Wednesday morning started like any other, except Peter met me outside the main door when I came in. Sarah seemed to have more sense and stayed in to eat. "Hello there, young man. Why aren't you eating breakfast with the others?"
"I thought I'd wait for you."
"So, what if I'm not hungry?" I said grinning.
"That's not fair." Then dragged me inside.
After they'd eaten, a herd of kids went to get ready for school. I went to the office to see if there was anything that needed to be done.
"Cathy, what have you got for me?"
"Morning to you too, Sean. We have a dripping tap in one of the wash rooms, other than that you're clear."
"Would it be against the rules to take the kids to the ranch? I thought it would be a treat for them to see the great outdoors. I can get sandwiches and drinks for them, so everything will be covered. As long as there's at least one member of the staff with them they should be okay. I mean thirty kids is a lot to keep an eye on. I was thinking about this weekend. I mean if you want an excuse to get out of here for awhile."
"I think that's a good idea. Could I bring my husband?"
"That would be great, I'd have someone to drink a beer with," I said, laughing. "I'll tell the kids later, unless you want to tell them."
"Children!!" She said. "You're as excited as they'll be."
"Yes, mommy," I said as I walked out.
I fixed the leak, then went into town. I had a lot of food to get including soda and beer, and that was a lot of shopping. I put everything in the fridge, then went back to see the kids.
"Sean." Peter shouted as I drove up.
"My number one fan, hello, munchkin. Where's your Sarah?" Just then she came running out the door. "It must be my lucky day, I get myself another munchkin." Then tried to do an ugly face. Okay, I didn't really need to try. That got me a giggle, if only for effort. "Come here, munchkin." Tentatively, she walked over. "Don't be scared, little one." I put my arms out for a hug. She looked at her brother and he nodded to her. She returned the hug with interest. "You're too big for a hug, HUH?" Peter then joined in with all the enthusiasm a child can give. "You know, guys, I have a surprise, but I can't tell you till the other kids are here."
Sarah looked up, "Surprise?"
"Yes, a surprise, little one." God, I hate parents!! "It's like having a birthday everyday, you don't know what you're going to get."
"We've never had a birthday."
God, I really really really hate parents. "Well, we'll have to change that, won't we? Let's see if dinner's ready." I left them to eat while I went to find out their birth dates. Cathy gave me their dates. Sarah, February, Peter, June.
After they'd finished eating, we got all the kids in the living room. "I said I wanted to take you to the ranch, but Mrs. Wilson says you wouldn't like that." I would've taken my hearing aid out if I'd one . . . the noise was deafening. "I take that as you'd like it." Big mistake, now I will need a hearing aid.
Cathy stood behind me laughing. "How come you never had kids?"
"I do. I have thirty, didn't you know? At least I think that." Then smiled as I looked over all the kids.
Peter and Sarah came waltzing over. "So, was that a good surprise?" I asked.
"YEA!" Came their reply.
"It's time for me to go home, so where's my hug?" With quite a few "Awwwws" I got my hug, surprisingly, even from Sarah. "Goodnight, little ones. I'll be back first thing tomorrow. Peter, don't forget to be good."
"I'm always good," he said grinning.
"Is that so? Goodnight, guys." I said bye to the rest of the kids, then went home with a heavy heart.
Thursday morning was like any other day, except when I awoke the house felt empty. I went into town before going to the orphanage, I had a job I needed to do. I went to the department store to get Sarah a doll and a teddy bear. I asked in the store what was best to buy for a boy, in this case Peter. In the end, I got him a teddy bear and a remote controlled car. I drove back to the orphanage to two very sour looking kids. As they came out for their break they saw me. "Sorry I'm late, but I had a job that couldn't wait." I stayed with the kids till they went back in for more lessons.
I went to the office to speak to Cathy. I explained what Sarah had said yesterday. I took her to the car and showed her the gifts I'd gotten for the pair of them. She had one of those grins on her face that said 'I told you so'. You know, the one a woman gets when she's right.
The kids had lunch, then came out to play. "I thought you two were never going to get here. I thought you'd forgotten me," I said, feigning upset. Sarah giggled, Peter just shook his head.
"I've got another surprise for you, but you have to do your lessons first, and you have to be good." I don't think they knew how to take what was happening to them. The teacher came out to get them back into class. "Scoot," I said, giving each a tap on the butt. With a giggle they were gone.
I was hiding in the office when they went to dinner. Wouldn't they love to have known that. They must have asked everyone that worked there where I was. They went to eat with the longest faces I've ever seen. When they'd eaten, they searched everywhere they could think of. They even sneaked into the office to see if I was there. I couldn't tease them any longer, so I went outside. If you can think of the most horrible way to die, then you can imagine the looks I was getting. I walked over to where they were sitting. "Hello, guys." Daggers were flying . . . so I started talking. "Come with me. Awwww, come on, guys," I said with a very long face. After shaking his head, I think at my terrible acting, Peter started to walk with me. Of course Sarah was right behind, bringing up the rear.
"Where are you taking us?"
When we got to the car I told them I had a surprise for them. The looks I got painted more than a thousand words. I opened the trunk and took out what I had gotten them. "I want you to do something for me? Go to your rooms and open them." Off they went with as much glee as I've ever seen. They must be good runners because they couldn't have been gone more than a minute. Good thing I was already on the grass or I'm sure I'd have broken something when they returned and tackled me. "Does that mean you like them?"
Peter sat down and cried. "Little one, trusting someone isn't always bad. Come here, son. Sarah, you too." They held me so tight I couldn't breathe. Peter looked up. The look on his face broke my heart.
"I love you," he said, wiping his eyes.
Sarah was going to be a tough nut to crack. How she was feeling she kept to herself.
"I think you're kinda neat, yourself," I said. That got me another super hug. "Sarah, I told Peter that no one would hurt him. This includes you, little one. I know you don't trust anyone, but believe me, liking someone can be better than being lonely. I know you're a big girl and can understand me, so trust me, Sarah, I will never hurt you, I promise." I was hoping I was getting through to her. That thought was lost when she started crying on my shoulder. "Little one, I don't know what I can do, but I will do whatever I can to keep you safe."
Friday I didn't feel like getting out of bed, never mind going to do some work, but common sense won in the end. As I parked the car, I had two little ones waiting at the main door. "Now, who do I owe for this honour, two munchkins? Well, I never."
"You're making fun," Sarah said, looking sad.
"I know, munchkin." Then slapped the back of my hand. That got a round of giggles. Magic!
Breakfast went, as usual, without a hitch. Well, without a hitch until the little ones started having a food fight. Of course I do the odd jobs, so you can guess how my morning started. Lunch was a stern talking too so as not to get a repeat performance. Just after lunch, Peter came over to me and asked about the weekend. Where do you live, what can they do when they get there? The usual questions a youngster would ask. "Well, can you swim? Can Sarah?"
"No, Sir, we've never been in the water."
"Never!! Well, we're gonna have to see about that. There's a big swimming pool for you to get wet in. What did you and Sarah like to play?"
"Play?"
"Tag, hide and seek? Did you go to the park to play on the swings?"
"No, Sir. We had to stay in our room. Sometimes we could go downstairs to eat. Does that mean you won't play with us?"
"No, little one, I'll play with you. How about I show you how to play tag." He picked it up quick . . . too quick . . . I lost. But he was having a lot of fun. I was more and more wanting to meet these people that they'd called 'parents' - not in my lifetime.
Lunch became dinner. After they'd eaten, the two tike's came running out to the seat at the front of the building. "Hi, Sir." After I gave him a look. "Err, I mean, Sean."
"So what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Awwww you're being silly again," came the reply.
I looked at Sarah. "Meeee. Never. I'm a good boy. Really!!" That earned me some giggles. Heaven.
"Shall we go for a run? Nah, you're too small to run, we'd better walk. OUCH!! What was that for?"
"You're making fun of us."
"Now, would I do that to you two?"
"YES!!" Was their overwhelming cry."
"I'm going to get you two for that." I grabbed them and tickled them till they begged me to stop.
"I don't think you like me anymore, you hit me and you shouted at me." Then I put my head in my hands making noises as if I was crying. Both came over and put their arms around my waist.
"We're sorry, Sir, we were only messing around."
I raised my head and looked at them. "Got ya!!." That got me jumped on big time, forcing me to the ground. Trying to tickle me was hard, so I pretended the part. Boy is revenge sweet. "Come here, little ones." I hugged them tight. "So, does that mean you still like me?" Discretion was the better part of valour. He just pulled a face and started tickling me again. "I like to be silly, don't you?" I said looking at the pair.
"You're bigger than us, you always win." That was Sarah, which surprised me.
"Well, from now on that's how it's got to be, I like happy faces not sad ones." Making faces as I was talking.
"We love you, Sir, err, Sean."
"You do, huh!!"
"We used to be left alone, no one to talk to, no one wanted us around. My mom told me she wished that I was dead, she said I answered back. My dad tried to make Sarah do things, so I shouted at him and he hit me. She's my sister! I have to look after her, she's small. We were locked in our room. It was quiet and lonely, but at least no one was shouting at us. My dad said that we had to keep the blinds shut, but we would sit on the table at the corner of our window and look outside. We saw other kids running around laughing, why not us??" His eyes glistened with the tears in his eyes. "Sir, I'm good. Sarah's good. We try not to be bad. Why does no one want us?? Why does everybody hate us??"
"You aren't bad. Your mom and dad were bad. You are two children who have had bad things happen to them. Love is a strong word for someone who has had none, but you needed to trust someone, I'm glad that was me. You're a very good young man. You looked after your sister, even when you knew that you would get hit; that is a brave person, not a bad one. Brave, okay? When you were in your house you only saw other people that were bad, people like your mom and dad. You're not locked away anymore. You see other adults and kids, some are good, some are bad. Do you remember when you first went to school? While you were in class you were learning things. Now you have to start learning again. You are in a different world now. Remember when you said you used to look out the window? You may not understand, but you are now looking inside the window. Before you were looking out. I unlocked my car and told them to sit inside. I shut the door and waved to them. We swapped places and I asked if they could see me waving. In the small car, outside is big." He had a smile on his face. When I got out, I said, "You were smart." That earned me a big grin. "Let's go see if we can get a sandwich?"
When I went home that evening the talk I'd had with the kids wouldn't go away. Love is a strong word. If they loved me that's because they hadn't had love. How could they know what it means?? Sleep didn't come easy. It was now the weekend and I was going to have a herd of kids running wild all day. I shuddered at the thought, but my head kept telling me that I'd love it.
When I drove up, there stood all thirty kids waiting in anticipation. Cathy saying they'd had breakfast and were ready to be a nuisance. I just laughed. "Right, you monsters," which got giggles all around, "slowly and quietly get on the bus." Big mistake. The two little ones got on last so they could be at the front with me. "Do I get the honour again?" I said. If they knew any swear words they certainly didn't use them. That doesn't mean they wouldn't of liked to. Peter and Sarah looked out the window all the way there. There were plenty "Oooh's and Ahhh's." When we got to the ranch and before they got off the bus, I talked to the kids about staying together and not wandering off without a teacher or another adult.
"Okay, guys, let's show you around a little." With that, thirty screaming kids departed the bus. I asked the teachers that had come with us to try and keep them together, as there were plenty of places they could get hurt in the woods. So the tour started. I showed them the lake, the woods, and the trails. At the house, the pool was the favourite for them all. "Did you all bring swimwear??"
"Can someone please lend me a hearing aid? That must of been a yes!" I said laughing. "Okay, follow me and I'll show you were to change." They followed me round to the back where the showers were. I left them with the teachers and went to get a soda from the fridge. Sarah was the one to follow me inside. "You okay, little one?" Silly question. "Come with me." I took her to one of the bedrooms to change. "Shout at me when you're ready, okay?" Then left her to change.
Ten minutes later she shouted, so I went to show her the way back. It's a big place, believe me. I took her hand and led her to the pool. "You okay now??"
"Yes, sir...err, Sean."
"GO!!" She giggled and was gone. With that I went inside to brood.....