Adam, I promise you, my dear, I dont ever want to hurt you.
Adam sat perched on the window sill, gazing out into the drizzly London street below. He was waiting for his father and lost in thought. It had been two years since his mother had left them. Shes made a new family for herself, his father had once said, heavy with sadness. Why had she left her boy behind? Only she knew. Adam could never quite understand it, and slowly, her memory grew fainter.
His father tried everything to fill the gap for his son. Adam had turned ten this winterold enough to make sense of so much, and nothing was really hidden from him. He could tell the world made little sense sometimes. Hed learned to wash the dishes, stack things on tidy shelves, and had long stopped playing with toys.
He was nearly a young man now. But the loneliness gnawed at him. More than anything, Adam wanted a dog. His father, however, always refused.
And who would care for it, Adam? Im at work all day and youre still just a schoolboy.
But one evening, instead of coming home with a dog, his father brought home a woman named Jane. She moved into their terraced house in West Hampstead, and Adam barely spoke a word to her. He felt she didnt belong. But his father called her his wife and wanted Adam to accept her as his mother.
I dont need her! Adam declared, his voice unwavering. And so their days passed. He watched his father and Jane togetherkind-eyed, laughing, hugging in the kitchen. Yet Adams anger stayed, a dull ache he couldnt shake.
Dad, I want her to leave, he said one night.
Adam, I want her to stay. Its hard living without a womana wife and mother make a home.
As summer warmed the city, Adam spent more time in the park, racing around with his new friends. One afternoon, the boys whispered that soon Adam would be sent to a childrens home. Fear ran cold through his veins. Why wouldnt they leave him behind? Perhaps they wanted a new child and he was in the way. Adam started preparing himself for the worst.
One day, he overheard Jane murmuring to his father, Itll be lovely there. We ought to send him.
That was the last straw. Adam didnt sleep at all that night. By morning, hed resolved to drive Jane out, sure she was to blame for everything falling apart. He salted her tea, left the oven on with nothing inside, and was deliberately rude. Jane soon realised what was happening, and finally, she called him into the lounge for a talk.
We need a heart-to-heart. Youre cross about something, she said gently.
Im not cross about anything, Adam tried to protest.
Adam, I truly dont want to hurt you, my love.
Jane hesitated, her eyes warm. Weve rented a little cottage in the Cotswolds for the summer. It was meant to be a surprise, but honesty is best. Your dads found a puppy for you, and were collecting him today. Want to come along?
Youre not fibbing? Adams eyes teared up, hope flickering.
Of course not, Jane said, as Adam flung his arms around her, squeezing tight.
Jane nearly wept herself. Come on, this is meant to make you happy, silly. No need for the tears, she soothed, smoothing his hair.
That evening when his father returned from work, they set off together to collect the new puppy. Adams resentment melted, replaced by gratitude, and he saw Jane not as an enemy, but as a new friend. At last there was peace between them. The tiny brown puppy dozed off in Adams arms, and for the first time in ages, everyone was truly happy.
