Father Not Included

Chapter Eight: "Of course!"

Eleanor took to the small boy as well as I did. Adeline did the house check-ups and told us everything we need to know about Daniel, and gave us his file.

Apparently, he was sent to the adoption centre after his next door neighbour had called the police over his parents verbally and physically abusing him. According to the neighbour, they'd drag him everywhere they went and damage his self esteem by calling him abhorrent names.

Daniel was happy that he had placed in the adoption centre, but that didn't stop him from going mute at the age of five. He was now six. And his reasoning for going mute?

He didn't want to accidentally say something wrong or make anybody feel bad. He didn't want to make the same mistake his parents did.

Harry was right when he said that Daniel was clever. Even without muttering a word he was the smartest child even I had ever met. The reason I believe Harry had taken to him so well was because the two of them were placed here on the same day, so they were newbies together. Harry had never heard him mutter a word but still he loved him like his own son.

I was glad to be doing Harry a favour, but I felt as though I was doing something wrong. Like taking one of his favourite things away.

Which is why I offered him something he couldn't refuse.

"How would you like it if I brought Daniel to see you every fortnight or so?" I asked him out of earshot of Eleanor as we were leaving for the very last time. Daniel was stood within hearing distance smiling at himself.

"A-are you serious?" Harry asked. He rubbed his palms together whilst staring at me with a confused expression.

"I can see how much he means to you," I whispered. After all, it would help Daniel warm to me and get us out on a few trips as well as making the man happy.

"He does, of course he does. But are you certain you won't leave me hanging here and never return to see me?" Harry asked. For all my worth, I couldn't let him down. One look in those forest green eyes and I knew that I had to keep this promise.

"Yes," I replied, and I smiled at him.

"Thank you so much!" And with that, he wrapped me in his arms and I gave him a friendly pat on the back.

"It's fine. I'll see you next week."

Harry turned to say goodbye to Daniel and then I took the small boy outside into the real world. Of course Daniel had been outside a lot before, but I could almost sense that this time he was feeling different. He looked different, all happy and smiling with his little suitcase of toys and clothes, his brunette hair brushed to the side of his face.

Eleanor almost looked like a different person too. A month ago, she looked like she was dragging herself from a large pit but at this very moment she looked as though she was flying with the birds, and it was beautiful. Everything about today was beautiful and even Doctor Oats agreed. He'd told me that it took him and his wife seven months to get guaranteed a meeting with the children here, and that I was lucky to have had it happen oh so quickly. I really was lucky.

I opened the passenger side door for Daniel to slip in and helped Eleanor into the back of the car. She'd agreed that just for today, Daniel could come first.

I reached out to turn the radio on, a children's radio channel as it happened, and started the car down the road towards the centre of town. The sun was out, the birds were chirping and Eleanor looked extremely gorgeous in her sunglasses.

The drive home took around twenty minutes. Once they got there, I took off Daniels seatbelt and welcomed him to his new home. He'd seen it once before, last week when he came along for a checkup, and it looked great now that Harry had told me his favourite colour, yellow, and I'd decorated the whole bedroom for him.

We headed up there first and I showed him how the little train set worked and where to put his clothes. I asked him if he needed any help with folding or hanging, or even if I should do them myself, but he just shook his head, smiled, and began to do it himself. He was like a perfectly normal child, minus the loudness. But it was great.

I left him to it and went downstairs to help Eleanor prepare tea. "What kind of food does he like? All I picked up on was sweetcorn."

"Umm, Harry mentioned something about cheese and fish fingers too."

"Shall I just do mac and cheese?" she asked with a chuckle. I nodded and got her the ingredients from the cupboard and refrigerator.

*

It was around four when all the food was cooked and placed on the dining table. The sun had dimmed a little and the kitchen was quite dark with the exception of the chandelier light. I called Daniel down from where he was playing with his train set and we all sat down to eat.

Eleanor started the conversation by asking "how do you like your room?"

Daniel plopped down his fork, smiled, and brought up both of his thumbs in reply. I smiled at him and forked some more cheese covered pasta into my mouth. By the end of dinner Daniel had stayed silent but managed to provide a few giggles in response to mine and Eleanor's babbling, he also ate every last bit of his tea along with ice cream as dessert and his glass of apple juice.

At around eight PM I walked him upstairs to bed whilst Eleanor washed the pots. I tucked him right in so that his arms were compressed by the yellow stitched quilt and allowed myself to press a kiss to his small forehead.

As I was about to leave the room, I heard a knock on the wall coming from his bed and turned my head to see Daniel lifting himself up from his pillow. In his hand was a book from the bookshelf next to his bed, and I guessed he wanted me to read it to him.

So I did, and I sat there telling him the tales of a flying duck until his face relaxed, his eyes closed as he nodded off into peaceful sleep.