in power."

"Serena Rainbow's legacy was smeared with lies. The very same lies that formed the good reputation of your party."

"You call yourselves left-wingers," King Fiddle sneered, rolling his eyes at King Fore. "Yet you voted against helping the victims of natural disasters. You also voted against healthcare rights for disabled fairies."

"I didn't do that!" King Fore said.

King Fiddle got out a copy of the Fairy Express from 1994. "In 1994, you said: Disabled fairies should be put down. If they can't fly, then they're nothing but a burden to our society."

"As if Fairy Express is real news. Anyway, you can't judge me based on a comment I wrote in the past."

"So you're admitting that you said it?"

"No," King Fore said, shaking his head. "I never said it. It's journalists writing frivolous fiction and calling it news so they can make money."

"So their glowing article about your heroic acts in 1999," King Fiddle mentioned, "I guess that's fake news as well?"

"That article was written by someone who knows what they're talking about."

Another fairy, holding three babies raised her hand. "Empress Fee, I'm a single mother of three. I don't feel that I have the support I need. The father hasn't supported me in over three years. What can I do?"

"I sympathise with you," Empress Fee said. "I am at the moment working on new legislation to improve the welfare and support system for single mothers and the disabled. Which is why you should all vote for me. Because I'm doing it for you."

"You scrapped many benefits in 2001!" King Fore reminded her.

"And I'm rewriting the system," Empress Fee said. "All fairies will get getting 50 gems a week from the moment that they're born."

"Only 50 gems?" a male fairy cried out. "The average pint at the pub costs 10 gems."

"You should learn to control your spending then," Empress Fee suggested. "It's time to get fairies back to work again."

"So if the charm to make us strong against poisons work," Emily asked, "does that mean that the tooth industry is no longer dangerous."

"The tooth industry is never coming back," Empress Fee announced. "Even if the charm does work, it's still not a good job in the long run. I will be creating new jobs in every sector so we can all restore our economy and stop stealing from humans."

"Can I ask a question?" Joyce said with her hand up.

Empress Fee nodded.

"How does the fairy gems compare to our own currency?"

"50 gems is equivalent to £25," Empress Fee said. "So 2 gems equals a quid."

"Doesn't sound like a lot of money to live on."

"It's not designed to be lived on," Empress Fee explained. "It's to ensure that no fairy ever falls below the poverty line. That's why it's illegal for a fairy to own more than one bank account." She looked up to the crowd. "Does anyone have any more questions?"

"How are we meant to make money?" Queen Mocha asked. "We used the human teeth collected to be converted into money."

"It will be all right in the end," Empress Fee said.

"You talk as if you've already won the election?" King Fiddle said.

The door swung open. The fairies pretended not to notice. "Joyce!" It was Siobhan, one of the young day carers. "What are doing in here? Your granddaughter is here to see you."

"My granddaughter? Which one?"

"Janine," Siobhan said, holding her hand.

"Janine? Are you sure that's what she said?" Joyce had a granddaughter called Whitney on Maxine's side, and Kelly and Haley on Cleo's side. "It's not someone else's granddaughter?"

"She asked for you."

Joyce waved at the fairies. "Well, thanks for letting me join in on your debate. I'll talk to you all later." She closed the door, and then followed Siobhan into one of the lounges. "Sorry about that, I was just talking to the fairies. They're having a general election to see which fairy king or queen is going to be the empress."

"Oh really?" Siobhan asked, but didn't appear convinced. A tall woman with bleached blonde hair smiled at Joyce. "I've found her for you."

"Thank you..."

Janine looked so familiar, like someone that she used to know. But she was a stranger as far as Joyce was concerned.

"Hello, Nan."

"Who are you?"

"I'm Janine: Maxine's daughter."

"I'm sorry," Joyce said. "I've forgotten who you are – stupid dementia!"

Janine held onto Joyce's hands. "It's okay, I'm just so happy to see you again. It's been such a long time since I've last met you."

"When was the last time we met?"

"When I was a kid." Janine had a sentimental smile. "It was at Christmas when you bought me a big box of chocolates. I did try to visit you in the hospital a lot of times, but you were asleep."

"Must have been those tablets they gave me: always putting me to sleep. Don't have them here anymore. Thank God. I'm really happy here, I've made some new friends and also been reunited with some old ones."

"That's fantastic," Janine said. "I'm so happy that you're settling in."

"And your name is..."

"Janine."

Joyce nodded. "That's right, you just said your name was Janine. Sorry, after that fall that nasty bump on my head's been playing up with my memory. I don't want your mum or your Uncle Cleo to worry about me. I'm fine, I'll get through it."

"Is there anything you want me to get for you?"

"No, I'm all right. But there's something I want to ask you."

"Ask me anything?"

"I want to know what happened to your brother, where is he? What happened to him? And what was his name? I can't remember..."

Janine took a deep breath and then clutched her arms around Joyce, causing her to jump from shock. "Jagchandra was his full name, but we all called him Jay. He had to have an operation, but he didn't make it. I'm...so sorry."

"I thought he might have been dead," Joyce admitted. "That was my worse fear. I just wondered why did nobody tell me? Should I have been there at the funeral? I want to go to his grave!"

"He doesn't have a grave."

"Oh, was he cremated then?"

Janine nodded. "His remains were scattered in the park that he used to play in."

"I think he would have liked that. And what are you up to at the moment?"

"I'm studying medicine and working at the moment."

"That's great, are you studying to be a doctor?"

"Dad always said he wanted me to be a doctor," Janine said. "So I'm doing it for him."

"That's fair enough," Joyce rolled her eyes and leaned closer. "But what do you want to do?"

"I don't know at the moment," Janine muttered honestly. "Once I've graduated, I've decided I'm going on a cruise around the world. I work night shifts in a club."

"What sort of club?"

Janine stuttered. "It's a very...unique club to say at least."

"Is it a strip club by any chance?" The dazed look on Janine's face explained everything. She patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Love, I don't hold it against you. Do you have to go them poles?" She watched Janine nod. "I considered taking pole-dancing lessons until I saw the look on your mum's face."

Janine placed her hands on her lap and shook her shoulders. "Okay, this is weird. It's not every day you talk about strip clubs with your gran."

"You should have seen what I found in the attic after your grandfather died. I was doing some spring cleaning and opened his box and goodness gracious me, you wouldn't believe what was in there. If I had known you were a call girl I could have passed them on to you. They'd come in handy for your clients. I suppose Cleo's chucked them out. Are you parents helping you financially?"

Janine shook her head. "They said I should raise it myself. I don't really like my job very much. Makes me feel really vulnerable, but I know I wouldn't get any better money elsewhere."

"That's a shame," Joyce said. "I hope you can find a job that you like one day. You really deserve it. Have you got a boyfriend?"

"No."

"I'm surprised," Joyce admitted. "Someone as young and as beautiful as you, only a fool would take no notice of you."

"It might be because...b-because...

"Because of what?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, people judge. They get petty over silly little things nowadays."

"Take no notice of them," Joyce advised. "The world is full of knob heads. I know I shouldn't say it, but it's true."

Janine laughed. "You're so funny, I can't believe it's been so long since I last saw you. I have to go through soon, have to get ready for work."

"You will come again, won't you?" Joyce asked.

"Of course I will."