The ginger kitten catches Lennys eye on his morning walk, but Mrs. Nina Clarke has just organised a round of DuckDuckGoose, and the little cat never comes any nearer.
The kitten is ginger, just like Lenny, though its hard to tell whether its whiskers are a shade of ginger or not. Lennys whiskers clearly are.
Mrs. Clarke tells Lenny that the sunshine has kissed him. She kissed Lenny once, too, and then she died. Since that day nobody kisses him. His father, Simon, is always busy, and for some reason Grandma Margaret never shows him any affection.
If the sunshine really did kiss him, does that make him a son of the sun? Could the ginger kitten have been kissed by the sunshine as well? Do kittens even have eyelashes? Those questions flit through Lennys mind during nap time.
Lenny, why arent you asleep? Mrs. Clarke smooths his blanket. Close your eyes, love.
He obeys and shuts his lids, but sleep refuses him. He lies there listening as Mrs. Clarke whispers in the staff room:
How long is this going to go on? One assistant for two groups isnt enough with the number of children we have. Its ridiculous. Who will work for that pay?
Thank goodness Anna left, a voice replies. The way she dealt with the children, wed be better off without a nanny.
Dont say that, but how are we supposed to manage without her? Mrs. Clarke answers, and the conversation drops.
Anna Whitmore, the former nursery maid, scared Lenny and not just him. She often scolded the children, and if they refused the oatmeal with lumps, she could thrust a spoon into their mouths so hard it hurt their tongues. Once she pressed the spoon down on Lennys tongue with such force that he vomited all over the table. She screamed, Lenny froze with terror, and Mrs. Clarke hurried to wash and change him, warning Anna never to do that again. Soon someone complained, and Anna never returned to the nursery.
During the evening stroll Lenny spots only a flash of a ginger tail disappearing behind the bushes by the gazebo, then his father appears.
Since his mothers death, Simon barely talks to Lenny and barely notices him. He brings Lenny home from the nursery and sends him off to the playroom. One day Simon overhears Grandma Margaret snapping at him:
Simon, Im telling you for the hundredth time youre raising a child that isnt yours. He doesnt look like you, can you see that?
Mother, he looks like Nadia.
He doesnt look much like Nadia at all. Why not run a DNA test? Its simpler than dealing with a child that isnt yours.
Yes, but Ive been looking after him for four years, almost five now.
Then youve had this pretend family and a wife who hung a child on her neck. Shes gone now! You need to sort your own life and have your own children. If you think Ill keep looking after a boy, youre dead wrong. I dont need that.
Lenny doesnt understand. Grandmas angry, dissatisfied tone becomes a background hum he barely registers.
A new nanny arrives at the nursery the next morning. She is nothing like Anna. Lenny notices the change instantly. She speaks softly to the children, never shouting, and they actually eat their meals.
Curiosity spikes. Lenny puts his spoon down and watches the woman. She comes over:
Hello! Whats your name? Lenny? Im Irene Sinclair. Why arent you eating, Lenny?
I dont like oatmeal with lumps.
Lenny, let me tell you a secret I dont like lumps either, and I never force kids to eat them. You can leave them on the plate if you find any. Later well see who has the most.
That sounds fun, so Lenny starts hunting for lumps in his bowl. To his surprise there are almost none, and while hes searching he unknowingly finishes the rest of his porridge. Irene praises him, calling him a great boy. No one has praised Lenny in ages, and he beams with pride.
From then on he loves the nursery even more. Irene helps the teacher wherever she can, and the children quickly grow fond of her.
One afternoon Mrs. Clarke asks Irene to stay with the kids during nap time while she steps into the headmistresss office. The children hum softly, but Lenny still cant drift off.
Lenny, why are you still awake? Irene strokes his head.
Do you know my mother is in heaven? he whispers.
Irenes throat catches. She likes this quiet, ginger, shy boy. She has already noticed that Lenny is shuffled between a rushed father, a irritable old woman, and never his mother.
No, I didnt know, she says.
And the sunshine kissed me too, he adds.
I saw that, she smiles.
Do kittens have eyelashes?
Probably. Why do you ask?
Lenny explains in a hushed voice about the ginger kitten living in the bushes, how it might also have been kissed by the sunshine, and how that would make the cat his brother. He wishes for a brother, even a kitten, because no one kisses him without his mother.
Can kittens kiss children?
Holding back tears, Irene rubs his tousled, ginger crown and nods.
Yes, little Lenny, kittens can kiss children. Their tongues are a bit rough, though. Now go to sleep, okay?
Rough tongues? Lenny repeats, closing his eyes and soon drifting off.
Yes, its complicated, the teacher remarks when Irene asks about Lenny. His mother was in a childrens home. She died recently. His stepgrandmother never accepted his stepmother, kept telling his father the child wasnt his. I dont know the current situation. Hes tidy and wellkept, but hes stopped smiling. He used to glow like sunshine, all about his mum.
One day Lenny doesnt turn up at the nursery. Hes ill, it seems. The town, despite being almost summer, is plagued by a nasty virus. Lenny stays away for weeks.
He wont ever come back, Mrs. Clarke tells Irene. Simon has arranged for Lenny to be placed in a childrens home. He goes to the director for paperwork.
Into a childrens home? With a living father and grandmother? Irene cant grasp it.
Yes, because Simon isnt his biological dad. They did a DNA test with Grandma Margaret. The boy spent five years with them, then was sent to a foster home. What kind of people are they
Irene walks home in a daze, the image of the trusting ginger boy replaying in her mind: Do kittens have eyelashes?
Suddenly a bright orange bundle tumbles out from beneath the nursery fence. She scrambles, picks it up, and realises its a kitten ginger, likely the one Lenny talked about. The kitten is not a newborn but a scruffy teenaged stray, dirty but washable. No, kittens really dont have eyelashes.
That night Lennys father, Tom, comes home from work, clean and hungry, and the kitten darts to meet him.
Oh, weve got a new addition! Irene, will it ruin the furniture?
Seeing his wifes worried face, Tom worries.
What? No, Im not opposed. I just asked. The kids say cats are cheeky little devils.
Tom
Anything happen at work? With mum?
They chat until midnight. Finally Tom asks, Irene, are you sure its not just a stray you found?
She is sure. She took the job because she had no children of her own, and caring for other peoples kids felt right. Tom assures her everything will sort itself out, doctors say Lenny cant go back to a childrens home a stray kitten shouldnt be left on the street either.
They drown in paperwork: adoption forms, school registrations, psychologists. Thank goodness Toms salary is good and the flat is spacious. The headmistresss contacts helped. Lennys grandparents on the north coast call, shouting that they want their grandson to visit.
When Lenny finally gets his visitors badge, he smiles faintly, still unable to believe that a little patience will bring him back to Irenes care, and at home the ginger kitten waits.
Soon they all walk to the nursery together each day.
Look, Lennys back! the staff shout. Hello, Lenny!
Good morning, Mrs. Clarke. Did you know kittens have no eyelashes? Their tongues are indeed rough!
In two years Lenny will start Year1. Hell be escorted by his mums memory, his dad, two grandmothers, his grandfather and a tiny sister. The ginger kitten will be there too, purring beside him every step of the way.
