Lucian's Children

CHAPTER 9

The cottage my aunt had found us was delightful. It looked almost medieval from the outside. Its highly decorated outer walls, tiny immaculate garden and low roof made it look like a picture from a children’s book.  The inside was as pretty. The bedrooms were decorated Laura Ashley style with small flower prints and frills everywhere. This had never been my taste, but in these surroundings the décor was a perfect match.

For a few minutes I again saw my children relax and enjoy themselves as they explored the house and the garden, but by late afternoon they had again retreated to their room and were talking softly to one another. When my mother called them to supper, they dragged their feet and ate very little.

I tried my best to make them laugh when I bathed them, but the best I could do was get a smile from them.

When I took them to bed, I asked them whether they were missing their friends.

“No Mommy, we do not have friends.  We just want Daddy to come home, he will understand.”

“Understand what, Marcus?”

“Understand Mary and me Mommy.”

“But I understand and love you Marcus, why do you think Daddy would understand you any better, he had not seen you for more than two years and you have grown and changed so much in that time...”

“Because we are like Daddy Mommy.”

This really got to me, where have I failed my children, I wondered. I made up my mind to spend as much time with Marcus and Mary as I possibly could over the next few months.

We had a pleasant outing the next day, going into town to buy some groceries.  The children loved the paved main road of the town and the old buildings. We drove past a huge park on our way to town and I promised the children to take them there as soon as we were settled in.

After we had bought enough food, I took them to the Atos store where Marcus was more than impressed to select his purchases form a catalogue on a computer screen. He chose a small camera with a flip screen which could also take video. Mary chose a puzzle and a color-in book. On our way home I was pleased to hear my children chatter like normal three-year-old's on the back seat.

The children spent the rest of the day in the garden where Marcus took many pictures of Mary where she sat coloring in under a tree.  Mom had made us a nice roast and vegetables and the children’s appetite seemed to have improved.

They also fell asleep before I could read more than three pages from their book to them. Mom and Dad had also retreated to their bedroom after supper.  I did the dishes and then took my laptop to the small dining room table. Finally, I had some time to myself.

Yes, time to play detective.

I started by Googling Birth and Death Records UK and soon found what I was looking for.  Birth and Death Records were kept in the National Archive since 1836.  To my delight I found that there were other tips and instructions as to how one could go about searching for such information, like parish churches and so on, but as I had no idea where exactly Lucian and his sister were born, I soon realized that my best option would be the National Archives.  The only drawback was that national archives were stored in three different places in the United Kingdom, and I had no idea where to start. I was also surprised to find that even in this day and age most records were still stored on microfiche. After careful consideration I decided to wait until my children and parents have settled down and start my search early the following week and to stick as close to London at first, therefore my archive search was to begin in ………….

Before I went to bed, I looked at Cambridge University on the Internet and admired the old buildings and traditions of the university.

I kept to the promise I made myself and for the rest of the week I entertained my children.  They loved Madame Tussauds’, were a bit nervous about going on the London Eye, but enjoyed it once we were up in the air. We sat on the open upper deck of a bus and the children were excitedly pointing out landmarks and asking questions. They even asked why it was impossible to meet the Queen and even though I tried my best to explain the lady’s standing in life, they did not quite ‘get it’.  If she was a normal person, going to the bathroom, someone who brushed her teeth and hair, someone who spoke English just like them, why then could they not meet her.  Eventually I gave up trying to convince them and told them that who knows, maybe one day they would. The following day I took them to the huge park in Wycombe.  They loved the fresh crisp air, the almost luminous green grass, and for the first time in a long time I saw my children running around aimlessly, simply enjoying themselves.  Their laughter brought me such joy that I found myself close to tears.

Although I had told my parents and the children about my intended search for Lucian, the kids had not once asked about or mentioned their father since our arrival.

During the weekend I piled the children and my parents into my little rental car, and we set off exploring.  I took them to the West Wycombe Caves, where I bought a guidebook and was able to tell the children the stories surrounding the caves. I half expected them to be nervous about going into the semi-dark corridors, but although I felt the hair in my neck raise a few times they ran ahead giggling only stopping to look at some of the displays. We had cake and tea afterwards and watching my children pile into the cakes I was glad for the decision I had made to take time off from work.  Yes, my children were almost perfect, well behaved, and definitely highly intelligent, but I also loved them behaving like the little children they were and lately there had been very little time for them to be little kids.

By the time we had arrived back at our little house on Sunday evening all of us had rosy cheeks from the cool crisp air we were not accustomed to.  The children took off to their room to look at the photographs Marcus took on the computer. Mom made us a light evening meal, after which I took the children to have their bath and read to them. It was in their bedroom that I informed them that I would be absent for a day as I wished to start my search for their father. Like two little adults they agreed with me that it was about time and promised to behave themselves while in the care of my parents, something which I did not doubt they would do as my children were not ever known to misbehave.