A knock at the door

I’m sitting in front of the tv in a stupor. There’s a knock at the door. It must be Toni and Cody looking for my mum. As I pass the kitchen my mum mouths ‘I’m not in’. She’s tired. I open the door to reveal the two girls. Cody is taller with dusky red hair and a few teeth missing. Toni has long dark blonde hair and it swirls around her slender neck. Dirt is smeared around her pretty face. She has a twinkle in her eye.
‘Can we speak to Nancy?’
‘My mum’s actually busy just now doing the dishes. Maybe tomorrow.’
‘We’ve finished our dinner.’
‘Have you? That’s great’
‘We ate all of it.’
‘Did you? What did you eat?’
‘Fish cakes,’ says Cody, ‘with loads of chips.’
‘What did you have?’ I ask Toni.
‘The same. I was at her place. Maybe next week I can go again. Or have a sleepover.’
‘She doesn’t live here,’ says Cody.
‘Where do you live Toni?’
She thinks for a moment.
‘What part of Glasgow?’ I add, trying to help.
‘Cambuslang.’
‘Who do you stay with?’
‘Em, my mum, my aunt, my big brother, my two wee brothers,’ all in one breath.
‘That’s a lot of people in one house,’ I observe.
‘I have just four,’ says Cody. ’My mum, my dad, Reece and my dog.’
‘Your dog is not family,’ corrects Toni.
‘Well,’ I interpose, ‘for some people a pet is like a member of the family. Like our tiger.’
I turn slightly and nod in the direction of a large fluffy tiger sitting at the back of the hallway. They strain their necks to look. Somebody had given it to my sister but she thought it was kitsch and was going to throw it out. My mum took a liking to it and gave the tiger a home. It has guarded over us ever since. We named him Tony.
They both grin in amusement.
‘That?’
‘Yeah, sure. He’s part of our family. I talk to him at night when he comes alive.’
‘No he doesn’t.’
‘He does, I swear.’
Toni cocks her head sideways.
‘Can we have a sticker?’
I hesitate for a moment but I already know the answer. I’m soft hearted when it comes to children.
‘Sure. Just a minute.’
I edge into the kitchen where my mum is sitting on a stool, a cup of tea in her hands.
‘Where are the stickers?’ I whisper.
‘In Christina’s room, on top of the pink box.’
I search the room and find them.
‘Can we have three?’ asks Cody, as I hand them over.
‘Yeah.’
They inspect the selection. After a few moments Toni chooses a pink ‘Good Girl’ sticker and attaches it to her white T-shirt. Cody is undecided. Earlier on they had turned up at our doorstep and announced to my mum that they had tidied up Toni’s garden and picked up all the litter. They were rewared with stickers and now they were back for more. Cody fiddles with the stickers. She is thinking something over.
‘Can we give the tiger a sticker?’
I drag the tiger to the door and she places a star on his nose.
‘Pick some for yourself,’ I suggest.
They ponder for a few minutes, taking their time to choose.
‘Okay girls,’ as I gently take the stickers back, ‘I have got some work to do.’
I put a hand on the edge of the door but they still stand there.
Toni opens her arms out.
‘A cuddle?’
I smile, touched.
I reach down and give her a hug. She is so small and fragile. I hesitate and then reach over to Cody and give her a quick hug.
I feel a warm glow inside.
‘Okay, girls,’ closing the door slowly, ‘take care.’
‘Bye!’ they chime.
I close the door with a smile on my face.