Married Because of Tommy

Nickys happy childhood ended when he was five. One day, his parents never came to collect him from nursery. All the other children had been picked up, but the little boy sat at a table, drawing pictures of himself, his mum, and his dad. The nursery teacher kept glancing at him, wiping her cheeks for some reason. Finally, she walked over, scooped him into her arms, and held him tight.

“You must be brave now, Nicky,” she said softly. “No matter what happens, you mustnt be afraid. Do you understand me, love?”

“I want my mum,” he whispered in reply.

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

Then someone took his hand and led him to a car. When he asked when hed see his mum again, they told him she and his dad were far away and wouldnt be coming for him that day. Nicky was placed in a shared room with other boys like him. But his parents never returnednot the next day, nor the one after that. The boy cried himself to sleep each night, until he fell ill with fever.

Only the nurse in the white coat spoke to him plainly once he recovered. She explained that his parents were now in heaven, watching over him. They couldnt come back, but they loved him still, and he must be good and stay strong.

Nicky didnt believe it. He stared at the sky but saw only birds and clouds. He was determined to find them.

During outdoor play, he searched the yard until he discovered a gap beneath the fence. The iron bars were bent, but he could only squeeze halfway through. So he dug. The soil was loose, sandysoon, a tunnel formed.

One day, Nicky crawled through and ran as fast as he could from the orphanage, though he didnt know the city. Lost among identical houses, he spotted a woman at a crossingjust like his mum. Same polka-dot dress, same neat blonde bun.

“Mum!” he called, darting after her.

She turned, knelt, and studied his face. But she wasnt his mother.

Emily had fallen in love at twenty, and it was forever. She and David were perfect for each other. Theyd met by chance at a summer dancehed shyly asked her for a waltz, and theyd talked all night. Three months later, they married. But after three years, Emily learned she couldnt have children. David struggled to accept it, and she endured endless treatments. Eventually, they faced the truth: theyd never have a child of their own.

One day, David suggested adoption. But Emily loved him too much to deny him fatherhood. She offered a divorcehe was still young, he could marry someone else. Shed manage alone.

David refused. So she lied, claiming shed fallen out of love and found another man. He didnt believe heruntil she stayed out all night, smelling of wine and cologne. Heartbroken, he agreed.

Two months later, a lost boy called her “Mum.” Her heart leapt.

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

“Im looking for my parents,” Nicky sobbed. “They said theyre in heaven, but I dont believe it.”

“Come with me,” Emily said, taking his hand. “I live nearby. Would you like some cake?”

At her flat, Nicky devoured the treats shed bought, washing them down with fragrant blackcurrant tea. He told her everythinghow the older boys stole his sweets, bullied him, left bruises. Emilys heart ached.

“Would you like to live with me, Nicky?” she asked. “One day, youll understand everything. And someday, youll see your parents againjust not yet.”

He nodded eagerly.

Emily called the childrens home, returned Nicky, and visited daily. But she couldnt adopt himsingle women werent allowed. Regret gnawed at her. How could she win David back now?

Desperate, she asked a colleague, Simon, for a sham marriage. He agreedbut demanded payment in other ways. Emily recoiled. She still loved David.

But when she saw Nicky with a black eyepunishment for “telling tales”she steeled herself. That Saturday, she lit candles, wore red, and waited for Simon.

The doorbell rang. But it wasnt Simon.

David stood there, jaw tight. “Ive been watching you,” he admitted. “I never saw another man.”

Then the lift doors openedSimon stumbled out, champagne in hand.

David left without a word.

Emily chased him, weeping, but he boarded a tram and vanished.

Two years later, Nicky stood proudly in his first school uniform, clutching flowers for his teacher. His parentsEmily and Davidwatched fondly, their adopted daughter, Maisie, giggling in Davids arms. Emily wore Nickys favourite polka-dot dress.

Simon hadnt been a complete cad. Hed explained everything to David, who raced to the registry office the next day. Now, they visited the childrens home often, bringing gifts. Theyd adopted Maisie the moment she arrived.

“Mum, Dad,” Nicky whispered, gazing at the sky. “Ill make you proud. Dont be sadI love my new parents, but theyre just for now.”

He knew the truth now. His birth parents had died in a car crash. He visited their grave. On Sundays, he went to Sunday schoolnow he understood heaven.

Emily had once refused to listen to David. But fate stepped in. She married him againand in the end, everyone was happy.