Saving Ant and Sarha

They Must Be Going Now

Thursday morning, Anne and the kids were seated at the kitchen table, having breakfast. Alph was starting to clean up when there was a knock at the door.

"Who could that be this early?" wondered Anne aloud, standing up and walking to the front door with her husband. "Finish eating breakfast, you three." she called over her shoulder to the curious children who were trying to get a better look at the front door from their seats.

Alph opened the door and was met by a rather plump man with pinkish skin, coal colored eyes, and a pathetic excuse of a comb-over on top of his bald head.

"Are you Mr. Donnelly?" he asked in a thick posh accident.

"Yes." replied Alph, crossing his arms. "This is my wife, Anne. How may we help you?"

"May I please come in?" Alph was about to say "no" when Anne elbowed him and flashed the strange man a smile.

"Why of course." she said and led him into the living room. As soon as they were situated, the man introduced himself.

"My name is Oliver Taylor," he said, "I was Christine McPartlin's attorney.' He pulled out a paper from his suit jacket and slipped on his reading glasses. "After her passing we received a phone call from a Catherine Woodhall. She says she's the wife of Derek Woodhall, her brother." he informed them. "They tried for full custody, and since he's a relative, he won." he put the paper back in his jacket pocket.

"What are you saying?" questioned Anne, already knowing what was about to happen.

Oliver took off his glasses.

"By the end of the week, Sunday to be exact, Anthony and Sarha must be packed and ready to move to Manchester where they will live with their uncle and his wife."

"There's nothing we can do?" Alph asked. Oliver sighed.

"Unfortunately, no." he said with an unsympathetic look on his face. He stood up and Alph followed him, closing the door after he left. Anne put her head in her hands.

"This can't be happening." she whispered in a choked voice. "Not now." Alph sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her and hugging her closely to his body.

"Mom? Dad?" The two adults turned to see Ant, Dec, and Sarha standing a few feet away from the, each with similar looks of confusion. "What's going on?"

"Nothing." said Anne with a forced smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Go finish getting ready for school, we're leaving soon." The three kids looked at her, and then at each other, before walking back into the kitchen.

When they arrived at school, Ant and Dec isolated themselves from Stephen so that they could talk. They were sitting outside on a bench in front of the school.

"What do you think is going on?" asked Ant. "Your mom looked really freaked out." Dec shrugged.

"I dunno, but I know it had something to do with that guy who came to the house this morning." Ant shifted positions.

"I hope that it doesn't." The bell rang and the children scrambled to get themselves together before dashing into school.

********

When school ended, Anne stood among the other parents with Sarha at her side. She watched as kids, eager to get home, poured out of school in herds. Her breath caught in her throat when she spotted Ant and Dec among the crowd.

They were talking with Stephen, sandwiched together, laughing at a joke that had not reached her ears. In the midst of all the chaos, Ant looked at Dec who in turn looked back at him and the two shared a conversation with a mere glance.

Dec spotted his mother and Sarha and smiled at her with the smile that could melt away any woman's heart. He tapped Ant on the shoulder, and the two ran over towards them. Anne felt tears come to her eyes, for this could possibly be the last time she saw this.

"Hi mom!" called Dec as soon as he was only a few feet away. Anne flashed him a smile and walked toward the pair, wrapping an arm around each of their shoulders. 

"How was school?" she asked them.

"Okay," replied Ant. "We didn't really do much." They all piled into the car and Anne drove towards her house. As they approached, Dec noticed his father's car in the driveway.

"What's dad doing home?" he asked and Ant's heart plummeted. This was what happened before he and Sarha had received news of their mother's death.

Ant followed Anne and Dec into the house quietly. Sarha was seated at the kitchen across from Alph looking very worried. Ant sighed, his fears coming true.

"We need to talk about something." said Anne, ushering Ant and Dec into the chair next to Sarha. She herself took a seat next to Alph.

"When a parent dies," Alph started out, "Their child, or children, need to stay with someone, and that someone has to be a relative." Ant furrowed his eyebrows.

"I'm confused."

"Sometimes," explained Anne, "When someone with a child dies, they leave their child in someone else's care." This finally registered through the kids' minds. Dec's eyes widened.

"Wait..." he whispered. Alph sighed.

"The man who stopped by the house this morning was your mother's lawyer. And what he said was that you were put in your uncle's custody in the event of her death." Sarha's head began to spin.

"What are you saying?" she asked, her eyes darting between Anne and Alph. "We have to go live...with our aunt?" Anne nodded, unable to speak. Her eyes glistened with tears.

"But we don't wanna leave!" exclaimed Ant. "Why can't we stay here?"

"I tried." said Alph. "I called everyone I could, but there's nothing we can do."

"What about school?" Dec croaked.

"They live in Manchester. They'll have to go to a different school." Sarha began to sob, her shoulders heaving. Ant put his head in his hands, his brain still not comprehending what was happening. Dec just sat still, tears slowly making their way down his face.

Ant stood up, took Sarha's hand, and led her out of the kitchen. He brought her to the bathroom and made her sit in the tub. He closed the door, sat down in the tub, and pulled the curtain closed.

"What are we gonna do?" Sarha sniffled. "We don't even know our uncle."

"We can't leave." Ant muttered. "We just can't." Sarha dragged her sleeve against her eyes.

"I don't want to leave this. I don't want to leave Dec, and I really don't want to leave them." Ant knew who she was talking about. She was referring to Anne and Alph. Just then Dec walked in and pulled back the curtain. The two looked up at him, surprised.

"How'd you know we were in here?"

"I heard the door close." he sighed. "If you guys do go," he continued. "Promise you'll never forget me."

Ant and Sarha smiled softly.

"We could never forget you, annoying as you are." she whispered and Dec let out a laugh.

"I have a feeling we'll see each other again."

"Me too." Ant and Sarha stood up so they could give him a hug.

"Don't worry, you'll be back before you know it." Dec declared.