Home is where the heart is
This was a photo prompt #50
Summary: Neal is found de-aged in Europe and when no relatives show up, he is placed with a foster family. Will he be OK? Peter has to find out and goes to Europe to find out.
When Peter arrived at the airport, he was anxious, would Neal remember him, what would the family be like where he was staying?
When he came through customs and the sliding doors opened, a woman and five boys were awaiting him, the boys recognized him and started pointing and calling their mum. She looked up, smiled at Peter and approached him, shaking hands.
“You must be Peter Burke.”
“Guilty as charged, you must be Robin. How did the boys recognize me?” Peter wondered.
“I showed them a picture of you, so it wouldn´t be too awkward.”
The boys kept asking their mum and Peter all sorts of stuff, but Peter didn´t understand them. Only Neal looked at him and said in English. “Hi Peter.”
“Hi Neal. How are you?”
Peter looked at the small boy and smiled at him, he should have guessed that Neal as a boy would look cute. He carefully scanned Neal and estimated that he was about six years old.
Neal was standing between four other boys and if he didn´t know better they could have been brothers, although they rest of them had brown eyes and were more tanned. Neal had a more fair complexion but he had the same curls as the rest of them, maybe a bit more dark.
“Let´s go boys.” Robin called them together and they walked back to the car.
Well, walked… The boys ran in front of Peter and Robin. Peter was wondering how they would all fit in a car, but it turned out that Robin drove a car that seated 7 persons.
They left the airport and drove onto the highway homeward.
“Can we stop at McDonalds?”, the smallest boy asked.
“Yeah, sure, let me know when you see one.” Robin said, knowing full well there was one close by. She winked at Peter.
“There, there!” the boys cried out. Peter noticed that Neal had joined in. Who would have guessed Neal would be excited to go to McDonalds.
“OK, OK, but we´re going through the drive-thru as Peter must be tired after such a long plane trip.”
“No, I´m fine, you can drop me off at the hotel after we eat something.”
“Nonsense, I cancelled your reservation. You are staying with us. We have a spare bedroom.”
* * *
When they arrived in the town where the family lived, Peter immediately felt at home, it was a homey town with a lot of green, big houses with even bigger gardens.
They drove up to a medium sized house, not as big as the mansions they had driven by, but much larger than a normal one family house. It was built in a sort of farm house style.
When they stopped on the driveway, a man opened the front door, a big bloodhound came from behind him and ran towards the kids.
“That is my husband Tom and our dog Odile.” Robin explained.
The boys scattered out of the car and ran up to the man, who gave them all a
ruffle through their hair. The boys ran into the house with the dog in happy pursued.
“Hi, you must be Peter. I´m Tom.” The man said, shaking Peter´s hand.
Peter noticed that they were the same height. Tom was only heavier build.
“How was your flight?” Tom looked sympathetically at Peter. “I prepared one of the guest bedrooms if you want to rest.”
“I don´t want to impose. I had a hotel reservation.”
“You´re not imposing, let´s go into the living room, want some coffee?”
“That would be great. Where are the boys?”
“Oh, they went into the playroom, they have these new figurines for the Disney Infinity game on Wii.” Tom explained like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Peter couldn´t resist having a quick look.
Peter peered into the playroom and couldn´t hide a smile, the playroom looked like a hurricane went through it, toys everywhere, crayons, papers, games. And the boys were in the middle of the room, in something that looked like a fort they built out of cushions.
“Don´t look at the mess, this is the normal state of our house until the cleaning lady comes on Friday. That way, in the weekends, we can pretend that we have a tidy house…” Tom grinned.
* * *
“It must be quiet a handful, 5 boys, and I understood you and your wife work fulltime.”
“Yeah, she does, but I don´t, I work 4 days a week, on Wednesday I´m off so I can do stuff, like grocery shopping and bringing the boys to their sport activities and of course we have the help of our nanny. Without him we would be lost, and the boys would have to wait at school for us. This way, they can go home, or to sports and we don´t have to hurry.”
“What sports do the boys practice?” Peter was curious.
“They all have fencing lessons and swimming lessons. Tristan and Luca also play golf, Thibeau plays tennis, Boris is in music academy and Neal, well he wanted to go to art academy, so we let him and he turned out to be quiet the artist.”
"Yes, Neal always loved to create art.” Peter had to admit. He could see it, as several drawings were hanging from a ribbon on the stairs, there were several, Peter guessed from all the boys, but he could see which ones where Neal´s.
* * *
When Peter woke up, he heard the sounds of a family in full morning stress downstairs. He went to the bathroom and took a quick shower and walked down the stairs, to enter a kitchen that was in a state of war.
Robin was making sandwiches and putting them on plates, while the kids entered the kitchen, picking up their plate and drink and going into the dining room. There was a sort of system, because they were all eating something different.
In the meantime Robin made their lunches for school and they were also placed in a certain order, with fruit and a cookie.
Fifteen minutes later, Robin called out to the boys to get dressed, while she prepared her own breakfast and told Peter to help himself, coffee was ready and there were sandwiches and cereals.
Half an hour later, Tom and Robin left for work and Peter told the nanny that he would bring the boys to school.
* * *
That evening, Neal and Peter sat in the garden.
“What do you like about Robin and Tom, Neal?”
“Well, Robin is fire fighter and she has this cool helmet that we were allowed to put on. I really looked like a real fire fighter. She even crocheted me a fire fighter helmet, it even has a badge on it that says I´m a fire fighter. Boris doesn´t have that, he is just a Probie.” Neal was all smiles while he was telling about his foster mum.
“When she picks us up, she will put on ´Fireball´ on her mp3 player and drive real fast over the speed bumps, it is cool. It is like riding a rollercoaster.”
Peter smiled, he could imagine what the kids would be like in the car, and he could imagine Robin doing stuff like that. She was no regular mum that fussed; he even had to admit she really looked like a cool mum.
“And Tom is great too, on Wednesday, he tries to do something fun with us. He is also a great cook; he even lets us make cookies. You know that he is an engineer?”
“Yes, he told me.”
“He gets to design machines. He even took me with him to work one day and showed me the machines. It was really cool. Oh, and I like Odile, she is great fun to play with. I have always wanted a dog.”
“Is there something you don´t like?” Peter asked.
Neal got a frown in his nose, thinking hard.
“I don´t like to wear an uniform to school.” He admitted.
“Well, it is practical, you don´t have to think what to wear to school.”
“Yeah, that is what Tom always says. I guess you are right. But dark blue is such a dull color”
Ah, that was the problem. Neal with his love for colors. Peter chuckled.
“Well, in the weekend, you can wear whatever you want.”
“yeah, I guess.”
* * *
Peter spent the week with the family, enjoying the hustle and bustle of a big family. But time flew by and before he knew it is time for Peter to go back to the States.
He took Neal to a local ice cream parlor and asked Neal the inevitable question; “Will you stay with the family or come with me to New York?”
Neal thought for a moment and decided to stay with the family and his new found brothers. Peter could only agree, El and he could never give Neal this family. Not that he didn´t want to, but this way Neal would grow up under different circumstances than the first time. He would have a loving family with brothers who challenged and encouraged him. Peter knew he was in good hands.
El and he would probably visit them soon; it would a nice reason to come to Europe.
Summary: Neal is found de-aged in Europe and when no relatives show up, he is placed with a foster family. Will he be OK? Peter has to find out and goes to Europe to find out.
When Peter arrived at the airport, he was anxious, would Neal remember him, what would the family be like where he was staying?
When he came through customs and the sliding doors opened, a woman and five boys were awaiting him, the boys recognized him and started pointing and calling their mum. She looked up, smiled at Peter and approached him, shaking hands.
“You must be Peter Burke.”
“Guilty as charged, you must be Robin. How did the boys recognize me?” Peter wondered.
“I showed them a picture of you, so it wouldn´t be too awkward.”
The boys kept asking their mum and Peter all sorts of stuff, but Peter didn´t understand them. Only Neal looked at him and said in English. “Hi Peter.”
“Hi Neal. How are you?”
Peter looked at the small boy and smiled at him, he should have guessed that Neal as a boy would look cute. He carefully scanned Neal and estimated that he was about six years old.
Neal was standing between four other boys and if he didn´t know better they could have been brothers, although they rest of them had brown eyes and were more tanned. Neal had a more fair complexion but he had the same curls as the rest of them, maybe a bit more dark.
“Let´s go boys.” Robin called them together and they walked back to the car.
Well, walked… The boys ran in front of Peter and Robin. Peter was wondering how they would all fit in a car, but it turned out that Robin drove a car that seated 7 persons.
They left the airport and drove onto the highway homeward.
“Can we stop at McDonalds?”, the smallest boy asked.
“Yeah, sure, let me know when you see one.” Robin said, knowing full well there was one close by. She winked at Peter.
“There, there!” the boys cried out. Peter noticed that Neal had joined in. Who would have guessed Neal would be excited to go to McDonalds.
“OK, OK, but we´re going through the drive-thru as Peter must be tired after such a long plane trip.”
“No, I´m fine, you can drop me off at the hotel after we eat something.”
“Nonsense, I cancelled your reservation. You are staying with us. We have a spare bedroom.”
* * *
When they arrived in the town where the family lived, Peter immediately felt at home, it was a homey town with a lot of green, big houses with even bigger gardens.
They drove up to a medium sized house, not as big as the mansions they had driven by, but much larger than a normal one family house. It was built in a sort of farm house style.
When they stopped on the driveway, a man opened the front door, a big bloodhound came from behind him and ran towards the kids.
“That is my husband Tom and our dog Odile.” Robin explained.
The boys scattered out of the car and ran up to the man, who gave them all a
ruffle through their hair. The boys ran into the house with the dog in happy pursued.
“Hi, you must be Peter. I´m Tom.” The man said, shaking Peter´s hand.
Peter noticed that they were the same height. Tom was only heavier build.
“How was your flight?” Tom looked sympathetically at Peter. “I prepared one of the guest bedrooms if you want to rest.”
“I don´t want to impose. I had a hotel reservation.”
“You´re not imposing, let´s go into the living room, want some coffee?”
“That would be great. Where are the boys?”
“Oh, they went into the playroom, they have these new figurines for the Disney Infinity game on Wii.” Tom explained like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Peter couldn´t resist having a quick look.
Peter peered into the playroom and couldn´t hide a smile, the playroom looked like a hurricane went through it, toys everywhere, crayons, papers, games. And the boys were in the middle of the room, in something that looked like a fort they built out of cushions.
“Don´t look at the mess, this is the normal state of our house until the cleaning lady comes on Friday. That way, in the weekends, we can pretend that we have a tidy house…” Tom grinned.
* * *
“It must be quiet a handful, 5 boys, and I understood you and your wife work fulltime.”
“Yeah, she does, but I don´t, I work 4 days a week, on Wednesday I´m off so I can do stuff, like grocery shopping and bringing the boys to their sport activities and of course we have the help of our nanny. Without him we would be lost, and the boys would have to wait at school for us. This way, they can go home, or to sports and we don´t have to hurry.”
“What sports do the boys practice?” Peter was curious.
“They all have fencing lessons and swimming lessons. Tristan and Luca also play golf, Thibeau plays tennis, Boris is in music academy and Neal, well he wanted to go to art academy, so we let him and he turned out to be quiet the artist.”
"Yes, Neal always loved to create art.” Peter had to admit. He could see it, as several drawings were hanging from a ribbon on the stairs, there were several, Peter guessed from all the boys, but he could see which ones where Neal´s.
* * *
When Peter woke up, he heard the sounds of a family in full morning stress downstairs. He went to the bathroom and took a quick shower and walked down the stairs, to enter a kitchen that was in a state of war.
Robin was making sandwiches and putting them on plates, while the kids entered the kitchen, picking up their plate and drink and going into the dining room. There was a sort of system, because they were all eating something different.
In the meantime Robin made their lunches for school and they were also placed in a certain order, with fruit and a cookie.
Fifteen minutes later, Robin called out to the boys to get dressed, while she prepared her own breakfast and told Peter to help himself, coffee was ready and there were sandwiches and cereals.
Half an hour later, Tom and Robin left for work and Peter told the nanny that he would bring the boys to school.
* * *
That evening, Neal and Peter sat in the garden.
“What do you like about Robin and Tom, Neal?”
“Well, Robin is fire fighter and she has this cool helmet that we were allowed to put on. I really looked like a real fire fighter. She even crocheted me a fire fighter helmet, it even has a badge on it that says I´m a fire fighter. Boris doesn´t have that, he is just a Probie.” Neal was all smiles while he was telling about his foster mum.
“When she picks us up, she will put on ´Fireball´ on her mp3 player and drive real fast over the speed bumps, it is cool. It is like riding a rollercoaster.”
Peter smiled, he could imagine what the kids would be like in the car, and he could imagine Robin doing stuff like that. She was no regular mum that fussed; he even had to admit she really looked like a cool mum.
“And Tom is great too, on Wednesday, he tries to do something fun with us. He is also a great cook; he even lets us make cookies. You know that he is an engineer?”
“Yes, he told me.”
“He gets to design machines. He even took me with him to work one day and showed me the machines. It was really cool. Oh, and I like Odile, she is great fun to play with. I have always wanted a dog.”
“Is there something you don´t like?” Peter asked.
Neal got a frown in his nose, thinking hard.
“I don´t like to wear an uniform to school.” He admitted.
“Well, it is practical, you don´t have to think what to wear to school.”
“Yeah, that is what Tom always says. I guess you are right. But dark blue is such a dull color”
Ah, that was the problem. Neal with his love for colors. Peter chuckled.
“Well, in the weekend, you can wear whatever you want.”
“yeah, I guess.”
* * *
Peter spent the week with the family, enjoying the hustle and bustle of a big family. But time flew by and before he knew it is time for Peter to go back to the States.
He took Neal to a local ice cream parlor and asked Neal the inevitable question; “Will you stay with the family or come with me to New York?”
Neal thought for a moment and decided to stay with the family and his new found brothers. Peter could only agree, El and he could never give Neal this family. Not that he didn´t want to, but this way Neal would grow up under different circumstances than the first time. He would have a loving family with brothers who challenged and encouraged him. Peter knew he was in good hands.
El and he would probably visit them soon; it would a nice reason to come to Europe.