Читать книгу The Forgotten Child: A little boy abandoned at birth. His fight for survival. A powerful true story. - - Страница 20

CHAPTER 7

One Day at a Time

When I woke up the next morning – my first morning away from Field House – everything seemed calm, but I was wary. Stiff and aching, I sat up in bed and listened. All I could hear was the distant clinking of cups or plates, which seemed to come from downstairs in the kitchen, but no voices. Should I get up? No, I decided it might be safer to wait and see, but I didn’t have to wait long.

‘Richard?’ called Pearl’s voice up the stairs. ‘Arnold has gone to work. Are you awake?’

‘Yes. Shall I get dressed?’

‘I’ll come up.’

I heard her running lightly up the stairs and my door opened.

‘You can wear some of the new clothes I bought you, if you like,’ she said with a warm smile, getting them out for me to look at. ‘You choose.’

This was a first for me. I picked a pale blue short-sleeved shirt and some red shorts and she helped me put them on.

‘Are you hungry?’ she asked.

‘Yes,’ I replied, politely. In fact, I was more than hungry – I hadn’t eaten since yesterday lunchtime, except for the one biscuit Pearl had given me. I imagined a big breakfast all laid out for me to choose from, with porridge or cereals, toast and fruit, so I gladly followed her downstairs. But the kitchen table was bare.

‘I’ll just put the kettle on,’ she said. ‘We’ll have a cup of tea and I’ll butter you a slice of toast.’

So that was it – one slice of toast for my breakfast that first morning.

It was a great relief to me that Arnold had gone to work. Pearl seemed more relaxed too, as she chatted away to me at the kitchen table.

‘We have some nice neighbours,’ she told me. ‘And there are quite a few children living in our road, some of them are about your age. They often play together outside, so you must try and make friends with them if you can.’

‘Are there some boys?’ I asked.

‘Yes, and they play together very well. I’m sure you will enjoy that.’ Pearl poured us both a second cup of tea. ‘You’ll soon be ready to start school,’ she added. ‘The infants’ school is only just round the corner, behind our garden, so we’ll be able to walk there. The teachers are very nice. They’ll teach you to read and write and you’ll be able to learn all sorts of things.’ She paused to sip her tea. ‘What would you like to learn about?’

‘Cars,’ I said straight away. ‘And I love animals, so I’d like to learn more about them – especially insects. We had a lot of insects in the Japanese garden at Field House.’