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Part 26
Harm tugged the door open, and held it open for his wife and daughter to exit first. They stood on the front porch, looking out through the rain, past the garden, to where Wendy had parked her jeep parallel to the curb.
They soon got a clear view of the children through the jeep windows, because although the kids were short at only seven years old, they were both sitting on booster seats
(In the UK, booster seats were encouraged by law for all children either under the age of eleven or under five feet tall.) Neither Tiegan nor Tyler cared about this at all, as they had always traveled in some sort of child seat and because this helped them see out of the windows, too. It was comfortable enough, unless you had been eating crisps or biscuits and had been sloppy about it and so ended up sitting in crumbs.
They all watched the children in the car, who seemed to be listening to Wendy and not paying any attention to what was outside the car. Harm put his arms around Mac and Mattie, who stood watching, nervously. Then, Harm saw his wife's face light up and he immediately looked back to the car to see that both of the children had now noticed that they were there. He felt a smile creep onto his own face, as he took in the look of shock the children both exhibited. That only lasted for a second, before their mouths began to move in excitement and they began to shuffle about, struggling with the restraints on their car seats.
"Here they come!" Mattie laughed, "Prepare for total chaos!"
"No other way I'd have it, Matt," Harm told her, smiling.
"Me too," Mac added, "I can't wait to have them tearing around this front yard!"
Wendy had by now rushed round to help the children out, first Tiegan, then Tyler. Tiegan ran around the back of the car and hung back by the right-hand rear lights, Watching them in assessment and waiting unsurely as Wendy got Tyler out of the car.
Mattie, Harm and Mac waved to her and the little girl grinned and gave a little wave, a little more encouraged now. Once her foster brother was free, Tiegan had no qualms about following him as he took off up the pathway, through the open front gate (it had been left open in the rush to get under the shelter and out of the rain, earlier) and up the steps to the front porch.
"MR RABB! MRS. RABB!" they both cried out joyously, running to the two adults who were scooting down to greet them, "It's you, it's you!"
They were both in their new parent's arms, without a second thought.
"Hey there!" Harm greeted them, as both he and Mac straightened up, each holding a child, "We thought you'd never get here! It seemed like forever since Nana Moon called us. Did you guys enjoy the drive over here?"
By that time, Wendy had joined them on the porch with the children's little suitcases, which Harm and Mac took from her.
"They were forever asking questions, weren't you, kids?" She revealed, "They asked me more questions than I was able to answer."
"We have plenty of time to answer all of your questions," Mac assured both of the children.
"Well, we were going to show you the neighborhood and such," Harm sighed to the children, as he looked out into the rain, "But it looks like exploring the area and going out into the yard is out of the question. Would you two like to see your new rooms, instead?"
At the children's questioning look, Mac elaborated, "We didn't know if you'd prefer a room of your own, or to share one, so we made up two. We can always move one bed back through, but you've got plenty of time to decide that."
"Come on," Harm suggested, "Why don't we all get out of this awful rain, huh?"
"Please excuse the puddles everywhere," Mac apologized to Wendy, "We got caught in the rain on our way home from the park, just before you called."
Everybody settled in the living room, both the children immediately following Harm and Mac to the couch. They settled the children between them, while Wendy settled in one of two arm chairs, Mattie in the other.
Harm looked to their older daughter, to check that she was taking this all okay, but if anything she looked more exuberant and positive than ever.
They sat while Wendy explained some last minute things, what was packed up in their little suitcases; clothes, school uniforms, daily essentials. Then, Harm and Mac told her the things that they had purchased, both for the children's everyday use and for furnishing their rooms.
"Like we said earlier," Mac added, "We've got two bedrooms prepared, but if the children would feel better sleeping in the one room, even if only for the first week or so, Harm can move things back into the one room."
"I'm sure that the children won't mind having a room each," Wendy commented, "It will save you from having to move things back around. You're not scared to be on your own, are you, children?"
Both of the children shook their heads, but Harm and Mac could tell that both children would prefer to be in each other's company. They were an extremely close pair of kids. They had been living as brother and sister since they were both only a few months old and they shared everything they owned, due to the fact that, in foster care, resources were always limited.
"Are there things that the two of you like to do?" Harm asked the children, wanting to involve them in the decision-making and get them feeling at ease.
"We like doing lots of stuff," Tiegan told him, "Anything anyone else wants to do. Most of the time, we end up playing outside with other children."
"We like building things," Tyler added, "Like tree houses and swings and stuff."
"Tyler's really good at climbing up into trees," Tiegan told Harm, "so he goes up to sling the rope over a good branch, then we tie it off and put something on the end of the rope to sit on. Then we swing from the highest point we can find, all the way through the trees! It feels like flying!"
"And in the Autumn, we go collecting conkers," Tyler added, "We can collect loads in just a few days, if the summer has been good enough."
"What are 'conkers'?" Mattie asked him, curiously.
"They're what we call horse chestnuts," Wendy explained, "We tend to roast them for eating."
"There are lots of trees around the park. Maybe some of those will be chestnut trees," Mattie suggested to the kids, "The park is only a ten minute walk from here. It's really good, because it's got all of the usual stuff, like swings and climbing equipment and a seesaw, but it also has other cool stuff as well; A duck pond, a zip line and a seven-foot-high slide."
Tiegan and Tyler were sitting forward, mouths hanging wide open, listening to intently to her every word.
"Wow," they breathed, amazed, Tyler telling Mattie, "We couldn't play in the one near our house that burnt down. It wasn't safe. And it never had ducks or anything. The hedgerows where we did play were fun, but all year round, apart from during Winter, they're full of nettles."
"I like ducks," Tiegan told her new sister, "Nana Moon has a nephew who lives in Cornwall and he and his family live on a farm with loads of them. And chickens and goats and horses…Uncle Tim lets us ride the tractor with him and muck out the goat pen…"
"Alright, kids," Wendy gently encouraged them to calm down, "I'm sure Mattie would love to hear lots of stories, but you're going to have lots of time to tell them, so just pace yourselves. I'm sure that Mr. And Mrs. Rabb would love to show you the rest of the house…"
Wendy had been watching Harm and Mac shift on the couch beside the children, hanging on their every word and action. When either was particularly touched by something the children said or did, they would look at the other or nudge them, accenting the look with a broad smile. Because Wendy remembered what it was like to receive the first foster child into your home, she could understand what Harm and Mac were experiencing. She could practically see the cogs and mechanisms in their heads working, as they formulated some plans based on what the children were telling them.
The children jumped up and the whole group moved first through to the kitchen, then to the dining room, where there were sliding doors that opened onto the back yard. Unfortunately, it was still raining, so they couldn't go outside, but Harm pointed out the back-left corner by a large silver birch tree, where he thought that they could construct a lean-to, sort of like the den that AJ and Jimmy had. Both children expressed great enthusiasm for this idea.
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