They left the hospital together, just the two of them. No one came to greet them, no one filmed their arrival, and there wasnt a single bouquet of flowers thrusted into anyones hands. It wouldve felt odd anywayflowers for a man?
No, his mother was alive, perfectly fine. Well, except for the fact that she didnt want the child at all. She made that plain to her husband, hiding nothing. He pleaded, insisted, even threatened a little, using all his nearly forty years of longingfor this might be his one and only chance to continue his line.
Theyd struck a bargain: his wife gave birth, they divorced immediately, and she amiably agreed to pay child support.
At first, Williams pride made him want to refuse, but his ex-wife reasoned with him: Lifes long, Will. Anything could happen. Youre not a young man, and Im much younger. I might not want the child, but its still mine. Let this be a safety net, just in case for the future.
Thus began restless, peculiar days, but William kept his spirits. So many single mothers around, why should he be any less? Loads of test-tube babies out there, too. He never saw the fusswas he to believe a child with a father would wither away? No, young James William grew, weighed strong and beamed with happiness.
But when little Jamie began to grow, came the endless questions about mum. But how do you tell a child his mother wanted nothing to do with him? William scrambled for an answer:
I found you in a cellar.
A cellar? Which one?
Just therein the basement next door.
From that moment on, the cellar drew Jamie with the pull of a lodestone. On walks, whenever his father looked away, Jamie would sneak off and peer through the basement grates, gently calling for his mother. Always, though, the answer was silence.
Until, one day Jamie heard something down there. His heart first froze, then thundered so loudly it almost blotted out the world. The entryway was ajar, and Jamie darted into the cellar.
At first it was pitch dark, but his eyes soon adjusted. He crept deeper, voice catching, calling out in a tear-thick whisper, Mum? Mummy, are you here? Its meJamie Ive come to find you!
But mother never replied. Jamie halted, sobbed again, and strained his ears. A soft rustling from the corner. Wiping away tears with a muddy fist, he edged toward the soundmaybe his mother was ill, unable to get up. Hed find her, and she would be so, so glad to see him!
Jamie walked on, crying yet smiling. Everyone he knew had a mumnow he did too! But in the corner, wrapped in rags, he found only a cat. A wary tabby, glaring at the intruder while shielding a shivering kitten.
Mum? His voice was barely a thread. Disappointment nearly split him right down the middle; his legs crumpled and he dropped to the floor. He stared at the cat once more
When youre five, logic works differentlykinder, and sometimes more honest. Jamie thought of Lily from nursery, whod claimed her dad was a centaur. And Tommy, who insisted his father was an alien, and had proved itsomehow. So, why couldnt his own mother be a cat?
The cat, perhaps sensing the gentleness in Jamie, inched closer and nudged his tiny hand with her head.
So you really are my mum? he asked, hope making the words glow. He so wanted it to be true, he believed itwould have fought anyone who said otherwise. Jamie hugged the cat, and the cat pressed herself closer, in return.
William only noticed Jamie missing after a little while, then started to search in panic, peering under the swings and behind the hedges.
Jamie! Jamiekins, out you come now! Where are you?
Minutes that felt like years ticked by, sprouting silver in Williams hair. At last, Jamie emerged from the cellar, cradling the cat and her kitten. Rushing up, William blurted, Where on earth have you?
I found mum, said Jamie solemnly. And that ones my little sister They were in the cellar, same place you found me.
William was at a loss; how could he break the truth to a five-year-old? In the end, he didnt. And how do you know its her? he managed.
Jamie shrugged. I just know She looked at me like only a mum could. Cmon home, DadI think mums tired.
Jamie was blissful. Hed found his mum! And so what if his sister turned out to be a brotherthat was even better. Now thered be proper boys games and mum could purr them bedtime stories.
At nursery, he was taken seriously. So what if your mums a cat? Kierans dad is an airplanehe even has a photo.
William worried for ages, unsure how to begin ‘the talk,’ but seeing Jamie so happy, he waved it away. Itd sort itself out.
After that, chaos moved in. Jamie, the kitten, and the cat tore around the house, upending everything. The cat, still young herself, was more than ready for a romp with the boys.
Oi, enough of this madness! William would roar, restoring order.
Jamie, clutching a shoelace, paused. Three pairs of eyeschild, kitten, and catlooked at William, then at each other, shrugged, and dashed off to create more mayhem. Why? Because Mum said they could.
