Chapter 19

‘Goodness me, Fran! I don’t know! You’ll have to ask your father when he comes in.’

Barbie, an excellent book keeper, and capable of carrying out duties at the post office counter meticulously, found herself floored by the things Fran wanted to know. She had just been putting her daughter’s tea on the table one day when Fran asked another of her many questions.

‘How do the stars stay up in the sky? Why don’t they fall down?’

Percy, when he came home, did his best with it, although not at all confident of the answer he supplied.

The questions soon became more searching, leaving both her parents floundering.

‘Who told the people in foreign countries, like France and Italy, that they mustn’t speak English?’

‘How did they find out which berries were poisonous to eat?’

Fran’s teachers were pleased with her from the beginning, knowing she would do well although it soon became clear that, whereas numbers presented no problems to her at all, words sometimes had a way of causing her to stumble. She came home frustrated one day and demanded to know, ‘Who decided the right way to spell words? Why don’t they get spelt the way they sound?’

Then came the inevitable question, just as they had settled down one evening – Percy with his newspaper and Barbie with her sewing.

‘Mummy, how do you make babies?’

Percy spluttered and buried his head deeper in the newspaper. Barbie, fearful he might start rambling on about storks and gooseberry bushes, decided to take the bull by the horns.

‘It all begins when a daddy and mummy love each other and decide they want children of their very own.’

She went on to describe how the daddy planted a seed into the mummy, where she cared for it until it had grown into a lovely baby, strong enough to come out of the mummy’s tummy and join the family.

Fran seemed satisfied with the answer, and Barbie breathed a sigh of relief. A few evenings later, however, it became clear that the child’s thinking had moved on.

‘You know you said I was specially chosen, because you and Daddy couldn’t make babies – well where did I come from before that?’

Barbie had known the question would have to be faced at some time, but she wasn’t prepared for it quite so soon. She thought for a moment before replying.

‘There was a mummy who grew you in her tummy, but she wasn’t able to look after you, and she wanted you to have a home where there would be a mummy and daddy who would love you very much, and give you a proper home – and when we saw you we knew you were the little girl we wanted.’

‘But why couldn’t that mummy look after me?’

Barbie began to get flustered.

‘We don’t know dear, and as we’ll never know it’s better to forget about it. Just remember how much Daddy and I love you.’

‘I know you do – I know you love me lots.’

Hoping that was the end of it Barbie stood up indicating it was time for bed. Fran, however, hadn’t finished.

‘I just wondered who the mummy was, and there must have been a daddy, too, mustn’t there?’

Seeing Barbie looking tearful Percy tried to take over.

‘It’s like Mummy says – it’s better not to think about it. Your home is here with us, and we’ll always look after you – that’s for sure.’

Fran was perplexed. She had the feeling that something from her past was being concealed from her, and, young though she was, she realised that when she tried to explore her history her parents became distressed. She did not want to upset them – and yet she needed to know. There was a piece missing from the jigsaw puzzle and she had a strong urge to find it.

‘It’s like I always say, dear,’ said Barbie, who had recovered herself by now, ‘when one door closes, another opens. Well, there’s a door that’s closed behind you now, but our door opened just when you needed it and that’s all that matters. Now promise me you won’t worry about these things any more. Come here and give Mummy a nice big kiss!’

Fran obediently did so.

‘Well, that’s that question laid to rest,’ said Percy optimistically, when Fran had left the room.

Disappointed with her lack of progress Fran nevertheless realised that she wasn’t going to be able to pursue her enquiries – but the question wouldn’t go away. Her strong spirit and enquiring mind didn’t much like the idea of doors being closed to her. She made a mental note that one day, when the time was right, she was going to do everything she could to open it and find out just what lay behind.