The Cast-Off Kids Read Online Free PDF Page A

couldn’t be bothered. But the worst thing was when someone
didn’t even let us know. It was so hard on the children.
    I tried to get Daisy and Paul singing nursery rhymes with me, but that didn’t work. ‘No sing,’ pleaded Daisy. It must have been my voice that put them off. The clock seemed to
be ticking faster now; quarter past, half past.
    ‘Come on, kids,’ I said, trying to sound cheerful and sympathetic at the same time. ‘I expect Daddy’s been held up. Let’s go out and play with the others.
We’ll hear the doorbell if it rings.’ We used to have a loud outside ringer, with the garden being so long.
    ‘Daddy not coming?’ asked Daisy, close to tears, struggling to hold them back.
    ‘Maybe, sweetheart, but I’m sure he will come if he can.’
    She could not contain herself any longer. The tears started to flow down her cheeks and I sat with them on the stairs, one either side, with my arms round them. When Paul saw that Daisy was
crying, that set him off as well. I dabbed at each of them in turn with my hankie.
    ‘I want Daddy,’ sobbed Daisy.
    ‘Dada,’ repeated Paul.
    ‘I know,’ I said, giving them cuddles.
    It was time to take their minds off their dad and try to cheer them up. I had a special cache of new toys for this sort of situation. ‘I know what we can do.’
    ‘What?’
    ‘Come on.’ I picked up Paul and took Daisy’s hand. ‘Let’s go upstairs. I’ve got some special toys hidden away. Do you want to come and see what they are? We
could play with them if you like.’
    ‘Yes.’ Daisy sniffed and tried to wipe away her tears with her other hand. Part of her wanted to come, but her heart wasn’t in it. She kept looking back, in case he came. Paul
was different. I suppose, at that age, he might only have had a vague memory of his father, or none at all, but he was affected by Daisy’s tearfulness.
    I took them up to the old sailor’s chest in our bedroom, opened it and pulled out some special toys. We played with them for a while, but I could tell that Daisy was still distracted. She
kept looking out of the door.
    I took them down to join the others, but she insisted on sitting on the stairs again, so Paul joined her.
    ‘Daddy come soon?’ asked Daisy.
    ‘No, darling. Daddy won’t come now.’ A few more tears, but still she sat doggedly on the bottom step, while I took Paul to join the others. Mike looked a bit frazzled, but
Lizzie was still playing, while feeding baby Katie. What would I do without her?
    Even when tea was ready, it was quite a job to persuade Daisy to come to the table. She ate very little.
    Afterwards she went straight back to her place on the stairs. But not for long. It was soon time for baths and bed. I think she would have stayed where she was, if she could, till she fell
asleep, so I had to coax her to come up with us. ‘Look, sweetheart. Daddy won’t come now. It’s too late – nearly bedtime.’
    Next morning, when the phone rang during breakfast, I thought it might be Rocky, to make his excuses. Daisy obviously thought the same and followed me out to the hall. But when
I picked up the receiver, I heard a woman’s voice.
    ‘Please could you hold on a moment?’ I asked her, then turned to Daisy.
    ‘It’s not Daddy, sweetheart,’ I said to her. ‘It’s a lady.’
    ‘Not Daddy?’ she looked forlorn.
    ‘No, Daisy’. I shook my head to make it clear.
    She plodded slowly back into the kitchen, where Lizzie was helping us that morning. I think it must have been half-term.
    ‘Sorry about that,’ I said to the woman on the phone.
    ‘That’s all right, Mrs Merry. It’s Social Services here.’
    ‘Oh yes?’
    ‘Did you by any chance see an item on the local news a couple of days ago, about a baby found abandoned under a bush?’
    ‘Yes, I did.’
    ‘Well, her name is Laurel and we need a temporary placement for her while we try to find her family. Will that be possible, do you think?’
    ‘Yes,’ I said with a smile. I