Oishi's Copper Christmas

"Debbie... I am not the threat here. I don't give a jot about an accidentally broken teapot, that I have dozens of copies in storage. What I do care about is what happened... Between us, I don't want to ignore it."

Debbie turned, red-faced, "I don't either, Oishi, but I have to. I've worked hard to get where I am now. I can't risk that cow taking it from me. Once someone throws shit... Shit sticks... No matter how excellent your record, just the wrong word in the wrong ear at promotion time, and that's it... And she's the cow that would do it."

"But you weren't on duty... She doesn't know... What's it to her, anyway?"

"Don't you get it? You're married... To a prominent doctor, me, I'm a copper... I can't imagine what the local papers, community groups, or even the promotion board would say? Williams will use it to her advantage, stepping on me to get promotion."

"Now you're being hysterical. If discovered, you could explain, it will be okay. As you said earlier, this is the modern world, and the police aren't interested in your sexuality."

"No, you're married, full stop. The same happened to dad, dad was a good copper... Then he upset the wrong person, said the wrong thing... Then came the rumour, he was taking a bung... Local hoods were paying him off. He had to answer various internal inquiries... They found him innocent on all accounts. But that was it, career over, stuck in a dead-end beat until retirement."

Oishi could see the hurt and passion in her eyes. Debbie's career was as important to her as Oishi's businesses were to herself. She had to respect that and step back. After all, twenty hours ago, she didn't even know Debbie existed.

Debbie picked up the tray and carried it into the lounge, sniffing, trying not to cry. Oishi followed her into the lounge. She found Debbie sitting in a chair, with the tea tray placed on a small table, stationed symbolically between her and the empty chair opposite.

"I'm sorry Debbie. I don't want to hurt you. There will be no repercussions from me, no one will ever know."

Oishi sat down, poured the tea, then picked up her cup and sipped her tea, pretending nothing had happened.

"Thanks, Oishi. Please understand how important this is to me. The operation today hinges around on some information I gleaned eight months ago, fresh out of probation. A simple stop, and search, but I noticed and deciphered scribbles on some receipts in the lad's pocket. This gave us a key piece of information.

I've already dodged Williams' sabotaging my involvement. She knows that people higher up have noticed me and they're watching my performance."

Oishi shrank back into her chair, acknowledging that she had been the same earlier in her career. A sad, sickening thought crossed her mind, 'Maybe this little fish has to return to the sea, for someone else to catch'.

Oishi, wanting to keep the door of opportunity ajar, thumbed her phone, typed something on the screen and then handed it to Debbie. "Can we still be friends?"

Oishi held her breath as Debbie paused. She reached across to accept her phone and inspected the contacts, "Copper Teapot?" She giggled at the nickname Oishi had given her, "Yes, I'd love to remain friends, thanks."

Debbie typed her number into Oishi's phone and sent herself a trial text. She returned Oishi's phone back to her and then, as her phone rang; she pulled it out of her pocket and typed into it.

The two women smiled at each other, sat back in their chairs and pretended to enjoy their tea, despite an unwelcome barrier separating them.

Debbie's second work's phone buzzed, and she checked the screen...

"The car in Scotland was a doppelganger. They think the boss swapped his cap and coat with a driver and got out at some services south of the border. They're holding the driver for twenty-four hours and they hope that Mr Big is heading for a safe house up north. We are to continue our surveillance."

The phone buzzed again, and Debbie scrolled down, reading the message twice, before commenting.

"I'm to remain off duty and hand over to Williams. The cow must have pulled strings again."

Debbie's face looked like thunder as her personal phone rang. She checked it but paused a little before answering.

"Boss?"

"Yes, I read the message."

"But I'm on station now, sarge."

"You know she'll flunk it, boss... Remember Howard Street?"

"No, it's my bust boss..."

"Sorry, Sarge... Okay, I'll be nice."

"You think?"

"Okay, I'm sorry I whinged at you sarge."

"Yeah, I know, I'm sorry... Thanks, sarge, I appreciate the call, honestly, I do."

"You're the best, cheers boss."

Oishi leaned forward on the edge of her seat, as Debbie placed her personal phone down and picked up her police phone, typing furiously into it. Oishi realised this second call had additional information that changed Debbie's tone. Debbie flopped back into her seat giving an enormous sigh, looking at Oishi as if she had surrendered the crown jewels.

"That's one of dad's old mates. He's my sergeant at the station and acts as my guardian angel, out of respect for dad. He's a good copper... Someone higher up has insisted Williams is a part of this operation, however, he called me to put it into perspective. There is very little chance that he will return here and they will have him up north within the hour, so it's really a token gesture."

Oishi couldn't help but place her hand on Debbie's knee, to reassure her, relieved that her sergeant had her back and had calmed the poor girl. Oishi looked up at Debbie, realised she couldn't leave her hand on her knee, gave her a reassuring pat, and withdrew it, seeing Debbie smile, in a warm reply of thanks.

"I've just text Williams the news, although she probably knows already. I'm sure we'll hear the doorbell soon."

As soon as the two women sat waiting, they heard a muffled car door slam in the distance. Both raised eyebrows as they looked at each other, waiting... Oishi's phone buzzed first, and the doorbell to follow soon after.

The two rose and walked through to the hall. Oishi closed the lounge and kitchen doors, walking past Debbie, who had stepped to one side, allowing the homeowner to open the door.

"Good Afternoon officer Williams, we meet at last."

Officer Williams almost barged into the house to glare at Debbie. She wore an identical unisex uniform as Debbie but had a small rucksack with her.

"Debbie. I thought you were jogging?"

"I was Rachael, to my parents. My dad dropped me back here as soon as I knew of the change of plans. This is Mrs Oishi Singh."

Oishi closed the door behind her, already having taken a dislike to the officer.

"Officer Williams, could you please remove your shoes when inside my home?"

Officer Williams glared at Debbie, who raised her foot to show her socked feet and smiled back at her.

"I need to remain ready to apprehend any assailants. The shoes remain on."

"The arresting team is parked in Larkin close, and that is their job. Ours is surveillance, not arrest."

Oishi cut in, not wanting Debbie to lock horns with the troublemaker, "Officer, it is simple. Remove your shoes or remove yourself from my house. I can inform your superiors and Debbie can always continue here."

She re-opened the front door and stood back to confirm her resolve.

Officer Williams pouted like a spoiled child and kicked her shoes off, not bothering to untie the laces.

"If you follow me, I'll show you the setup and confirm the target." Debbie moved upstairs, with Officer Williams following.

Oishi closed the front door and tidied up the cups in the lounge, hearing the two officers talking upstairs. She hung in the hallway, not wanting Debbie to leave without them both saying goodbye. Soon enough, Debbie descended and looked happier than she had earlier. The Sergeant's phone call seemed to have made a difference.

"She's up there now and I've called in to confirm she has eyes on the target, so now she's responsible."

Debbie smiled, pausing, not wanting to leave, but no longer had an excuse to remain. She dropped and sat on the bottom step, as she slipped her shoes on and tied her laces.

"Well, that's it... I don't have to be back on duty until tomorrow evening, to work through until mid-January. Christmas and the New Year is always full-on, but maybe I'll see you patrolling around town?"

She looked up at Oishi and gave her a wry smile.

"Hopefully, we'll have no problems with any of your establishments, but I'll call in from time to time, just to be sure."

Debbie held her hand out to shake Oishi's hand. Oishi wanted a friendlier hug and a kiss but settled for holding Debbie's hand in both her hands, still feeling a twitch of excitement from Debbie.

Debbie leaned in to whisper, "You have my number if you have any probs with Witchy Williams."

Oishi smiled and nodded, wanting Debbie to lean closer, hoping for a goodbye kiss. Instead, Debbie pulled away and stepped through the door. Oishi held the door, watching Debbie tuck herself into her little car, seeing her trouser seat stretch across what she knew to be delightful peachy, tight buns, as she flumped into her car seat.

She watched Debbie make a quick phone call, start-up and pull out of her driveway, with a little wave of her hand. She watched until Debbie was out of sight, sighed and closed the door, wondering how she could fill the rest of her day to avoid feeling depressed about events.

Debbie headed for her flat, not just to change but also to pick up presents, then on to her parent's house. This would be the last opportunity for her to spend a Sunday lunch, masquerading as Christmas Dinner, with her parents until well into the New Year.

This was an easy last-minute arrangement for her, but her mum always made extra for her, forever hoping she had time with her odd shift patterns. In reality, Debbie would avoid Sunday lunches with her mother, but this was an exception, not only because of Christmas but also because she had something important to discuss with her dad.

Oishi found the perfect diversion and called her local taxi driver. Not wanting to leave Officer Williams alone, without warning her first. She made her way up to her bedroom to find the officer slouched in her chair, feet up on her bed, nibbling snacks, reading her phone, oblivious to anything outside the window.

"Ahem... I thought the reason for your presence was to conduct surveillance of the house opposite?"

Officer Williams glanced out of the window and tutted.

"No worries, the perp is still three hours away. Oh, now we are alone, I'd like to book a table at the 'Taste of India' on New Year's Eve, for eight people."

Her request incensed Oishi. First this woman storms into her house, then expects to discuss personal favours?

"I'm sorry, but all my restaurants are booked for the entire holiday period. I'm sure if you contact the 'Taste of India' they can confirm their next availability."

"I'm sure, but you keep availability for VIP guests on special occasions? I can use those."

"This isn't London or New York, we are fully booked."

"So you will leave VIP seats empty?"

"We don't have any empty tables."

"Is that the kind of businesses you run? Ignoring VIP's?"

"I am sure if you know any VIP's, then you can instruct them to contact my restaurants for their availability. In the meantime, I have to leave. If you leave whilst I am away, please ensure you close the door behind you. Thank you."

Oishi turned and walked away, to hear Officer Williams tutting behind her and talking under her breath. Oishi was fuming and now had experienced a little of what Debbie had spoken about of her colleague's temperament and lack of professionalism.

Outside, Oishi's taxi waited to take her to her storage lockup. Once there, they searched out Oishi's Christmas decoration boxes, each one labelled with their respective destinations. By the time they left, the taxi was crammed full of boxes, barely leaving room for Oishi and the driver.

One by one, they drove around Oishi's businesses, dropping off their individual boxes. With Sunday being quiet, the staff could quietly set up the Christmas decorations. Oishi had tried several ways to hang the decorations over the years but found letting the staff do it was more fun for them.

Her takeaways were easy, as they only need some strings of bunting, some snow spray and templates to create snowy scenes on the windows. At each one, Oishi left a small budget for the staff to add to the decorations, although she was sure some just used to add to their Christmas party drinks funds.

At her restaurants, things were more complicated, with more upmarket bunting displays, as well as trees, baubles, table displays and, of course, fairies for the trees. The budgets also got larger, but as they had managers, the money tended to be spent more wisely.

At the last restaurant, the pair stayed on and helped with the decorating. After a reasonable amount of help, they worked their way back to the previous restaurants, helping and tweaking any displays. Oishi enjoyed this time of year, despite the lack of downtime. Her employees seemed to enjoy it more, even feeding off customers' excitement for the season.

Oishi knew that this was just the first of many multiple visits she will make through the holiday season, ensuring they maintained standards and staff continued to perform. It was a good jump-start, with everyone feeling that the Christmas season was now underway.

Oishi stood back to admire the fourth tree they had helped decorate when she felt her phone buzzing in her pocket. When she checked the screen, she was surprised to see the caller I.D. show 'Copper Teapot'.

"Debbie? Hi."

"Hi, did you know they have called the surveillance off?"

"No."

"I got the confirmation a while back. They arrested Mr Big up north."

"Good, haha, so your guardian angel was right, so Officer Williams has gone?"

"Yes. I had to chase her up to confirm she'd left your house. She has left all the surveillance equipment at your house. As it is all signed out to me, I'll have to come and collect it. Is that okay?"

Oishi was pleased to have a chance to see Debbie again. Her mind raced to see how she could take advantage of the situation, knowing tomorrow was the last leave Debbie would have for weeks. Before she could suggest anything, Debbie beat her to it.

"Oishi, there's something I'd like to talk to you about. If you're not working, could I come to your house tonight?"

Oishi's heart leapt. She couldn't have hoped for better. "Yes... I mean no, I've just finished. Trevor can get me back home in the next ten minutes."

"Okay, I'm at my parents, so can be at yours in twenty."

Oishi was excited and surprised at this new turn of events. She made her excuses with the manager at the 'Taj Mahal' that she had to leave. Secretly, she could see that they were pleased to have their boss leave and leave them to finish their decorations. They had an ample budget to buy the new table decorations and still have some left over for their Christmas party fund.

As the Taxi returned Oishi to her house, her mind ran with possibilities of what Debbie would want to talk to her about. Surely not for her to sign a disclaimer or to elope to Gretna Green? Sarcasm aside, Oishi was excited, just to see her again and hopefully without her uniform or official shackles.

Once back home, Oishi ran upstairs to be sure Officer Williams had really gone. Her bedroom was thankfully empty, except for discarded crisp packets and two crumpled cans of drink. Crumbs and grubby fingerprints on the mirrored doors bore witness to the officer checking her cupboards.

Oishi quickly tidied up, hoovering up the crumbs and removing Officer William's detritus. Pulling the bay window's curtains closed, she moved the surveillance equipment off the window cill, placing it tidily onto Debbie's sports bag. She removed the bed's cover, replacing it with her usual duvet, returning her pillows to their positions.

Oishi surveyed the room to satisfy her that her bedroom was her own again, grinning as the thought crossed her mind, 'that it's ready to share with Debbie'. As she stored her hoover away, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She guessed she would hear her doorbell next, so casually stepped downstairs.

Oishi opened her front door to a different Debbie. Her slim figure was apparent beneath her tight fitting, black leather coat, as were her athletic legs, in black leggings, their shape helped by mild three-inch high heels.

"Oishi."

Debbie echoed Oishi's smile back at her.

"Debbie, come in."

Debbie stepped forward, brushing past Oishi. As she did, she ran a reassuring hand down Oishi's arm, pulling it free as she reached her wrist. Oishi shivered in pleasure. Was this to let her know the drawbridge was down and that barrier retracted?

Oishi liked the contrast of her long black leather coat against her white short hair. Debbie slipped her coat off to hang it up. Beneath her coat, she wore a thin, sparkly dark, loose hanging jumper, not dissimilar to Oishi's. Debbie pinched the material above her shoulder to lift the jumper, displaying the looseness of the material.

"We'll have to coordinate more to avoid future faux pas?"

Debbie smiled seductively as she slipped off her shoes to reveal her small, perfect feet and red toenails, causing Oishi to smile with glee.

"Tea?"

"Please."

The two friends walked into the kitchen. As they both shared making the tea, both avoided the elephant in the room, well not so much elephant, more their joint memories of the electricity and passion they shared earlier. Both women were nervous, wishing they could press rewind and go back a few hours.

"So, have you had a busy afternoon?" Oishi asked.

"No. The last Sunday I had free time before Christmas, seems to be the only Sunday my mother had arranged to visit friends and dine with them, typical!"

"So you've not eaten yet?"

"Except for sharing some biscuits and Christmas cake with dad, no."

Oishi's heart beat faster, hoping she could recover the situation and spend more time with her new friend. Whilst there was still an elephant inside the kitchen, the barrier Debbie had raised between them had gone. They both seemed to have an unspoken agreement not to talk about it just yet.

Oishi carried the tray into the lounge, setting it on the coffee table in front of the sofa, to encourage them both to sit together once more. Debbie sat alongside her and poured both cups, collecting hers, to sit back and watch Oishi mirror her actions.

"On the phone, you said there was something you wanted to talk to me about?"

Debbie nodded, taking a sip of her tea to consolidate herself, stealing a glance to see Oishi as nervous as she felt.

"Yes. As always, I sought my father's counsel."

"And?"

"As always, he came up trumps, like King Solomon."

Oishi leaned forward, onto the edge of her seat, not daring to hope.

"You're killing me. What was his verdict?"

"On the first account, I was right, not to get caught. I judged it right, and I walked away clean."

"But it hurt, and I'm left alone. Does that not mean anything to you? You can't deny you were an equal partner in all that happened. I'm no Mata Hari."

Debbie glanced down, a little ashamed, but raised her palm to pause Oishi.

"I know, I'm sorry and I regret it... It hurt us both, but I had to do it... However, if it helps, Dad came up with some wise words on the second account."

Oishi wasn't sure where this was going, but Debbie looked as if something positive was going to come out of this.

"What wise words would that be?"

"Well, the operation is successfully over, and you are no longer officially involved."

Oishi wasn't sure what this meant. Was the door of their friendship opening wider to the possibility of a relationship?