I was walking with Liam this morning when he spotted a tiny ginger kitten darting behind the bushes, but Mrs. Nancy Harper called the kids together for a round of DuckDuckGoose, so the little furball never got any closer.
The kitten was orange, just like Liam even the whiskers seemed the same colour, though you cant really tell if whiskers have a tint. Liams own whiskers were a bright ginger, too.
His mum used to say the sunshine had given him a kiss. Shed kiss him goodnight, and then she died. Since then nobodys bothered to kiss him. Dads always busy, and for some reason Grandma Margaret never seems to like Liam much.
If the sunshine really did kiss him, does that make him a little son of the sun? I wonder if the ginger kitten got a sunshine kiss too. Do kittens even have whiskers that could be called eyelashes? All these thoughts buzzed around Liams head during naptime.
Finch, why arent you asleep? Mrs. Harper tugged the blanket up for him. Close your eyes, love. He shut his lids obediently but just couldnt drift off. He lay there listening to Mrs. Harper in the staff room, mumbling to someone:
So how long is this going to go on? One assistant for two groups with the number of children we have its absurd. Who would take a wage like that?
Oh, thank heavens Annas gone, a voice replied. The way she dealt with the children, wed be better off without a nanny at all.
Dont we need someone? How are we supposed to manage? Mrs. Harper answered, and the conversation faded.
Liam was scared of the former nursery nurse, Anna Valeria. He wasnt the only one. She was quick to scold the kids, and if they refused the porridge with lumps, shed shove a spoon in their mouths hard enough to hurt their tongues. One day she forced the spoon down Liams tongue and the whole mess came out onto the table. She screamed, Liam froze in terror, and Mrs. Harper soothed him, washing and changing him while telling Anna that was not how to behave. Someone must have complained, because Anna never showed up again.
Later that evening, on their walk, Liam tried to catch another glimpse of the kitten. All he saw was a flash of orange tail disappearing behind the garden seats. Then Dad turned up.
Since Mums death, Dad barely talks to Liam and barely notices him. He picks him up from the nursery and drops him in his room to play. One day he overheard Grandma Margaret snapping at Dad:
David, Ive told you a dozen times youre raising a child that isnt yours. He doesnt look like you, do you see that?
Mum, he looks like Nadia, he muttered.
And he barely looks like Nadia. Do a paternity test, will you? Its simpler than dealing with a strangers child.
Yes, but Ive been looking after him for four years now. Almost five.
Then you had your own pretend family, your wife hanging a child you dont even know on your neck. Shes gone now! You need to sort out your own life and have your own kids. If you think Ill help you raise a boy that isnt mine, youre dead wrong. I dont need that.
Liam didnt understand any of it. Grandmas voice was always sharp and annoyed, but hed grown used to it and barely paid attention.
The next day a new nanny arrived at the nursery. She was nothing like the last one, and Liam knew it straight away. She didnt shout or scold; she whispered gently to the children, and they actually ate their meals.
Liam was curious. He set his spoon down and watched her closely. She knelt beside him:
Hey there! Whats your name? Liam? Im Irene Clarke. Why arent you eating, love?
I dont like porridge with lumps, he admitted.
Liam, Ill let you in on a secret Im not a fan of those lumps either, and I never force kids to eat them. You can just leave the lumps on your plate. Well see who ends up with the most later.
That sounded fun, so Liam started hunting for lumps in his bowl. To his surprise there were hardly any, and while he was looking, hed already swallowed most of the porridge. Irene praised him, saying hed done a great job. No one had ever praised Liam before, and it made him beam.
From then on he liked going to the nursery even more. Irene helped the lead teacher wherever she could, and the kids quickly grew fond of her.
One afternoon Mrs. Harper asked Irene to stay with the children during naptime while she slipped into the office to see the headmistress. The little ones were breathing quietly, and only Liam couldnt settle.
Liam, why arent you sleeping? Irene stroked his head.
Do you know my mum is up in heaven? he whispered.
Irenes throat caught. Shed taken a liking to the quiet, orangehaired boy straight away. Shed already noticed that Liam was being whisked away now and then by his everbusy dad or the irritable old lady probably Grandma but never by mum.
No, love, I didnt know, she said gently.
Someone once told me the sun kissed me, he added.
That Ive heard, she smiled.
Do kittens have eyelashes? he asked, eyes wide.
Probably. Why do you ask?
And Liam, in a hushed tone, told her everything about the ginger kitten hiding in the bushes, about how maybe the sunshine had kissed the kitten too, and that perhaps the kitten was his brother. He wanted a brother, even if it was a cat, because nobody else was kissing him without mum around.
Do kittens kiss kids? he asked, his voice trembling.
Irene, fighting back tears, patted his tousled orange head and nodded.
Yes, little Liam, kittens can kiss you. Their tongues are a bit rough, though. Now get some sleep, alright?
Rough tongues? Liam blinked, then closed his eyes and drifted off almost instantly.
Later, the head teacher mentioned to Irene that Liams mother had been in a childrens home before she died, and his stepgrandmother still hadnt accepted his stepmother. She kept telling his dad that his wife wasnt a good match and that the boy wasnt his. She didnt know what the truth was now. The boy was tidy and wellkept, but hed stopped smiling. Once hed been as bright as the sun, all because of his mum.
A week later Liam didnt show up at the nursery. Hed fallen ill, I think. The city, even though summer was just around the corner, was battling a nasty flu. He didnt come back after a week, not even after two.
Liam wont be coming back, Mrs. Harper told Irene. His dad had put the paperwork in for a childrens home. He went to see the director for the forms.
What? A childrens home? Irene was stunned. But his dad and grandma are alive!
Yes, the thing is David turned out not to be his biological father. They did a DNA test with Grandma, and after five years of raising him, they found out he wasnt his. Who would have thought?
Irene walked home in a fog, the image of the trusting orange boy replaying in her mind: Do kittens have eyelashes? Suddenly a bright orange blur darted out from behind the nursery gate. She scrambled, caught it, and realized it was the kitten the very one Liam had described. A scruffy, teenaged ginger cat, dirty but washable. Turns out kittens dont really have eyelashes.
That night, when David came home from work, the freshlybathed cat leapt at him.
Oh, weve got a new member! Iris, will it break any furniture? he joked, seeing his wifes worried face.
What? No, Im not against it. I just asked because the kids say cats are little troublemakers.
David is everything okay? Mum? Work?
They talked for hours. Eventually David asked, Iris, are you sure this isnt just a stray you picked up?
She wasnt completely sure, but shed taken the job at the nursery because she didnt have her own children, so she could look after other peoples kids. David kept saying everything would sort itself out, the doctors and all that, but she never felt confident. All she knew was that Liam shouldnt end up in a childrens home, just like that kitten on the street.
Then came the endless paperwork, the reports, the adoption agency, the psychologists notes. Thank heavens they had a decent house and Davids decent salary hed even tried to keep Iris from working, joking that hed feed them both somehow. Thank the nursery headmistress for pulling some strings. And thank Liams late mum for watching over them. Even Davids parents called from the north, shouting that the grandchild should visit them straight away.
When it was finally time for Liam to move in with Iris, he only managed a shy smile, still trying to believe that a bit of patience would land him a proper home with her. And at home, that orange kitten waited, ready to be part of the family. Theyd go to the nursery together every day.
Look, everyone, Liams back! the kids cheered. Hi, Liam!
Hello, Mrs. Harper, Liam said. Turns out kittens dont have eyelashes, and their tongues really are rough!
In two years time, little Liam will be starting Year1. Hell be seen off by mum in memory, dad, two grandmothers, granddad and his little sister.
