do,’ Tess said. ‘Apparently their mother often told the doctor she thought the children were suffering from allergies, but they changed on each visit, so if the child had a slight rash, upset tummy or cough, Aneta put it down to an allergy.’
‘The doctor didn’t agree?’
‘I don’t think so, but I’ll check with the father.’
‘I’ve made a cottage pie for dinner. I hope that’s all right,’ I said. ‘I assume Kit is on solid food?’
‘I would think so at his age,’ Tess said. She sniffed the air. ‘I thought I could smell something good. I’ll ask about food when I phone Filip. He wasn’t in any state to talk about that this afternoon.’
‘Please also ask him about any likes and dislikes the children may have, and their routine,’ I added. While Molly was old enough to tell me what she liked or didn’t like – when she finally began to talk – Kit wasn’t, so it was important Tess found out as much as she could from the parents. I couldn’t do anything about the children actually being in care, but I could at least make their lives as comfortable as possible while they were with me.
‘Do you want to see down the garden?’ I asked Tess. She was looking through the window at the far end of the kitchen, which overlooked the back garden.
‘No, I can see it from here. Let’s have a quick look at the children’s bedrooms and then we’ll need to get going.’
I looked at her, concerned. ‘Bedroom,’ I said. ‘I hope Edith told you I only have one spare room. I’ve put a cot in there so the children will be sleeping together.’
‘Yes, that’ll be fine,’ she said, and we headed out of the kitchen-diner and down the hall. It was still very quiet in the living room. No sound of the children talking or playing. I didn’t show Tess the front room as we’d just been there, so we went upstairs to the children’s bedroom. ‘There’s not much space, but they can play downstairs,’ she said, voicing her thoughts. ‘It’s nice and light. How long have you been fostering?’
‘Twenty-five years.’
She nodded and headed out. I quickly showed her the other bedrooms and bathroom. ‘You’ll need to cover Kit’s plaster to keep it dry when you bath him,’ she said.
‘Yes, is there a follow-up appointment at the hospital?’
‘I would think so. I’ll ask Filip.’
We returned downstairs. Sammy, our cat, must have let himself in through the cat flap, for he was now sitting in the hall, trying to decide if it was advisable to go into the living room with strangers there.
‘Hopefully, the children aren’t allergic to cat fur,’ Tess remarked as we passed him.
‘I hope so too!’ For if they were, there was little I could do beyond what I did already: keep Sammy out of the bedrooms, comb him each day and regularly hoover. I couldn’t make him disappear.
‘You’ve got a nice bedroom,’ Tess told Molly and Kit as we entered the living room.
Molly looked at her, worried and confused. Suddenly she jumped up from where she was sitting on the floor and cried, ‘I need a wee!’ But it was too late. A puddle formed at her feet. She burst into tears.
‘It’s OK, don’t worry,’ I said, immediately going to her. ‘I’ll mop it up and we’ll find you some more clean clothes.’
‘We’ll leave you to it,’ Tess said. ‘I’ll phone you as soon as I’ve spoken to their father.’
She and Preeta said goodbye to the children and headed out.
‘Don’t forget the suitcase in your car!’ I called after them.
‘I’ll leave it in the hall,’ Tess replied.
Seeing his sister upset, Kit now began to cry loudly. They both needed comforting, Molly needed changing again, and I had to mop up the wet before it soaked into the carpet. I heard Tess and Preeta open the front door and then my daughter Lucy’s voice. She must have been about to let herself in. ‘Hi,’ she said, surprised. Then, ‘What a noise!’
‘In here, Lucy, please!’ I called. ‘We could do with your help.’
She came into the living room and, surveying the chaotic scene, threw her jacket onto a chair. ‘And I thought I’d left work!’ she exclaimed with a smile. She was a qualified nursery nurse.
‘Meet Molly and Kit,’ I said over their cries. ‘Can you help Paula calm them down while I get a bucket and cloth?’
‘Come on, it’s OK,’ she said, taking Molly’s hand. Paula was holding Kit. I went quickly into the kitchen where I ran hot water into a bucket and added disinfectant. I took a cleaning cloth from the cupboard under the kitchen sink and returned to the living room.
‘I’m leaving the case here!’ Tess called from the hall. ‘Everything OK?’
‘Yes,’ I replied. I knew they needed to go. The front door closed behind them.
I knelt down and set to work on the carpet. ‘Shall I change Molly?’ Lucy offered.
‘Yes, please. Hopefully there is a change of clothes in the case in the hall.’
‘I’ll take the case upstairs with me.’
‘Thanks, love.’
Having seen his sister disappear, Kit began to cry more loudly and point towards the door. ‘Best go with them,’ I told Paula. She carried Kit out of the living room and joined Lucy and Molly in the hall as I continued to clean the carpet.
At the same time I heard the front door open and my son, Adrian, call, ‘Hi, Mum!’
Then Paula’s voice, ‘Hi, how are you, Kirsty?’
Oh no, I thought. We were hardly prepared for visitors. Kirsty was Adrian’s long-term girlfriend and I really liked her, but she’d walked into chaos. He usually let me know when he was bringing her home for dinner. ‘Hi, Mum. Kirsty’s here. Did you get my text?’ he called from the hall.
‘I expect so,’ I said, still on my knees. ‘I haven’t had a chance to check my phone. Come through.’
He appeared in the living room with Kirsty just behind him. ‘A little accident,’ I said, glancing up and smiling grimly. ‘Nearly done. Nice to see you, Kirsty. How was school?’ She was a teacher.
‘They had to switch off the water to repair a burst pipe so we were given the afternoon off.’
‘Very nice,’ I said. I patted the patch dry and stood. The crying upstairs had stopped.
‘Kirsty and I can eat out, Mum,’ Adrian offered.
‘No, It’s fine. I’ve done plenty. We’ll eat soon. As you saw we’ve got two little ones come to stay.’
‘Is there anything I can do to help?’
