Gran's House
by Kit
Chapter 12
The following morning, before setting off to the foster home, I made sure that I didn't forget the thumb drive with the photos and videos. My brothers came out of the house as soon as my car entered the drive, and when I got out of the car, Liam threw himself into my arms. A few seconds later, his older brother gave me a more sedate hug around the waist.
When we went inside, we found that everyone except Mike was in the kitchen. David was sitting at the table with Susie on his lap, and Katie was helping Sarah make cookies. They all said 'hi', and Susie managed to say 'Pol' instead of just 'Paw'. I put two jars of jam, a jar of chutney and a cake tin on the counter.
"This is a cake I made for Rose's visit yesterday," I said. "It's not a whole cake, but Rose didn't have much, and Charles didn't have any. Anyway, there's enough left for a slice each for your family."
"Thanks, Paul," Sarah said, "but you know that we'd be happy to see you even if you didn't bring gifts."
"How did the home visit go?" David asked. "We've not met Charles, but Rose told us that he's a nice guy."
"As far as I could tell, everything went well. Charles is certainly very diligent," I replied. With a wry smile, I added, "And he made me glad that there are plenty of smoke alarms and fire extinguishers in the house."
"Does that mean we can stay at night sometimes?" Connor asked.
The previous week, when I'd told my brothers about Rose's proposed visit and what it was for, they'd been quite excited, so I was a little surprised that neither of them had mentioned it earlier. I thought that maybe they'd just forgotten what day it had been planned.
"We still have to wait for Social Services to decide," I pointed out.
"I don't like waiting for things," Liam complained.
"Speaking of waiting for things," Sarah said, "if you wait a couple of minutes, I'll put this tray in the oven, and we can have some tea."
"Is there anything I can help with?" I asked.
"No, thanks," she replied, "just make yourself comfortable."
As I sat down at the table across from David, I noticed that both my brothers looked a little unhappy and that Liam was actually pouting.
"What's the matter?" I asked them.
"We wanted you to show us the pictures," Liam replied.
"We have all day for that," I pointed out. "Can't I have some tea first?"
"What pictures?" David asked.
"From my graduation ceremony last Wednesday," I replied, taking the memory stick and showing it to him.
"Oh, I'd like to see those," Sarah said. "Connor, if it's okay with Paul, why don't you fetch your laptop, and we can all look at them while we drink our tea?"
Without waiting for me to say anything, Connor left the kitchen and returned just as the kettle was boiling. I gave him the USB stick, and while the tea was brewing, he set up the laptop to display the images. Then we crowded together at one end of the table so that we could all see the screen.
As the photos were displayed and the videos were played, I described what had been happening. There were some complimentary comments from Sarah and David and several less complimentary and almost derisory comments from my brothers. In fact, they said the gowns looked silly. When Liam saw my embarrassment, however, he added that I looked nice even in silly clothes.
"What are your plans for today?" Sarah asked me after the picture show. "Will you be here for lunch?"
"There are no definite plans at the moment. I was going to ask Liam and Connor what they wanted to do and suggest that they show me around the local area, their favourite places, where they go to school and things like that. And I'd love to stay for lunch if you don't mind."
"School isn't one of my favourite places," Connor said a little grumpily, "but it might be fun to show you around. And the park is good if you want to play footie."
"I can show you some nice flowers in the park," Liam added.
"How far away is your school?" I asked.
"About half an hour if we walk," the older boy said.
"Well, I feel like a bit of exercise," I said, "and we can see more if we walk."
"It's less than two hours until lunchtime, so if you're going for a walk, you probably won't have time before we eat to play in the park as well," Sarah said.
"Okay, boys," I said and stood up. "Let's get ready to go."
"Can I go with you?" Katie asked, taking me by surprise.
I looked at David and Sarah, who nodded to indicate that it was alright with them.
"Of course you can," I said to Katie.
"Where's Mike?" I asked Sarah when Katie and my brothers left the kitchen.
"He's in his room," she said, then in a quieter voice added. "He's not having a good day."
"Do you think he might want to go with us?" I asked.
"I doubt it," she said, "but I'll go and ask him. Then if he decides not to go, at least he won't feel he's been excluded."
While she was away, I took the opportunity to go to the bathroom, and soon after I returned to the kitchen, Sarah entered.
"He said he'd be down in a minute," she said, raising her eyebrows and looking at her husband, who appeared to be a little surprised but didn't say anything.
When we set off from the house, Connor was leading the way, Liam and I were close behind him, and Mike and Katie were trailing a couple of metres behind us. My brothers did most of the talking, and the other two children were mostly silent. However, when they occasionally spoke to each other, they did it so quietly that I couldn't discern the words.
When I'd occasionally glance behind me, it appeared that Mike was looking at me, but of course he was probably just gazing in the direction we were walking. However, it seemed a little odd that as soon as he saw me look at him, he averted his gaze. He appeared to be paying little attention to his surroundings, presumably because they were all very familiar to him, and I wondered why he'd decided to join us.
The area was pleasant, quiet suburbia, and some of the streets were lined with well-established trees, but apart from the park, there didn 't seem to be much of particular interest. About fifteen minutes after we'd set off, I saw a school, but it was a secondary school and closer to the house than my brothers' primary school.
"That's my school," Mike said.
Bearing in mind that the others would know where he went to school, I assumed he was addressing me. Apart from the phone call when he'd thanked me for the laptop, that was the first time he'd spoken to me directly. I slowed my pace so that he and Katie drew level with me.
"I go there, too," Kate said.
"It's good that it's close enough to be an easy walk from the house," I said.
"Yeah," he replied, avoiding looking at my face, "David usually takes the others in his car, but I like walking better. But he makes me ride in the car if it's raining."
"I'd prefer walking, too, but my schools were always too far away for that. But I like running even more than walking."
"Me too," he said, then added more quietly, "Running's best."
He very briefly glanced at me and then looked at Liam and Connor, who'd noticed that I'd dropped back and that I was speaking with Mike. Both of my brothers were clearly not happy.
"Our school's this way," Connor said, pointing down the street.
He led us to his school, at the entrance of which there was a large sign saying 'St George's CofE Primary'. The boys had never mentioned anything about religion, so I'd had no idea that they went to a religion-affiliated school. The small collection of relatively modern buildings was in many ways similar to the secondary school that we'd just passed.
There were a couple of cars parked outside the main building, and the gates were unlocked. Connor wanted to show me inside the grounds, but I felt uncomfortable with that idea. We just walked around the perimeter so that he could show me the playing fields. He told me that he hoped that in September he'd get onto the school football team.
While we ate lunch, the only times that Mike and Katie actually spoke to me directly were to request something, such as passing a plate, so there was no actual conversation. After lunch, in order to give our food time to settle and digest a little, I went with Liam and Connor in their room. That seemed like a good time to bring up what I was concerned might be a sensitive matter.
"Liam, you're very interested in gardens, but you said you never had a garden before you came here. So I wondered if it was David who got you interested," I said, intending to edge my way slowly toward the intended topic. In a lighter tone and almost jokingly, I added, " Or maybe you inherited your gardening skills from Gran."
"Gardens remind me of Mum," he said hesitantly.
Connor gave me a frown of disapproval, so I didn't prompt the younger boy to say more, though I did look at him expectantly.
"Mum's in Heaven now," Liam said as if explaining something that was both important and obvious, "but her body turned into ashes, and the ashes were put on the morial garden. So gardens should be pretty like Mum."
Although I didn't really follow his logic, the emotional connection made sense to me, and it gave me the opening that I was hoping for.
"That was winter," I said gently, "and gardens aren't very pretty in winter."
"They're not so pretty in winter, but they're still pretty. And in the morial garden there were lots of flowers in bunches and circles."
"Wreaths," Connor said to his little brother. "Circles of flowers are called wreaths."
"Haven't you been to the garden since then?" I asked. "It's probably even nicer now."
"I don't know where it is," the younger boy said sadly.
"If you want to go, I know where it is," I said.
Liam's face lit up with a smile, and his beautiful amber eyes flashed. By contrast, his older brother looked apprehensive. Perhaps he didn't really want to go, or maybe he was concerned about how his little brother would be affected. I began to think that maybe it'd been unwise of me to raise the topic.
"Will you take us?" Liam asked.
"Aunt Anne and Uncle Geoffrey want to go as well," I said, "so would you want to go with them?"
"But you'll be with us, won't you?" Connor asked anxiously.
"Yes, of course. But it will probably be in Uncle Geoffrey's car, so he'll be driving."
Perhaps too late, it occurred to me that maybe I should have consulted Sarah and David before mentioning this to the boys. In any case, it felt like a good time to divert their thoughts toward something more cheerful.
"Are you two ready to go to the park now?" I asked, and when both boys nodded, I added, "Okay, get ready, grab the ball, and maybe go to the toilet before we go. I want to have a quick chat with David and Sarah, so you can meet me downstairs.
"I'm not a baby," Connor said, rolling his eyes. "I know when I need to pee, so you don't need to remind me."
"I'm not a baby, either," Liam added with a frown.
"Sorry. Like I told you before, I'm not used to being a big brother, so you'll need to forgive me when I make mistakes."
"I forgive you," Liam said happily.
The older boy didn't say anything and merely smiled indulgently at us both. When I went downstairs, I didn't see Sarah but found David in the office. He was happy for me to go with my brothers to the memorial garden, and when I mentioned going with my godparents, he just said that it was okay as long as I was with the boys.
When my brothers came downstairs, Connor looked a little sheepish.
"I asked Katie if she wanted to come with us," he said, "cos footie's more fun with more people."
"And I don't like kicking balls much," Liam added.
"Then she wanted Mike to come," the older boy said with mild disapproval, "so she went to ask him."
While we waited for the other children to come downstairs, I decided to phone Aunt Anne and tell her that we'd go with them when they went to the memorial garden. She was extremely happy with the news and suggested the following day after lunch. Although I would've preferred more notice, I quickly consulted David before agreeing to her suggestion.
Contrary to what Connor had said about Mike's lack of skill at football, he was reasonably good and, in fact, better than I was. Connor was the only person better than Katie, and Liam was the only person worse than me. In fact, Liam quickly lost interest in kicking the ball and went on the swings, from where he could watch the rest of us.
When we got back to the house, I asked Liam and Connor to get cleaned up and wait for me in their room so that I could have a private chat with David and Sarah. The boys looked a little concerned, so I reassured them that it wasn't anything bad, and they went upstairs. As it turned out, Sarah was busy with Susie, so I just spoke with David.
"I hope you don't mind and that you won't think I'm imposing," I said, "but I was hoping you could help me with something."
"What is it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"My grandad was a bank manager, and even when I was a little boy, he thought it was important that I learn about money and how to budget. So when I was seven, he started up what he called the Grandad Bank and set up an account for me just as if it was his real bank. Every Friday, he'd put my allowance into my account, and at any time, I could put in any other money I was given or earned. Then, within reason, I could save or withdraw it to spend."
"Sounds like a reasonable idea," he commented, "but maybe a bit overly complicated."
"Maybe, especially as there were some rules involved, but I did learn a lot about handling money and things like sticking to budgets because I could never have a loan or an overdraft."
"So what is it that you want my help with?" he asked.
"I'd like to set up something similar for each of my brothers in a sort of Bank of Paul. I'd put in a weekly allowance, and they could add any other money they get. Then they could make withdrawals when they wanted to buy something. But they may want to make a withdrawal when I'm not around, so I wondered if you and Sarah would act as a sort of ATM."
"What exactly do you mean?" he asked, frowning doubtfully. "We don't have a lot of spare time."
"Obviously, it depends on what you might be prepared to do. For example, if they needed to withdraw money from their account when I'm not around, maybe you could give it to them. Of course, I'd immediately reimburse you. Also, each boy would be limited to one or two transactions per week."
"I'll have to discuss it with Sarah, and then we'd have to think about it. But even if we agreed, it would initially be only on a trial basis," he said. "Also, what would they be allowed to spend their money on?"
"That's up to you and Sarah. You're in charge of what the boys are allowed to do," I replied. "Just for information, Grandad put very few restrictions on what I spent money on except that it should be legal."
"But you were only seven. What if you spent it all on chocolate and made yourself sick? What if you just wasted the money?"
"If I was going to make myself sick on chocolate, then I wouldn't have needed to raid my account to do it. Actually, I never made myself sick, but if I had, then I'd have learned my lesson. As for wasting my money, that's part of the lesson. If the money in the account was gone, I couldn't buy things until more was paid into the account."
"Have you mentioned this to your brothers?"
"Not yet, but even if you can't be an ATM, I hope you'd be okay with me giving them a weekly allowance."
"How much were you thinking of giving them every week?"
"The same as I got. One pound for every year of my age."
"Okay, when you come to pick up the boys tomorrow, I'll let you know what we decide."
After lunch the next day, my godparents arrived at my house in Uncle Geoffrey's almost-new metallic silver BMW 7 Series. They were dressed more formally than I'd expected, but I decided not to change out of my more informal clothes. When we arrived at the foster home, my brothers didn't come out to greet me as they usually did. That may have been because we were a little earlier than expected, or perhaps it was because they didn't recognise the car.
My godparents and I went inside and met with Sarah and David, but we were there only for a very short time. Mike and Katie stood in the hallway and watched silently as Liam grabbed my hand and made it clear he was eager to leave. David came to the door to see us off and quietly told me that the 'ATM arrangement' would be okay for a trial period of a couple of weeks but that unless there was an emergency, the boys should make only one withdrawal per week.
My brothers and I sat on the back seat of the car with Liam in the middle. Connor made Uncle Geoffrey happy by saying that he liked the car a lot. He looked at me with a slightly embarrassed smile, and I got the impression that he preferred the BMW to my older Merc. I returned his smile and nodded my head, hoping that he'd interpret that to mean that I wasn't insulted. I felt relieved that Aunt Anne wasn't as talkative as I'd expected.
The cemetery was on the opposite side of Meedford to the foster home, and we took the southern ring road rather than going through the city centre. About halfway to our destination, Connor announced that we were near where they used to live with their mum.
"Would you like to go and look at the place?" Aunt Anne asked. "I'm sure Geoffrey won't mind a little detour."
"No!" Liam said loudly.
"No, thanks," the older boy said almost simultaneously.
Given such a definitive response from both boys, my godmother didn't pursue the matter, and about twenty-five minutes after leaving the house, we arrived at the cemetery. The place was much larger than the churchyard where my grandparents were buried, and none of us knew where the memorial garden could be found. It took a few minutes to find someone who could give us directions.
As it turned out, it was relatively close to the crematorium, and as we walked past the building where funerals were held, both my brothers moved closer to me. Their body language made it clear that they wanted to stay away from there. The garden itself was enclosed by a high red brick wall, and the only entrance was through a wrought iron gate. From the nearby sign showing the opening hours, I deduced that the gate would be locked when the garden was closed.
The space inside was both bigger and more beautiful than I expected. It was a rectangle of about twenty metres by about forty metres, with the gate set into one of the shorter sides. About ten metres from the opposite wall was a knee-high chain supported by a series of metal posts. On this side of the chain was a formal garden, and on the other side were wildflowers and wild grasses. Along the length of the chain, there were wreaths and bunches of flowers.
"It's a lot prettier now than last time," Liam said as his face lit up and his eyes shone with happiness. Pointing to the wild area, he added, "That's where they put the ashes."
Including ourselves, there were only about a dozen people there, and none of them were children, so his little outburst drew some attention. However, all the looks he received were either friendly or neutral. Despite that, Aunt Anne felt the need to chide him.
"Please speak quietly, sweetie," she said, almost in a whisper. "This is a place of respect and contemplation."
Liam's face fell, and he looked a little upset, so I frowned at her in silent rebuke. Then I put my arm around the little boy's shoulders and hugged him to my side. As a sign of support and solidarity, Connor moved closer to his little brother. From her slightly hurt and bewildered expression, it seemed that she got the message.
We walked up to the chain and saw a plaque saying that we shouldn't go beyond that point. All of us stood in silence, looking at the wildflowers for a couple of minutes. This was clearly where ashes were scattered, and although I no longer had any religious beliefs, I could feel the reverence and sadness of that place. Connor wasn't crying, but his eyes were tearful. Oddly, our little brother seemed content and almost happy.
"I'm glad it's so nice here," he said. "I know she's in Heaven, but I think she's happy that the ashes are in such a pretty place."
Not knowing what to say, I put my hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently, and he leaned his head into my side. The older boy moved close to me and leaned gently against my other side. That was unexpected because I thought he'd have moved to comfort his little brother. Then it occurred to me that just for once, Connor felt that he was the one who needed comforting.
My godparents went to one of the benches at the side of the garden and sat down, holding hands in silence. Liam began walking slowly around and was enjoying examining the plants, especially the large variety of roses. Connor was protectively following his little brother, and I decided to join them.
"Can we come again sometime?" Liam asked quietly. "Please?"
"Of course we can," I replied.
He tugged on my sleeve and indicated he wanted to say something privately, so I leaned down.
"And can we come, just us? Just me, you, and Connor?" he whispered in my ear.
I smiled and nodded my agreement, and he grinned and gave me a hug. The older boy may not have heard every word of our quiet exchange, but he understood enough to smile his approval. Liam asked his brother for their phone and took a few photos, apparently choosing not to take shots containing people.
Connor and I followed Liam as he explored the different plants, eventually ending up at the large oval flowerbed in the centre of the garden. There were several rose bushes there, and he watched closely as a middle-aged man and a teenager who might have been his son were deadheading the flowers. Just then, my godparents came to join us.
"This is a lovely garden," Aunt Anne said to the man. "You do a wonderful job."
"Thanks," the man said, pausing in his work. "The garden is cared for by a few volunteers, not just us two, so we can't take all the credit."
"I noticed there are no plaques or signs saying whose, erm, ashes are here," she said with a slight hesitancy that I wouldn't have expected from her.
"It was decided that sort of thing would spoil the beauty," the man replied gently, "even though there wouldn't be too many. Most relatives have other plans for the ashes. But there's a book in that building with the names of the people here."
He indicated the place where the funeral services were held, and as my godparents started to move in that direction, he spoke again.
"It's in the anteroom. And there's a collection box there for people who want to contribute to the upkeep of the garden."
My brothers and I followed my godparents out of the garden. However, when it became clear that the boys wouldn't enter the building, I stayed outside with them. Giving Uncle Geoffrey a twenty-pound note, I asked him to put it in the collection box on my behalf. When they came out a few minutes later, my godfather handed me a leaflet with information on how to donate to the charity that had been set up to look after the garden.
The return journey was made in almost total silence. This time, I sat in the middle and held hands with both my brothers. When we got back at about an hour before the boys' teatime, Sarah asked if we wanted to stay for tea, but my godparents declined. David said he'd been hoping to talk to me about next weekend, so I said that I'd phone him later.
Standing by the car, I hugged my brothers and promised that I'd call them after they'd had their evening meal. As I looked up, I saw Mike in the window, and he made no effort to hide the fact that he was watching us. At first I was a little irritated by what seemed to be rather creepy behaviour, but then I felt sorry for a boy who almost always appeared sad.
That evening, I decided to phone David first because it seemed better to get any possible official business done before having a more leisurely chat with the boys.
"Hi, Paul. Thanks for calling," he said. "I just wanted to talk about what plans you may have for next weekend."
"I haven't discussed it with Liam and Connor yet, so there are no fixed plans."
"Have they mentioned the fact that the school summer holidays start on Friday?"
"More than mentioned," I said and laughed. "That's been a major topic of conversation, especially with Connor."
"We have a family tradition of having a picnic in the countryside on the weekend after school ends. We only decide on the specific day when we see the weather forecast nearer the time. In the past it's sometimes been on Saturday and sometimes on Sunday. Once it was even on a Monday."
"Okay, it's easy for me to be flexible. Let me know on Friday what day you're having the picnic, and I can arrange to see the boys on a different day."
"Of course it's up to you, but you're also welcome to join us if you want."
"That would be great!" I replied enthusiastically. "Let me know what foods or other stuff you'd like me to bring."
"You don't have to bring anything, but if you really want to, then Sarah will get in touch with you in a day or two so you can coordinate. And on Friday, I'll let you know what day we'll have the picnic."
Having received that invitation, I was quite excited when I called the boys. It was picked up immediately, but only Liam appeared on the screen.
"Hi, Paul," he said, "Connor's in the toilet. He'll be here in a minute."
"How are you?" I asked. "Did the visit to the memorial garden make you sad?"
"No, it made me feel happy. Mum would love being in such a nice place," he replied, then in a quieter and more confidential tone, he added, "I think Connor was a bit sad cos he asked me for a hug when we got back."
"I'm sorry about that. I don't like either of you to be sad, so maybe we shouldn't go again."
"I want to go again!" he protested. "And Connor said he does, too."
At that point, the older boy appeared on screen.
"Hi, Paul. What's Liam been saying about me?"
"Just that you were sad after going to the garden, but you still want to go again sometime."
"Yeah. Course I do," he replied, and after a brief pause, he added, "Thinking about Mum was a good sort of sad cos I remembered the good times, too."
I didn't need to ask him to explain because I understood what he meant. That's how I felt about my grandparents, especially Gran. I'd rather remember the good times and be sad at the loss than forget and be happy.
"But just us three next time, okay?" Liam said.
"Okay," I agreed.
"No more school after Friday!" the older boy exulted, obviously keen to relieve the sombre tone of the conversation.
"As you've told me several times this week," I pointed out with good humour. "But you didn't tell me about the picnic."
"We don't know what day that is yet," Connor said, as if that was a good reason for not mentioning it previously.
"Do you mind if I go on the picnic with you?" I asked.
"Course not!" Liam almost shouted.
"He's just teasing us," his brother explained, giving me an accusatory look.
"Sorry, but sometimes I just can't resist temptation," I said. "But maybe you'll forgive me when I tell you about the Bank of Paul."
Then I explained about their allowance, telling them much the same as I'd told David. I emphasised that they could make withdrawals from me at any time but should limit withdrawals from their carers to once per week. Of course, both boys were full of questions.
"Our own accounts?" Liam asked.
"Yes, you'll each have your own separate accounts."
"When is our first allowance?" his older brother asked. "This Friday?"
"Yes, I'll put allowance payments in your accounts on Friday, but you won't start off now with empty accounts. The allowance will be backdated to the Friday after the first time I met you in person."
They both frowned in puzzlement, and looked at each other, then at me.
"What does that mean?" Connor asked.
"It means that you already have forty pounds in your account, and Liam already has twenty-eight pounds in his account."
"It's not fair that he gets more just cos he's older," the little boy complained.
"That's how Grandad did things with me. I got seven pounds when I was seven, and you'll get the same as Connor when you're the same age," I explained. Then I had a thought that might make him feel better. "Also, don't forget that the allowance gets paid until your eighteenth birthday. That's only about eight years for Connor but about eleven years for you, so if you add up everything, you'll get more in total than your brother."
"Then that's not fair to me!" Connor complained, frowning, while his little brother still appeared to be a little confused.
"Sometimes things aren't fair," I pointed out. "Is it fair that you're bigger and stronger than Liam?"
"We don't have to do anything like jobs or chores, and we still get the money?" the older boy asked.
"You'll be expected to do your share of family chores whether or not you get an allowance. But you can earn extra if you do jobs that aren't expected of you. Also, if you get money presents, you can put them in your account."
"What if we're naughty?" Liam asked.
"The allowance could be decreased, or for a short time you may not be allowed to take money out of your account, but it's important to understand that what is in the account is yours and nothing will be taken out without your permission."
"Not even if we do something really, really bad?" he persisted.
"Not even then," I confirmed.
"Do we have to save it? What can we spend it on?" Connor asked.
"You should save at least some of it in case you want to buy something big. But you can spend or save as much as you like. And while you live with David and Sarah, they will say what you can buy."
"What did Grandad let you buy?" Connor asked.
"He and Gran said that I could buy anything that it was legal for me to buy, so no alcohol, no cigarettes, no drugs, or stuff like that."
"I don't want any of them," Liam said, wrinkling his nose.
During the week, I arranged with Sarah that I should take some savoury dishes to the picnic, and she agreed to my suggestion of a potato salad with salmon and broccoli florets as well as pasta in tomato sauce with chicken. I offered to do a dessert as well, but she declined, saying that she already had something planned.
I also took the opportunity to thank her for agreeing to be the boys' ATM, and I told her how much they currently had available. She responded by telling me that they'd already asked for ten pounds each, so I promised to reimburse her next time I saw her. Then before I could forget, I set up spreadsheets on my laptop for my brothers' accounts. That reminded me about the leaflet requesting contributions for the upkeep of the memorial garden, and I set up a monthly donation for that.
In the middle of the week, during one of my video calls to the boys, their phone rang and Connor disappeared from the screen. I heard his voice but couldn't hear his words, and it was only a few seconds until he returned.
"That was Aunt Anne," he said. "I told her we were chatting to you, and she said to say 'hi'."
"Does she phone you often?" I asked.
"No, just a couple of times. She talks a lot."
"Are you okay with that?"
"Yeah," he replied, then giving me a cheeky look, he added, "Like you said, it's easy to say we have stuff to do when we've had enough."
"And we like her talking about Mum," Liam said happily. Then after a slight pause he continued, "And about you."
"What about me?" I asked, beginning to feel a little paranoid.
"Lots and lots," he replied enigmatically.
My paranoia began to increase until the expression on his face made me realise that he was teasing me.
"It's cruel to tease your brother," I said plaintively.
"Yeah, but it's fun," the little boy said gleefully, "and you tease us, so we can tease you."
"I like it when Aunt Anne talks about you when you were growing up." Connor said. "Like how you were very adventurous."
"Adventurous? I just did the usual boy things other boys did."
"She told us you did lots of stuff like long-distance hiking and cycling, underwater swimming, and camping trips," he said as if quoting her exact words.
"Those are just things that most kids do," I said.
"We've never done any of that stuff," Liam said, then as an afterthought, he added, "But I wouldn't want to go under the water."
"I want to go camping," the older boy said definitively.
"Me, too," his little brother said a little less confidently.
"Maybe we can do that sometime after you're allowed to stay overnight with me, but even then, David and Sarah would have to agree."
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