Travelling Vets - 6. TV Chapter 6

We were informed that Mrs Appleton, the boy’s grandmother is too old and does not have the finances to take care of two growing boys, with Ryley aged eleven and Langley aged nine, and Ms Parks thought we would be ideal Foster parents until it is determined what will happen with the boys in the future, and it would give us the chance to experience first-hand, how to look after children, and we were told that Mrs Appleton is fully aware that we are a gay married couple, and she is supportive of her grandson’s been looked after by us.

Realising that we were still standing on the side of the road, we invited them all to come up to the house and discuss this more in comfort. “Where are Mrs Appleton and the boys at the moment?” I asked Ms Parks, “Still at Mrs Appleton’s home, which is in the town of Birkenhead, overlooking a large park, which is a 25-minute drive from here, can we arrange for you to come and visit them tomorrow morning?” Ms Parks asked us, as she handed over a photo of the boys to us, as well as a folder containing some more information about the boys.

After the unexpected visitor had left, with arrangements to visit Mrs Appleton and the boys in the morning, we made a quick call to Dr Langford, to ask for the day off to attend to personal business, which was granted, as well as a half day off Wednesday and Friday for me and Tuesday and Thursday for Marcus each week for the rest of our work contract.

Once that had been sorted, we quickly made some dinner and sat down to eat and look at the information that we had been given. Apart from his elderly mother, Tom had no other relatives, and he was a corporate lawyer, so he was always very busy with work. Sarah also has no relatives, and she is a stay-at-home Mum, and volunteers three days a week, during school hours, to keep busy, while the boys are at school.

Ryley and Langley attend a Preparatory School in Sefton Park, a western suburb of Liverpool, just 11 kilometres from the boy's Grandmothers home, and the information informs us that their own home is located in Formby, 22 kilometres north of central Liverpool, which is a rather large 5-bedroom formal home on a private road.

The following day, we were both up early and we travelled up to Birkenhead to the address that we had been given the evening before. Arriving there just before 8 am, we nervously knocked on the door, and the door soon swung open with a young boy standing there, who looked like he had been crying recently.

“Nanna, I think it is the men you said that are coming to visit,” the boy shouted over his shoulder, and we soon heard footsteps approaching, and a lady who looked to be in her 60s approached, with Ms Parks following behind her. “Hello, I am Mrs Appleton… Julia Appleton,” the lady said to us.

“Hello Mrs Appleton, I am Jaxon Kendrik and this is my husband Marcus Sanderson,” I said as calmly as possible and we both shook hands, “Please come in young men,” Mrs Appleton said to us as she stepped to one side. “Hello Jexon and Marcus, how are you today?” Ms Parks said as we approached, “Good thanks, but a little nervous about all this,” Marcus replied, as we were led down the hallway to the kitchen diner at the back of the house, where there is also a sunroom.

Once settled on the lounge, with a cup of tea and biscuits, we tried to relax. “Tell me a bit about yourselves if you would please?” Mrs Appleton asked us, and we spent the next ten minutes giving a rundown of our lives, on how we met, attending University, and setting the veterinary business up north of the state, as well as a bit about our families, and I mentioned briefly that I was in the Army for a while.

When both boys appeared dressed in school blazers and dress trousers, black shoes and a tie, I realised that it was time for school. “How about we all go to the school so that you can get familiar with the surroundings and you can meet the senior staff, who are already aware of this process happening,” Ms Parks suggested.

“I will stay at home and do a bit of housework if you don’t mind… I will see you, boys, later on after school, have a good day,” Mrs Appleton responded, and we watched as both boys gave their grandmother a hug and a kiss on her cheek, which made her smile but also her eyes began to water.

“If it is ok with you Mrs Appleton, we would like to return after dropping off the boys,” Marcus said to the boy's grandmother, “yes that will be fine, make it at 11 am so I have time to tidy up around here,” she replied, and we nodded our heads in agreement, before Ryley grabbed his backpack and grabbed hold of my hand, and Langley grabbed his backpack and held onto Marcus’s hand.

We looked at each other, then at the boys and smiled, and we looked at Ms Parks and Mrs Appleton they too were smiling, as we headed for the front door. When we arrived at the boy's school, after a very quiet journey, with Ms Parks following us in her car, the boys unbuckled their seatbelts and climbed out.

This time, the boys swapped places with Ryley now holding Marcus’s hand and Langley holding mine, as we followed Ms Parks to the administration building. “Hello, you must be Ms Parks?” a woman said as we entered the reception area, as she came out from a side passageway. “Yes, that is correct, and these two Gentlemen, are Dr Kendrik and Dr Sanderson, both Veterinarians and business and life partners,” Ms Parks said introducing us.

“It is a pleasure to meet you both, I am Mrs Kate Huckleberry, but everyone calls me Finn, for obvious reasons… I hear that you are both working at the Chester Zoo now, that must be very interesting work,” the admin lady said to us, as we smiled on hearing her name.

“Yes, that is correct, but as you can ascertain from our accents, we are from Western Australia, where we have a large rural veterinary practice, and my family has several large cattle properties,” I replied. “That is interesting… boys say goodbye and head off and get ready for your first class please,” Finn said.

“Ok Mrs Huckleberry,” the boys chorused, as they turned to face us, and I bent down to shake their hands and was surprised to receive a hug from them both. “Have a good day and thank you for looking after us,” Ryley said in a loud whisper to us as he hugged me then Marcus, and waved to Ms Parks, and Langley did the same and followed his brother out the door.

“Well, that is a bit of a surprise, they seem to have grown attached to you both quite quickly,” Finn said to us, “Yes they have, which I am very pleased to see,” Ms Parks said, as we followed Finn down a passageway and into a conference room, where we talked for a good twenty minutes. When the telephone in the room rang, Finn answered it and listened. “Send him into the conference room please,” she said before ending the call.

“It appears that the Appleton family lawyer is here to speak to all of us,” Finn announced, as she stood and opened the door, and moments later a gentleman in a crisp new suit arrived. “Good morning, my name is Charles Gordon, I represent the whole Appleton family, including the boy’s grandmother,” the gentleman said as he walked around the table and sat opposite us, and Fin sat back down at the head of the table.

Over the next twenty minutes, we were informed that Sarah and Thomas Appleton had set up trust funds. The first one is to look after his mother - Julia, for the remainder of her life, and already she has a regular cleaning service to keep the house in good order, and a gardening service to look after everything outdoors around the house, which she has lived in most of her married life, and a monthly income, on top of the pension that she receives and the proceeds of his life insurance.

The boys have a trust fund each, that covers all their schooling and higher education costs, a monthly income, of which 75% of it is invested, and they will inherit everything that their parents own, which will be sold and the proceeds will be placed into their trust funds.

When Finn had to excuse herself, to go and do some work, Ms Parks also said that she had to leave and return to the office and that she would be in contact later in the day, to check on how the boys coped with their first day back at school, leaving the lawyer, Marcus and me to continue our discussions.

“Now, apart from Mrs Appleton, there is one other distant relative, an estranged sister of Mrs Appleton’s first cousin, Margaret. Her cousin’s sister’s name is Augustine, and the last we heard, she lives in a place called Cottesloe in Western Australia. I do not have a married surname, only that her husband’s name was Franklin…” the lawyer announced, and I nearly choked when I heard this.

“Do you have an address for where they live in Cottesloe?” I asked nervously, “yes, I do have that information on me…” and he took a few moments to locate the information, “ah… here it is… Number 146 Broome Street, Cottesloe, Western Australia,” the lawyer replied, and the lawyer looked at me with concern, as I must have turned white or something from shock.

“Are you ok? Did he say something of concern?” Marcus asked me, as I took a deep breath and smiled when I realised that the two boys are related to me. “Yes, all is good, and Mr Gordon, you will be happy to know that although Franklin and Augustine have both passed away, young Ryley and Langley still have living relatives in Australia,” I announced. “Oh! How do you know this?” the lawyer asked me.

“Because sir, Franklin and Augustine, or Pa and Auggie as I knew them, were my grandparents, who passed away when I was in my first year at university, and the Broome Street address is my mother’s childhood home, which she still owns. “Wow, now that is amazing... what a small world eh!” Marcus said to me, as he squeezed my hand gently in support. “Yes, indeed,” I replied. “So, what does that make the boys to you then?” the lawyer asked me, and I thought about this for a moment, as I tried to work out how it works out with relatives from other branches of the family. “I think that the boys and I are second cousins, if I read it correctly,” I replied.