SCOTLAND ZEN and the art of SOCIAL WORK

Friday morning 6th May

  Now, when we are all in Kate’s living room waiting for the foster parents to bring the boys I realise my relationship with Tommy has moved on a lot in the last week, we are beginning to have shared history and shared experiences and of course sex. This might be a good day to let Mam know I have been seeing Tommy. There is a skill in burying awkward news with more positive momentous happenings.

  Phillip announced that a car was stopping at the gate and we all moved to high alert. Phillip went out the door and down the path to greet the visitors, and Kate stood at the open door smiling as if her face would split apart. Mam and I crouched like peeping toms at the window. The foster carers shook hands with Phillip and fumbled about for a moment in the back of the car. They emerged each carrying a tiny bundle, wrapped in a white shawl into the house, said hello to all of us and handed one baby to Kate and one to Phillip, they immediately went back outside to bring more things from the car and left us breathless with amazement at the two sleeping babies. Phillip handed his bundle to Mam so that he could help bring things in and she sat down and cradled the baby on her knee and motioned Kate to sit beside her. I knelt in front of them and we started to unwrap the boys to get a better look. They were tiny, really tiny, and to us they looked perfectly identical. The foster couple came back in with Phillip carrying bags and a holdall and two beautifully gift wrapped boxes. The woman, who introduced herself as Maria, was a tall and shapely with dark eyes and long greying hair braided down her back almost to her waist. She was dressed in flared jeans and a multicoloured sweater, definitely an ageing hippie with six earrings, leather sandals and painted toenails. I liked her straight away and she asked,

  ‘Well, who’s the Mother of these children now?’ Kate was speechless for a moment the she said,

  ‘I can’t really believe this is happening but yes, I’m now their Mother.’

  ‘Fantastic, if you give us tea we can stay for half an hour and tell you all about them.’ Mam handed her child to me and said she would supervise Phillip in the kitchen. Poor Phillip, he wasn’t getting another chance to hold any of the boys for the minute but I supposed he might be nervous to do it in front of all the women for the first time. He would have the rest of his life to get it right. Maria said I was holding Paul, who was the oldest twin by four minutes and said they were not identical as we had thought. There were some slight differences that we would soon recognise, the main one being that David was placid and Paul was not. We took that to mean Paul was not all sunshine.

  Maria’s husband, introduced as Horse, was another throwback to flower power times, he was whippet thin with hair as long as Maria’s and he wore dungarees with metal fasteners and a Doors tea shirt. They just didn’t fit my idea of approved Foster carers and Mam and Phillip’s mother, Grace were twitching when they saw Horse had some sea shells woven into his hair, but I was impressed by their individuality and style and they spoke as if they had really enjoyed having the twins staying with them.

  ‘I learned a lot,’ said Horse, ‘a double buggy is torturous to get in the boot of the car, and two hungry babies can make more noise that an ambulance siren at close quarters. The gifts, by the way are teddy bears, from us.

  ‘Don’t complain Horse,’ said Maria, only it came out as Hoss in her Fife accent, and Kate and I were nearly choking trying not to laugh, ‘The next two charges are teenage offenders and I bet after a few weeks you’ll be dying for a few babies again.’

  The tea arrived and I said that while the babies were sleeping we should try them out in the cradles. Grace took David and put him in the pine cot and I put Paul in the heirloom. Mam and Grace started to cry quietly into flowery hankies and we all basically ignored them as time was running out and Kate needed lots more information about feeding and vaccinations and sleep times and reassurance. Maria was very encouraging, and said, with a little support she and Phillip would be fine, the babies were healthy and beautiful, they couldn’t wish for a more perfect little family. When they were ready to leave Horse asked if he could hold them one more time and proceeded to expertly lift one baby in each arm for one last cuddle. Maria took an envelope out of her pocket and said it was a letter to the boys for them to read when they were old enough if Kate and Phillip agreed. She said it quite simply told the story of their first temporary family before they were adopted. It wished them luck for their life said that they will never be forgotten by her or Horse.

  Kate and I were bubbling with tears now and I asked Maria how she could bear to part with all the children she’d had. She smiled and looked at Horse and said,

  ‘Believe me some are not too hard to part from, we get some difficult ones, usually the teenagers, but babies are always hard to let go. We’ve been doing this a long time, but we always look forward to the next challenge, and hope we can cope for a lot of years yet.’

  ‘How many children have you had?’ asked Phillip,

  ‘Four of our own and twenty-five foster children,’ Horse replied confidently, ‘and a lot of them keep in touch which is great.’ He lays the babies back down in their cradles, tucks them in, and they say their goodbyes. They leave behind a living-room completely changed, full of bags, bottles, sterilisers, baby clothes, and of course two little mites who haven’t a clue where they are or what’s going on, and of course two new parents emotionally exhausted by the days events so far.

  Mam and I clear up the dishes and when we’re alone in the kitchen she turns to the sink and with no eye contact says that Aunty Therese called in to see her yesterday and told her in passing about my visit last week. My mothers back was tense and I waited to see what she would make of this. Nothing happened for a moment then we heard the front door opened and Mickey rushed in shouting,

  ‘Have I missed the excitement, where are they.’

  We all try to shush him to shut up to let the boys sleep as long as possible, but the door opens again, Phillips father comes in and its pandemonium again for a few minutes. There are lots of oohs and ahs and more tears and snotters from Phillips Mum. I put the kettle on again for tea and baby bottles and decide I will go home for a bit and come back later with the children when John gets out of school. Like Scarlet I feel tomorrow is another day for the confrontation with Mam.

  Chapter 34

  Friday afternoon 6th May