Nicholas Arrived on the Call. He Was Greeted by a Ten-Year-Old Boy and a Girl. “Mum Will Be Home Soon, Please Come In! The Kitchen Tap Is Dripping,” Said the Boy.

Michael arrived at his last call of the day. A boy of about ten and a little girl opened the door for him.
Mum will be back soon, come in! The kitchen taps dripping, the boy said.
Michael stepped inside and fixed the tap.
Dad would have done it himself, but hes a pilot. Hes hardly ever at home, the boy explained.
Their mother returned and paid Michael, then the boy walked with him to the lift.
We havent got any pilot dad at all! Mum made it up,” he suddenly confessed.

Michael had just finished replacing a bathroom tap for an old lady elsewhere in town. He was ready to head home when the firm rang, asking if he could make one more visit to fix a leaky kitchen tap. Hed been doing maintenance workplumbing, odd jobs, cleaningfor about half a year at a small company in Manchester.

He drove to a quiet street, knocked on the door, and a serious boy answered, a fair-haired girl by his sidemaybe a year or two younger.
No grown-ups at home? Michael asked, surprised. Hed been told never to go in if there werent any adults present.
Mum will be in soon. The taps leaking, I tried to stick it with tape but it wont stop. We can pay you, dont worry, the boy reassured him.

Michael believed that mum would be back soon, so he set to work, replaced the valve.
My desks all wobbly, and the light switch keeps sticking, the girl piped up suddenly.
Dad would sort it, but hes a pilot. Hes flown very far, can never get home, she continued, echoing words clearly passed down from their mother.

Just then, Mum arrivedabout 35, pleasant but tired, longing to sit down with a cup of tea, perhaps.
You finally got round to it, her son told her. You keep saying youll call someone, so I did it myself.
She thanked and paid Michael, and the girl reminded her about the desk and the switch.
They arranged for him to come back the next day. Michael handed over his business card.

The boyby now Michael knew his name was Harryhelped carry out the rubbish.
We havent got a pilot dad, Harry said glumly, Mums just fibbing. She thinks were too little to understand, but if he existed, hed have come home once, wouldnt he? And those presentsshe buys them herself but says theyre from him. I saw her pick out Lucys doll for her birthday at the shop, but she said Dad had posted it.
Maybe he cant come back, you never know” Michael tried, but Harry only looked at him, sad and silent.

That evening Michael was restless. Pilot. The word hummed around his thoughts. Once, he too had been one

He remembered living in Birmingham, travelling all over, married to a beautiful woman who wanted him to settle down, though they never had children.
Oh, you get to float about in the clouds, while I stay home wiping noses and changing nappies? No, thank you!
Her parents moved abroad, called them both out, but he refused. She left him and followed them.
Michael kept flying until bad health landed him in early retirement, with a respectable pension, plenty of hours flown.

He packed up for his mothers place in a small town, managed half a year with her before she too was gone, quickly and unexpectedly.
He spiraled for a month or soold friends, new vicesuntil he dreamt of his mother weeping in disappointment.
The next morning, he threw everyone out, restored his flat a little, grew lonely.

While reading the local paper one afternoon, he saw an ad for Handymen Needed (Car Required).
He decided to give it a goit was something to do, and the money made a pleasant extra bonus.
He liked the freedomtime off when he fancied, work when he pleased.

The following evening, Michael returned to Harry and Lucys place; Mum, whose name he learned was Grace, was already home.
He repaired the desk leg, sorted the switch, straightened a shelf, and rehung some muddled cupboard doors.
Looking in the bathroom, he stopped.
You need a full overhaul here, he said.
Ill agree, if youll do the work, Grace replied, We have some savingsI think its enough to cover you.
As he worked, they grew acquainted. Grace worked in a nursery, teaching small children their numbers and stories.
Have supper with us, she suggested shyly, You must be starving after all that.
The children crowded round, and Michael accepted.

Supper stretched out. The kids dropped off to sleep, but Michael and Grace talked long after the tea was cold. Hed never confessed so honestly to anyone before. Grace just listened, hand to cheek, her eyes reflecting centuries of kindness and wisdom.

Thered never been any pilot husband. Shed tried relationships twice, but it hadnt worked, and she raised the two children three years apart on her own.
The pilot dad story was for the kids, to be explained later, in time.

When Michael finally got up to go, it was midnight. He promised to return the next eveningthere was more yet to do.

The next night, Grace answered the door and froze. Michael stood there in his old pilots uniform, holding a bunch of daffodils and a Victoria sponge.

Daddy, our pilots come home! Lucy shrieked, running into his arms.

Im home now. I just didnt recognise you at firstits been so long, hasnt it, Grace? Michael said, hope in his eyes. Graces reply could only be yes.

And just like that, Graces patchwork family became whole, laughter and warmth echoing in every corner.

Harry struggled to believe it at first, but in time he too welcomed Michael as his dad.

Michael adopted Harry and Lucy, and a year and a half later, a new baby boy arrived.

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