Married for Kevin’s Sake

**A Marriage for Charlies Sake**

Charlies happy childhood ended when he was five. One day, his parents never came to collect him from nursery. All the other children had gone home, but he sat at the table, drawing pictures of himself, his mum, and his dad. The nursery teacher kept glancing at him, wiping her cheeks for some reason. Then she picked him up, held him tight, and whispered, “No matter what happens, Charlie, you mustnt be afraid. You have to be strong now, love. Do you understand?”

“I want my mum,” he whispered back.

“Your aunt and uncle are coming soon, sweetheart. Youll go with them. Therell be other children therejust dont cry.” She pressed her wet face against his.

They took him by the hand and led him to a car. When he asked when hed see his mum again, they said she and his dad were far away and couldnt come for him today. Charlie was put in a shared room with other boys like him. But his parents never returnednot the next day, nor the day after. He cried himself sick at night, his fever spiking from grief.

Only after he recovered did the nurse in the white coat sit him down and explainhis parents were in heaven now, watching over him. They couldnt come back, but they saw everything, so he had to be good and stay healthy for them.

Charlie didnt believe it. He stared at the sky but saw only clouds and birds. He decided, no matter what, hed find them.

During outdoor time, he searched the yard until he found a gap under the fencebent iron bars. He could only squeeze halfway through, so he dug a tunnel. The loose, sandy earth made it easy, and soon hed made a proper escape route.

Charlie wriggled free and ran as fast as he could from that wretched orphanage (thats what the older boys called it). But he didnt know the city and soon got lost. Every house looked the same. Then he spotted a woman at the crossingjust like his mum. Same polka-dot dress, same neat blonde bun.

“Mum!” He sprinted after her.

She didnt turn.

“Mum!” He grabbed her sleeve.

She crouched, studying his face. But it wasnt her.

Lily had fallen in love at twenty, and it was forever. She and William were perfect together. Theyd met at a summer dancehed shyly asked her for a waltz, and they never parted that night. Three months later, they married.

But three years in, Lily learned she couldnt have children. William struggled to accept it, and she endured endless tests, treatments, spa retreats. Eventually, they faced the truth: theyd never have their own. So William suggested adoption.

Lily loved him too much. She offered him a divorcehe was still young, barely thirty. He could remarry, have a family. Shed manage alone.

William refused. So Lily hatched a plan. She lied, saying shed fallen out of love and found someone else. William didnt believe her.

The next night, she didnt come home till dawn, reeking of wine and aftershave. When he demanded answers, she insistedshe had a lover. Heartbroken, he agreed to the divorce.

___________________________

When Charlie called Lily “Mum,” shed been divorced two months. She missed William terribly. Now this strange boy clung to her, and her heart nearly leaped from her chest.

“Are you lost, sweetheart?” she asked softly.

“Im looking for my mum and dad. They said theyre in heaven, but I dont believe it,” Charlie sobbed.

“Come, I live nearby. Fancy some cake?” She took his hand.

At home, Charlie devoured Victoria sponge, washing it down with Earl Grey. Between bites, he told her everythinghow the older boys stole his sweets, bullied him, gave him black eyes.

Lilys heart ached. “Charlie what if I took you home with me? When youre older, youll understand. One day, youll see your parents againjust not yet.” He agreed.

She rang the orphanage, returned him, and promised to visit daily. But she couldnt adopt himnot as a single woman. For the first time, Lily regretted the divorce.

So she hatched another planmarry her colleague, Oliver. Hed just divorced, fancied himself a ladies man, but had good references. He agreedfor a price. Dinner, candles and more.

Lily recoiled. She still loved William. But that evening, she found Charlie with a fresh black eyepunishment for snitching. She couldnt leave him there.

The next day, she agreed. On Saturday, she cooked, wore a red dress (his request), lit candles, and waited, sick with dread.

The doorbell rang.

Her stomach twisted as she opened itand there stood William.

“Ive been watching you, Lily. No men, no late nights. Whos this lover, then?”

Just then, the lift dinged. Out stumbled Oliver, clutching roses and champagne.

“Lil, darling”

Williams fists clenched. He turned and bolted downstairs.

“Wait! Its not what you think!” Lily chased him, but he leaped onto a passing bus.

She sent Oliver away, weeping. What now?

___________________________

Two years later, Charlie stood proudly in his school uniform, gripping a bouquet for his teacher. His parents and little sister, Maisie, beamed at him. Maisie, adopted just last year, squirmed in Dads arms. Mum wore that polka-dot dressCharlies favourite.

Turns out, Oliver wasnt all bad. Hed tracked William down and explained. The next day, William dragged Lily to the registry officethey remarried that afternoon, just to bring Charlie home.

Now they still visit the orphanage, bringing gifts. They took Maisie the day she arrived.

___________________________

“Mum, Dad,” Charlie whispered, glancing skyward, “Ill work hard at school. Dont be sadI love my new parents, but theyre just till I see you again.”

He knew nowhis first parents died in a car crash. Hed visited their grave. Sundays, he went to Sunday school at St. Marys, learning all about heaven.

As for Lily, shed been too stubborn to trust William. Fate stepped in, making her marry him twice.

But everyone lived happily ever after.