Brigit Pt. 04: Christmas Debt

"We have." I said. "We can fund the hall and any publicity needed."

We did. We hired a function room in a public-house close to most of the worst estates in our town. The three of us designed some leaflets to call a public meeting about debt problems and distributed them around the estates. It wasn't such an eye-opener for me. I knew what the estates were like. Deirdre hadn't been in such places before. As estates go they weren't too bad.

There was some graffiti but most had been erased. There were some abandoned cars and heaps of rubbish in obscure corners. A few phone calls from me, specifying what was where and what needed doing - and it was done. After a week of leaflet delivering there was already an impact on the estates' appearance.

Don't think that Deirdre and I are miracle workers. We aren't. It was just that those living on the estates had become accustomed to the mess and didn't think that anything could be done. The council was willing to help when they were told. A few people followed our lead and made some tentative phone calls. They were surprised by the council's prompt response.

Apart from the leaflets, I had been researching the problems of debt counselling. As I thought, it was far more complex than a layman would appreciate. The Citizens Advice Bureau had the expertise and the manpower in volunteers but were short of money to pay telephone bills, to write letters, to go with a debtor to meet the creditors and certainly no money to pay off debts. Setting up another organisation to duplicate what they were doing seemed unnecessary. What was needed was more resources for the Citizens Advice Bureau. I set about getting some.

Several organisations in the town were willing to fund projects that they could get publicity for, such as a new garden, a playground or a sports facility. They weren't so forthcoming to fund a debt-counselling service because there would be no publicity for them.

Deirdre and I got around that. We persuaded the council to let us have the use of a room or two on each of three estates. We fitted the rooms with office equipment and telephones sponsored by local companies in exchange for their names being displayed on plaques on the wall of the waiting room. For each of those plaques we got a few hundred pounds a year towards the running costs.

Within three months and a week before the meeting we had the basics of three new offices for the Citizens Advice Bureau. All we needed were the customers.

Bronwen was worried about the meeting. She was worried that few people would come; that too many people would come; that the wrong people would come; that no one would come; that she would have to address the meeting - her worries were mounting. Deirdre and I kept calming her down. I would run the meeting. It didn't matter how many or how few came. Any would be a start.

I planned the meeting as I would for a management seminar. If enough people came I would break the meeting up into three or more groups and each group would identify the problems of debt and possible solutions. The groups would come back to a plenary session and agree first the problems in order of importance and then how effective they thought the solutions might be.

The materials for the meeting were easily sourced. I borrowed some flipchart stands and was given flip charts and marker pens. I had a microphone and speakers but I hoped that we wouldn't have to use them because they could deter some participants.

+++

One of Deirdre's friends was baby-sitting for us that evening. Deirdre had joined a baby-sitting circle. Several evenings a month I was alone in our house with a sleeping daughter while Deirdre was in another woman's house looking after their children.

I was surprised that about forty women turned up. I was disappointed that none of them seemed to be as desperate as Bronwen/Brigit had been when I first met her. I was slightly nervous that I was the only man present. However Bronwen had been at work assuring potential attendees that I was worth listening to. I didn't have to do much except introduce the speakers. Bronwen and Deirdre supported my efforts.

Bronwen had decided that there shouldn't be any of the 'authorities' because it might inhibit the women. We had representatives from Freegle/Freecycle; Citizens' Advice; the local Credit Union; the Women's Refuge and a local agent from a PayDay loan company. Each of them led a group discussion before they reported back to the plenary session.

The PayDay loan woman was the surprise star of the evening. She explained their business model and that they expected a default rate of about 40%. The customers who did repay on time had to subsidise those who never repaid. But customers who used the pay day loans sensibly could build a credit rating and move on to more reasonable lenders. The PayDay loan company was a subsidiary of a larger bank. Good customers would be recommended to a different service with lower interest rates. The company had been set up as an alternative to illegal, criminal loan sharks who would charge much higher interest rates and would use violence or threats of violence to get repayments.

She explained how pay day loans should be used and more importantly when they shouldn't.

The conclusions were that the group should set up subcommittees to progress or investigate possible solutions to the problems caused by Christmas overspending. The majority opinion was that the men in the women's lives were the biggest obstacle to financial prudence. One group, led by the woman from the Women's Refuge, would discuss ways to change the men's behaviour.

At the end of the meeting Bronwen and Deirdre hugged me. They were happy that some action was possible. I wasn't as optimistic as they were. I still thought that the people who really needed help hadn't been there. Bronwen agreed but told me that those who had come would be able to influence the more desperate women if things started to happen.

Issues not mentioned, the elephants in the room, were gangs, drug dependency and drug dealing. They had been omitted at Bronwen's insistence because they could be issues that the attendees couldn't tackle without significant intervention by the Police. The women weren't ready to confront the drug dealers and the gangs they ran. However they had made a start on considering the impact of domestic violence and how to break the cycle.

As we left the hall Bronwen grabbed me and pulled me into a long kiss. She had obviously arranged it with Deirdre who was watching us with an amused smile.

When the kiss ended I asked:

"Why, Bronwen?"

"Because..." Bronwen paused. "For being you, Raymond. For helping me and asking nothing in return. I was frightened of you. Now? I love you. Not like Deirdre loves you, but as my friend who is there whenever I need you. Tonight is not the start of helping the community. So much has happened already. But it is the beginning of renewed hope for many of us. There's a long way to go. Next Christmas will be better but we need years of work to solve some of the problems. But you, and Deirdre, will be there for us."

Bronwen hugged me. Deirdre hugged me too. I hugged both of them.

We went home to relieve the baby-sitter who had spent the evening knitting as our Biddie slept.

+++

In bed that night I worshipped Brigit with my tongue between Deirdre's legs. After a long session of arousing Deirdre she flipped me over and rode me, her breasts swinging as she pounded up and down on my erection.

We slept better that night than we had done for months. Deirdre still was pressed against my back early next morning when we were woken by Biddie moving around in her bedroom. Three-year-old Biddie can go from waking up to full-on activity in minutes, unlike her parents. If we didn't start moving and give her breakfast? She'd be jumping on our bed and us very soon.

+++

Two months later the Goddess Brigit joined us for breakfast. Biddie accepts her as 'Godmother Brigit'. When our Brigit/Biddie was christened we had asked the Goddess Brigit to be a godmother. What the vicar would have thought if he knew that we had chosen a pagan Goddess as a Godmother? We didn't tell him even though he was startled that we had chosen such a stunning and apparently young woman for the role.

Deirdre took Biddie to nursery school leaving me with the Goddess.

"Raymond, I think you and Deirdre need to reassess your priorities," Brigit said. "Your business is suffering and both of you are frequently tired. I appreciate what both of you are doing to help Bronwen and the community but you two are trying to do too much. You need help."

"Help?" I queried.

"Yes, Raymond. Help with my goddaughter. Deirdre is still trying to work but she hasn't got enough time. You are trying to help her and Bronwen and neglecting your business which pays for almost everything. You need someone to help you with Biddie. The normal solution would be an au pair but you could get someone local. Talk to Bronwen."

"Bronwen?"

"Yes. Bronwen/Brigit. She knows people who are registered childminders but aren't paid enough to live on. You could afford someone who could take Biddie to and from nursery school and help with her during the rest of the day."

"And that would give us more time to help the community's women?"

I knew that the Goddess Brigit's priorities weren't always the same as mine.

"Yes, Raymond. It's June. Christmas might seem a long way off but so many women are struggling with debt from last Christmas. Some will still be in financial trouble in December. We've made a start but the problem is huge. The women can only do so much to help themselves. You and Deirdre have contacts that can do more but you've had no time to even see what might be possible. Talk to Deirdre when she gets back. She won't like the idea at first. That's why I waited until I could talk to you."

Goddess Brigit left before Deirdre got back. Deirdre understands the Goddess well enough to know that her breakfast visit had a purpose.

When Deirdre returned she wanted to know what the Goddess had talked to me about. That led to one of our very infrequent rows. Deirdre was seriously annoyed at the suggestion that we weren't coping with Biddie and our work. She was even more angry because she knew it was true. Deirdre was still angry even after I had collected Biddie. Tomorrow I will be back at work full-time and Deirdre will have to do the nursery run on her own.

By the evening Deirdre had decided that I wasn't to blame. She thought Brigit the Goddess was being unreasonable, expecting us to do so much when we had already achieved significant progress.

The new Citizens' Advice Bureau offices were acting as agents for the Credit Union. The idea of a financial Christmas Club had been dropped early on because so many women had experience of former Clubs failing. It was usually financial incompetence rather than fraud but some treasurers had absconded with the hard won savings. The women who used the Credit Union were beginning to see some help to get out of persistent debt. Although they could get loans, the Citizens' Advice staff tried to make sure that the loan was for a reasonable purpose.

The Freegle initiative was working well. Many had been surprised that so many consumer durables were offered. Most items came from more affluent homes who wanted the latest technology and replaced furniture that was only slightly worn. Before Freegle the only way most of the estate's women could get modern furniture was from stores that offered very costly hire purchase to those with poor credit records. A five hundred pound three piece suite could end up costing one thousand five hundred pounds. Yet for cash or a credit card the same furniture could be bought for three hundred pounds. If it came from Freegle? It cost nothing.

Outgrown cots and children's beds began to be Freegled on the estate, as did children's clothing and school uniform. There had been school uniform trading through the schools but the prices were still high with the funds going to the school.

By bedtime Deirdre had forgiven me, but not the Goddess. We were still too tired to make love. We knew that the routine would resume in the morning. Our enthusiasm for work and getting Biddie to and from nursery school was missing.

+++

By the evening of the next day when Biddie was asleep, tired out by an exciting day at nursery school, we were tired too. We were eating our evening meal when Deirdre suddenly stopped eating.

"Blast!" she said.

I looked at her. What had produced that?

"The Goddess is right. I'm tired. You're tired. We aren't as effective as we should be with our work, and we're neglecting Biddie. Or rather, we're not neglecting her. We're neglecting everything else. The Goddess wants us to do more for the women and we haven't got the energy. OK. I know her priorities aren't the same as ours, but the women need us to do what we can do that they can't."

"You're sure?" I asked diffidently.

"Yes, blast her. She's right. Tomorrow I'll contact Bronwen as the Goddess suggested. We'll take it from there."

Deirdre had decided. She started eating again. I could sense she was happier now that she had admitted we weren't coping.

In bed that night we managed a few kisses and cuddles before we went to sleep wrapped around each other.

+++

When I returned from work the next evening I was surprised to find a young woman playing on the kitchen floor with Biddie.

"This is Anna," Deirdre said.

"Hello Anna," I said.

"Hello Mr Johnson," Anna replied.

"He's not Mr Johnson," Biddie added. "He's Daddy."

"Or Raymond," Deirdre added.

"Hello Daddy Raymond," Anna said.

That caused Biddie to giggle.

"We'll explain later," Deirdre finished as she handed me a cup of tea.

Later was after she and Anna had put Biddie to bed with a bedtime story from both of them.

+++

The three of us sat down in the living room. Deirdre looked at me. I know that look. It means 'how will you take this?'. I raised an eyebrow. Deirdre grinned at me. That was a hint. It wouldn't be an unpleasant surprise.

"Anna is staying with us for a few days, Raymond," Deidre started to say.

"Only if it is OK with you," Anna interrupted quickly.

"Of course it is, isn't it Raymond?" Deirdre said.

"Yes. Why not?" I said.

"There could be a 'why not'..." Anna said.

Deirdre held a finger to her lips as a hint to Anna to let Deirdre do the talking.

"Anna is a qualified nursery teacher. She has lost her job recently through no fault of her own, but the reason makes it difficult for her to work at any local nursery school. Her former boyfriend Justin has been harassing her at work and everywhere she goes. He has been so persistent that he has been worrying the parents of the nursery school children. Anna has asked for an injunction against him to stop him contacting her or coming to her place of work. He has been ignoring the bail conditions that the injunction would reinforce and getting other members of his family to pursue Anna as well.

She needed somewhere away from the estate, somewhere that Justin doesn't know. Bronwen asked me to take Anna immediately. It's a trial for her to see whether she can avoid Justin. It's a trial for us to see if Anna gets on with Biddie and whether she can help us sort out our work and family priorities. So she's with us for at least a week. During that time we hope the police and probation team can get Justin re-arrested for breach of the bail conditions."

"OK, Deirdre. It sounds a good deal for us and Anna."

I could feel the relief in both of them.

"But..."

They tensed up again.

"...I think it might help if I asked questions about what is happening with Justin."

"Do you think that is wise?" Deirdre asked. "It might link our house with Anna."

"I can do it in confidence."

Neither of them were sure but content that I had accepted Anna as a temporary house guest. Anna looked tired, so tired her eyes were almost black. There were marks on her face that looked like old bruises. She sometimes winced as she moved so I suspected bruises under her clothes. After the evening meal Deirdre suggested that Anna could go to bed early. Anna didn't object.

As we were washing up in the kitchen Deirdre explained more about Anna.

"She had been living in a small apartment above a shop when she met Justin. He seemed pleasant and courteous during their dates. But once he had moved in with her he gradually changed to controlling and abusive behaviour. He started drug-dealing from Anna's home and beat her up when she objected. He regarded Anna as his possession and no one else should have her.

Anna's mother is one of Bronwen's friends. They discussed Anna's problems with Justin and decided to act. Between them they virtually kidnapped Anna a few weeks ago while Justin was in a police cell overnight. He had been arrested for drunken assault at a night club. One of Anna's former boyfriends, Darren, had been there. Justin thought Darren wanted to take Anna back and challenged him. Darren and Anna had split up amicably because their interests didn't match. Darren is a keen motorcyclist racer, competing at a county and regional level. Anna doesn't like motorcycles at all.

Justin had made a basic error, apart from assuming that Darren was a current rival. He challenged Darren while Darren's friends were celebrating a 21st birthday. Justin didn't get closer to Darren than shouting distance before the group pushed him out of the night club with assistance from the door staff. Justin's other mistakes were punching a doorman in clear view of the CCTV, and assaulting police officers during arrest."

"That is more than a basic error," I said.

"But it gave an opportunity for Bronwen and Anna's mother to get Anna away. Anna wouldn't give evidence against Justin. She was afraid of what he, and more importantly his extended family, might do to her. She couldn't go home to Mum. Justin knew that address. So Anna was taken to Bronwen's apartment for a couple of nights.

Anna couldn't live in her apartment. Justin had spare keys.

Anna's mother paid for a local man and van to remove all of Anna and Justin's stuff. Anna's mother had Justin's stuff packed and put in a local storage depot, paying for a month's storage in Justin's name. The man and van delivered the storage contract and key to the police station to be given to Justin on release. Except for basic items Anna's possessions were taken back to her mother's house.

The three of them cleaned and tidied the apartment. Anna's mother and Bronwen took extensive pictures of the apartment to show the condition they had left it in. The three women went to the letting agent and returned the keys. Anna's mother paid the rent for the notice period. Anna told the agent that it was essential that the locks should be changed because Justin would come there and had spare keys. She also wrote that on both copies of the lease termination agreement.

But as soon as he was released from a police cell Justin turned up at the Nursery School where Anna works. He tried to kick his way through the door, frightening the staff and children.

He was arrested for that but bailed. Two days later he was back at the Nursery School. This time he came with a sledge hammer. He was inside the building before the police arrived. The staff had to evacuate the toddlers outside, in the pouring rain. Justin was arrested - again - bailed again and returned to the Nursery School the following week. He was arrested but the management told Anna, who was on probation in a new post, that they couldn't continue to employ her because her presence was a risk they couldn't accept. More importantly the children's parents were threatening to take their children elsewhere because of Justin. Three days ago it got worse. Anna had been to the Job Centre to register as unemployed. She is unemployable by any local nursery school because of Justin. She was seen by one of Justin's cousins she doesn't know. That cousin followed her all the way to Bronwen's apartment. The next time Anna went out to go shopping Justin was waiting for her. He started beating her up in the street outside the local supermarket. The supermarket security staff pulled Justin off her and held him down until the police arrived. Anna needed hospital treatment. She has three broken ribs. This time Anna was persuaded to make a formal complaint against Justin. A pro-bono lawyer is applying for an injunction against Justin to add to the bail conditions he has broken repeatedly.