smallhobbit

Patrick Turner came into the kitchen, to see his wife holding a letter between her fingers and staring at it.  “Bad news?” he asked.

“Yes, no, I don’t know.  It’s from the adoption people.  There must be another problem, it’s too soon for them to have approved it.  You’ll have to open it; I can’t bear to look at it.”

Patrick took the envelope and they both sat down at the kitchen table.  He opened it, read it through and then read it through again to be sure he’d fully understood it.  Then he smiled at Shelagh and said, “They say there’s no problem with our application.  They note that we are now re-applying following the death of May’s mother.  Everything’s correct, and since nothing has changed since our last application, it’s all gone through speedily.  We should receive the formal adoption papers in about a fortnight’s time.”

“That’s wonderful news!”

“Isn’t it?  I’ll write to Tim; he’ll want to know.”

“I’ll drop him a quick note.  If he receives a letter from you, he’ll think something bad’s happened, you never write.”

“Too true!  Well, I’ll see you this afternoon.  I’ll make a point of being home for tea.”

***

When Patrick got home that afternoon, he found Shelagh sitting at the kitchen table looking thoughtful.

“Is everything okay?” he asked.  “You do look a bit down.  Did you tell May the news?”

“Yes, I did,” Shelagh replied.  “She didn’t really say anything.  She didn’t even seem happy or sad, just thoughtful.  Angela, however, was really excited and said we should have a special tea at the weekend to celebrate.”

“What did you say to that?”

“I said it was a lovely idea, hoping it would brighten May a bit, but she didn’t respond.  Do you think I did the right thing?  I just thought she’d want to know immediately.”

“I tell you what.  I’m going upstairs to change, so while I’m up there, I’ll check on her, make sure she’s okay.”

When Patrick came back down, he was smiling broadly.  “There’s nothing to worry about,” he said.  “I suspect May was simply processing the news, it probably came as a bit of a shock to her.  She and Angela are busy discussing which dresses to wear for this party tea and who to invite.  I don’t remember you saying anything about inviting some of their friends.”

“You’re quite correct; I had thought it would be a special family tea.  However, if May wants to celebrate with some of her friends, I don’t see how we can object.”

“Oh, we can’t.  I think it’s rather lovely that she wants to do so.”