Bonded and Bred Ch. 13-14

Chapter Thirteen

"Hello," Iris smiled politely at the young woman who answered the door. The young woman who managed to look stressed and relieved all at the same time.

She was quite tall, certainly in relation to Iris, and very slender and almost sickly looking.

"James, oh James I am so glad that you could come over!" She cast a quick curious glance at Iris, before stepping back to let them both in.

"Leila, this is my new personal assistant - Iris... I thought that maybe she could be helpful to you... or at the very least I thought that I should introduce you to each other."

Leila, looked down at Iris solemnly for a moment, and then she smiled, and her whole face lit up. "Hello, please do forgive my being so rude, it's just that I have barely had any sleep and little Toby is just being so fretful..." her smile wavered again.

"Speaking of little Toby," James cut in. "Where is the little tyke?"

"He's sitting in the living room, and feeling very sorry for himself," she smiled but her eyes were clearly worried.

The moment that Iris laid eyes on Toby she knew exactly what his problem was.

"Chicken pox!" she declared without even thinking.

"Are you sure?" James asked.

Iris knelt down beside the little boy, and smiled at him, as she gently touched his hand.

"Hello sweetheart, would you mind if I just looked at your arm?"

He sniffled and looked at her through watery blue eyes. "Hello," he whispered through a dry throat.

He held his hand up as though to say yes, and she slowly and gently rolled up his sleeve, till it was just past his elbow.

"See these little spots," she said keeping her tone light.

The other two adults both knelt down to get a better look.

"They look like little blisters!" Leila exclaimed tearfully. "But he never had them when I bathed him last night.

"No, well they do tend to pop up quite quickly, and I 'm afraid that they will keep on popping up over the next few days."

"Oh dear, what should I do?"

Leila obviously doted on her young son, but it was also quite clear that she was not very good at coping with things.

"Have you got some squash - for him to drink?" Iris asked as she smiled again at the flushed young boy. "You really need to keep his fluids up, he probably will be off his food for a few days, so soups and easy little things for him to eat..." she stood up and the other two stood up with her."Is there a chemist - or a supermarket close by?"

Leila nodded, and flicked her hand towards the left. "Yes there is a small group of shops just at the end of this road - five minutes away, and one of them is a chemist."

"Great!" Iris put her bag more securely on her shoulder and smiled confidently at the two worried adults. "Why don't you make little Toby more comfortable on the sofa, and get him a drink, whilst I pop out... is he allergic to anything?" she asked as the thought came to her.

Leila shook her head. "No, he's always been such a healthy little boy - that was why I was so worried this morning." Her eyes filled with tears and she bit her lip to stop it from wobbling.

Iris smiled as she touched the other woman's arm in comfort. "He will be okay... it's just one of those childhood ailments that he will have to ride through - but he will get better again."

James walked her to the door. "Do you want me to come with you?" he asked as he opened the door.

"No," Iris shook her head. "You should stay with your sister - make her a cup of tea or something."

As Iris strode purposefully down the street she could not help smiling to herself a little. The two adults were surprisingly useless back there. Leila was still a relatively young mum, and she was obviously heavily reliant upon her own mother - who was unfortunately away right now.

But James, he always seemed to be so much in control - of himself and any potential situation. It was almost a novelty to see him at such a loss. Well it would have been, had it not been for the poor sick little boy.

Iris remembered when Laurie had contracted chicken pox. She had been a self-conscious teenager at the time, and had felt very sorry for herself. It was Iris who had been the one to take care of her, since she had endured the ailment when she had been very young. It was an ailment that was worse for the shifters as well, since they were a fairly robust species and so illness - of any kind, was difficult for them to endure.

She remembered it as if it had been yesterday, as she had played nurse to her younger sister.

She found the chemist easily enough, and the pharmacist was very sympathetic and helpful, with lotions and painkillers and a small list of suggestions of foods and drinks for the little boy.

Iris thanked her nicely and then walked across to the small general shop, where she purchased the items on the list.

"I spoke to the pharmacist," Iris told Leila calmly, as she held out the piece of paper. "And she very kindly made some notes for us, how to make little Toby feel more comfortable through these early stages of the illness. She made some suggestions on food and drinks, as well and so I thought that while I was out I might as well purchase them from the shop next door..."

"Thank you, thank you so very much!" Leila whispered tearfully. "I have to confess that it never occurred to me to ask the pharmacy for some advice."

"And of course your local doctor may be helpful as well, if you have any concerns."

She looked across at James, and whilst Leila knelt down to her little boy to offer him a drink, Iris nodded to James to indicate he should join her outside.

"Look," she said as soon as he stepped into his sister's kitchen. "Your sister needs you right now, she needs your support... but we can't both be absent from the office, not for too long."

His eyes widened almost in panic. "You're leaving us?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "There is nothing more that I can do here, other than to get underfoot or worse undermine your sister."

He ran his fingers through his hair, and then sighed. "I suppose that you are right, but I really don't know what more I can do for her either."

Iris smiled sympathetically. "Just be here for her, for company... or to keep an eye on little Toby while she takes a nap maybe... make her cup of tea or coffee - a sandwich perhaps, or cook some dinner for the two of you?"

She was reeling ideas off as they came to her, and James suddenly held out his hands.

"Okay, okay I get the message," he said and his tone was one of resigned irritation.

"Good," Iris smiled again and nodded. "I will try and postpone anything until later in the week, and I will text or ring you from time to time to keep you updated with everything... if your phone is working?" she added as she remembered her phone call with Leila earlier that morning.

"Yes, do that; and of course its..." he took his phone out of his pocket and then swore softly. "I forgot to charge it!"

Iris could not stop the little chuckle as she dug into her bag.

"Here this is my spare charger, it should be compatible with your phone."

He gave a frustrated little sigh as he turned to the plug socket behind the kettle, and Iris moved back to the living room, and stood in the doorway.

"I have to get back to the office now, Leila... but James - Mr Atherton; will be able to stay with you and little Toby."

Leila had been kneeling by the sofa and stroking her little boy's hair as he drifted into a light sleep.

She stood up and walked across to Iris with a slightly forced smile. "Thank you again for your help."

"Don't worry about it; honestly, I am just so glad that I could help at all."

She stood talking with her for a moment longer, but then little Toby started to whimper, and Leila's attention was diverted again.

"Goodbye, Leila... I hope to meet you again some time."

James was still standing in the kitchen, and he walked with her to the front door, and then out to the garden.

"You have my thanks too," he said as he stood outside with her.

Iris smiled up at him. "I remember when Laurie contracted chicken pox... she was fourteen and she had a really miserable time of it."

"And of course you were the one to nurse her through it," James guessed.

Iris nodded. "Yes, of course I wanted to take care of my little sister... just like you want to take care of your little sister."

James sighed, and his expression turned more serious. "Believe me when I say that this is a first... her mum and my dad, have always been the ones to rush to her side."

He made it sound like it was a regular occurrence, and as Iris thought of the young woman inside, she guessed that it probably was a regular thing.

"Well everything should be okay now, Leila knows what's wrong with little Toby and she knows what she needs to do for him, now she just needs a little company I think."

She reached up suddenly and kissed him on the cheek. "But don't forget that if either of you have any concerns or doubts, then ring Leila's local doctor."

"Or you," he asked hopefully.

Iris shook her head. "I have done everything that I can; I don't think I can be of any more help to Leila or little Toby."

"No, but you can help me just by listening and talking to me on occasion. You ground me so well, Iris."

**

It took her little while to get back to the office, and the phone was already ringing, when Iris put her key in the door to unlock it, and so she rushed in and snatched up the telephone before it could cut to the answering service.

"Atherton Architecture," she said hiding her slight breathlessness and putting on her best official tone. "No I am sorry, but Mr Atherton is unavailable, he is out of the office today and will not be returning until... tomorrow now I would think."

She leaned across her desk to pick up her pen, and notebook and began to scribble.

"Yes, Mr Johnson I shall make sure that he gets the message, and contacts you as soon as possible..." she reassured the man on the other end of the phone.

She listened for a moment longer, before saying goodbye to the man, and then put the receiver back down.

Iris sat scribbling for a moment longer, and then with a little sigh, she switched on her computer, and logged on.

She had not had a drink since this morning, and her throat was feeling very dry, and so before settling down to do some work, and before the phone could ring again, she nipped off to the little kitchenette, where she made herself a coffee, listening out for the telephone as she did so.

She carried her drink back to her desk, and sat doing some work. She had drained her cup, and was thinking of making a second drink when the phone rang again.

"Good afternoon, Atherton's Architecture, how can I help you?"

It was a potential new client, wanting to talk about building a new home for a small but growing family.

Iris was busy making notes and asking questions, when her mobile pinged at her, and the intercom buzzed, just a second later.

"I can book you in to see Mr Atherton on Friday at two thirty?"

The intercom buzzed again.

She scribbled it quickly on a notepad, and said a polite goodbye before getting up and walking across to the intercom even as it buzzed for the third time, sounding impatient as the person kept their finger on the button down at the front door.

"Yes, hello, what can I do for you?" Iris snapped irritably.

"Let me in, niece of mine... there's a good girl."

The raspy female voice was instantly familiar to Iris. "Aunt Trudy!"

She smiled as she pressed the button to open the door downstairs.

"Push the door, Aunt Trudy, and I'll be right down to meet you."

Aunt Trudy was in her late forties, and as she came bounding up the stairs to meet her niece, Iris grinned.

At just over five feet in height, Trudy was a small bundle of barely suppressed energy. Her fair hair had a tendency to frizz and stick out at all sorts of odd angles, and her blue eyes had a slightly manic glaze to them most of the time.

But behind that batty, eccentric image was one of the shrewdest minds that Iris had ever met, and it was that shrewd mind that had made Aunt Trudy's company a successful business and her, an incredibly wealthy woman.

"Come on up, Aunt Trudy; how lovely to see you!"

Iris led her aunt into her office and closed the door behind them.

"Is everything okay?" she asked as soon as she felt confident that no one would over hear them.

"Yes, my dear, of course," Aunt Trudy dragged the spare chair across to Iris's desk and then dropped into it with about as much finesse as a sack of potatoes.

"What can I do for you then?"

Trudy looked pained. "Can't I just visit my niece without an ulterior motive?"

Iris was prevented from answering by the telephone ringing.

"Good afternoon, Atherton Architects, can I help you?"

"Good afternoon to you too, how are things going over there?"

James' smooth voice, just oozed down the line, giving Iris a warm shiver in response; something which her aunt was quick to notice.

"Good afternoon J... Mr Atherton; everything is okay... I have a couple of messages for you..." she picked up her notebook, and read through the messages, whilst he listened."

"Okay, a potential new client... can you set up a folder for him, please... I will give Mr Johnson a call right away, and see what he wants, this time," James murmured thoughtfully. He was silent for a moment, and Iris got the impression that he was writing something down. "Right I've got all that, I will leave you to get on, but make sure that you do not stay beyond five o'clock today," he said suddenly, and his voice rang with authority.

"Very well, Mr Atherton," she said meekly, as her inner wolf automatically bowed down to his superior strength. "How is little Toby doing, by the way?" she asked before he could hang up.

He laughed sympathetically. "He is starting to resemble a join the dots picture, but he seems to be a little bit happier in his self... and that is helping Leila to relax a little bit more as well."

"It's tough," Iris sympathised softly. "When the child is obviously not well, but you don't know what's wrong with them."

"You knew," James pointed out. "You took one look at little Toby and you knew exactly what was wrong with him... and what to do to help him, as well."

"Yes, well, that was more about timing I think. Five minutes earlier and I would probably have seen what Leila saw. A slightly feverish little boy with a bit of a runny nose... it just happened to be the case that his spots were beginning to show, when I first saw him; and I thought immediately of when Laurie had been sick."

"You were marvellous," he murmured warmly down the line, and colour rushed into her face, and brought a bright glitter to her vibrant eyes.

Iris was vaguely aware of her aunt leaning over the desk and watching her with open fascination, and she scowled at her relative, even as she continued her conversation with James.

"Well, I had better not tie up the phone line any longer," James said suddenly, and she knew that he was about to end the call.

"Send Leila my regards," she cut in quickly.

"I will, Iris, and thank you again for all of your help today - I don't know what we would have done without you."

"I'll see tomorrow then?"

She put the phone down reluctantly after his cheerful, "See you tomorrow!"

Iris turned to her aunt who was grinning at her broadly and scowled again.

"Now what can I do for you, Aunt Trudy?" she snapped impatiently.

Her aunt looked positively hurt, and Iris felt a rush of guilt.

"I'm sorry," she sighed. "It's been a difficult day, but that is no reason to take it out on you."

"No, it isn't," her aunt agreed, but she grinned widely. "But I won't be upset at a couple of cross words from you, Iris... I have known you far too long, and taken much worse, from you in the past."

Iris blushed guiltily, as she acknowledged the truth of that. After the death of her mother; Aunt Trudy had come to help care for the grieving daughters. Laurie had been young and mostly needful of affection; but Iris, who had been old enough to understand what had happened, had been nothing short of a brat, as the anger and pain had merged in her and she had needed to vent, usually on Aunt Trudy.

"Can I get you a cup of coffee or something," she offered as way of an apology - for past and present misdeeds.

Her aunt sighed, and her blue eyes softened with affection.

"You look like you have got your hands full enough here, and really it was your boss who I had hoped to talk to..."

"James!" Iris cut in, in surprise. "What do you want with James?"

"Nothing for you to worry about child, I merely wanted to talk with an architect about the specs for a new building that I am planning."

"Oh."

Aunt Trudy stood up. "As I said I had hoped to speak to your employer - Mr Atherton, but since he is obviously not here..."

Iris pulled her diary to her and opened it.

"I can make an appointment for you to see him... when is good for you?"

"Have you got any time on Friday?" Trudy asked as she leaned over to look at the spaces in Iris's diary.

"I can fit you in just after lunch?"

"Perfect."

Trudy watched as Iris wrote her name neatly in the diary, and then smiled cheerfully.

"Are you going home this weekend?" she asked.

Iris shook her head. "No, Laurie wants to stay in London this weekend, so I thought that I would too, just in case she wants to meet up or something."

"Oh, well maybe I will pop over to see your father then... I could do with letting loose for a while, and that is not easy when you are in the middle of a major city like London."

"But it's not even a full moon!" Iris exclaimed in shock.

Trudy chuckled. "I have never been one to bow down to a schedule... especially to something that doesn't even have a soul."

"Is that how you resist the influence of the moon?"

Trudy shrugged. "Our ancestors suggested that the full moon would create a sort of tunnel of communication to our past, but in truth I think it was just something for our people to focus their energy on, so that we would not lose hope after their demise. I think that it doesn't much matter when you make the change, just so long as you do it once in a while... or at least that is how it has always been for me."

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Chapter Fourteen

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The afternoon flew by, and even though she had promised James that she would finish work on time, she loitered for another hour after the telephone had gone to the answering service.

She filled this time with making up a few new client files; a folder with a strip for the client name. Then there was the first sheet, for details of the client.

The second sheet was for a summary for the building required, whether it would be residential or commercial, whether it would be single storey or would it have second or more floors.

The third sheet was for time frame, budget for the project and potential materials required.

And the final sheet was for whether James would continue with the project or hand it over to the client direct, or a building firm. Behind all of this was a large section where print offs for designs and blueprints could be placed for the client to see a hard copy when needed.

Iris kept two of the folders out, where she neatly wrote the names for the two meetings on the Friday.

She put a sheet in the front of each folder, with the appointment time and date, and a brief summary of the information which had been given to her in each case.

She placed these on James's desk and then she wondered around the office with a dust cloth and some polish.

She was mulling over her aunt's comments.

Iris and Laurie had always fought the change for as long as they could, but they had known that at some point they would have to endure it, and so had succumbed to it just before it was forced on them - or so they had thought.