Chapter 18

Step and Tear missed Sad very much and hoped he was happy with his police foster parents.  They soon had other worries as men in suits arrived carrying briefcases and marching around with important looking folders.  None of the orphans knew what was going on and most were not too worried but Step and Tear felt an ominous dread creeping over them  as the days went by.  When a group meeting was called by Matron and Nurse Smiley they knew that the news would not be good.

“First I wish to tell you all that you have no need to worry about the news I am about to give you.”  Matron looked around the room with an uncharacteristic smile which had them all worried straight away.

“It seems the State Government has a new policy regarding orphanages.  The feeling is that they are too expensive to run and it is better for children to be with a foster care family.”

“But, but, but, we are all here because the foster families don’t want us,” stammered Tear. “How is that going to change?”

“If the government sells all the orphanages they can use the money to pay foster carers so they will have more incentive to take on a child,” answered Matron patiently.

Step spoke up angrily. “This house was left to us, not the government.  How can they take it away from us?”

“The government is responsible for the repairs and employing the cook , the cleaners and the gardener.  The cost of maintaining an old house like this is just unimaginable.  The experts also feel you would all be happier in a smaller home living like a real family.” Matron paused.

“I also have to tell you that at the end of this year I am retiring and going to live with my sister in the city.”   She looked at Nurse Smiley who blushed self-consciously.

“And Nurse Smiley is going to be married and so will stop working for a living and instead look after her home and husband.”

Step and Tear looked at each other with concern.  The solid sense of security which had enveloped them since their arrival at the Zipporah Magillicuddy Childrens’ Home was gone in an instant.  Visions of mean and nasty foster parents grasping at bank notes filled their heads.

“We must do something,” Tear announced to those around her. “I’m not going without a fight.”

“It’s all hopeless,” Step moaned.  “Matron and Nurse Smiley are leaving anyway. Even if we could save the orphanage who would run it?  Things would never be the same with someone else.”

Tear, however, was determined to do everything she could.  She made flyers to put in letterboxes, borrowing the gestetner machine at the orphanage to run off her eye-catching signs.  She organised petitions in all the local shops so that people could read about their dilemma and sign if they wanted to help.  When Matron called her to her office she wondered if she was in trouble for all the fuss she was causing, but she soon found it was about a different matter entirely.

Matron looked at her thoughtfully before speaking. “This may come as a shock to you, Tear, but I have a letter from your mother.”

Tear sat up suddenly, recalling the day her mother took her out without telling her who she was until she dropped her off at the orphanage late in the evening.  It had been a wonderful day with lots of delicious food, a visit to Luna Park and the pictures.  Her mother had told her she would probably never see her again because her new husband didn’t know of her existence and likely wouldn’t approve.  She wondered what caused her mother to contact Matron.

“Your mother says that she wants to take you out on Saturday.  She says circumstances have changed and she wants to tell you more when she sees you.”  Matron frowned. “I didn’t know you had made contact with your mother?”

Tear looked up guiltily.  “She told me not to say anything.  Her new husband didn’t know about me so she wanted to keep it a secret from everyone.”

“Maybe things have changed for your mother,” said Matron carefully. “Just don’t get your hopes up too much.”

Tear was bursting with excitement all week but she didn’t tell Step because he would feel abandoned if she was planning to leave.  It also dampened her enthusiasm for saving the orphanage because if she was leaving what was the point of saving it?

Tear decided that one of two things had happened.  One possibility was that her mother was no longer with the new husband and was free to claim her daughter back.  The other was that the new husband found out about her and wanted her to be part of the family. That would be nice, she thought.  A happy family of three and maybe later, some brothers or sisters.

Saturday morning arrived bright and sparkling, the blue sea glittering outside Tear’s bedroom window while she dressed. She realised how much she loved this house and how sorry she would be to see it empty and deserted or maybe even demolished to make way for blocks of flats.

No longer did the children line up in rows waiting for the foster parents to examine them.  That belonged to the dark ages of the old orphanage which perished in the fire.  Instead, Nurse Smiley quietly approached Tear in the Rec Room and said there was someone to see her.  Step looked at her quizzically but she just shrugged and smiled as she walked away.

Her mother stood up from her seat, looking much larger than the last time Tear saw her.  She realised her mother must be pregnant and hoped this meant her dream of a proper family might come true.

“Come with me, Tear.  I have so much to tell you, but not here!”  She wrinkled her nose and looked around at the dilapidated house.

Tear walked outside and climbed into a comfortable car.  As she drove, her mother concentrated hard on the traffic and murmured, “Soon all will be explained.”

END OF CHAPTER 18