Nowhere Special

Hiya, Michael.

You OK?

- Hello, Daddy. - Hello.

You been a good boy? Huh?

Hiya, Deirdre.

He's been very quiet.

As good as gold really, but didn't want to finish his tea.

Why didn't you eat what Deirdre gave you, huh?

I was waiting for you.

Here. Sit down here.

Mmm?

Sure. I'll get that.

I hope I put everything where you like it.

Anyway, you can let me know next time.

Social Services said they want me to come again next week.

Cheers. Er... I'm sure it's grand.

Well, that's me.

Bye, Michael. And don't tire your dad.

- Michael? - Bye.

Thank you, Deirdre.

No problem.

Can we play now?

Aye.

Shall we have some grapes first? Yeah?

OK.

Five.

Someone at school is not washing their hair.

Five.

"'Come down, come down,' his father cried.

"'You'll be much safer by my side.'"

Page.

"But then the crowd below cheered loud to see a turtle touch a cloud.

"They'd never seen a boy so brave.

"He gave his dad a little wave."

Page.

"And when he reached the other side

"his father's heart was full of pride.

"'Come look,' he called to everyone.

"'That tightrope turtle... that's my son.'"

Again.

Come on, Michael, it's late. It's bedtime.

Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep.

May God guard me through the night and wake me with the morning light.

- Amen. - Amen.

Good night, Michael.

Listen, Sam's mummy will pick you up from school.

You can take his puppy for a walk.

I want a puppy.

Please don't play with the food.

I'll get you some Coco Pops tomorrow.

And just try and finish the orange juice.

- Thank you so much. - Hello, Owen.

Good morning, Miss Rose.

Have fun, Michael, and pay attention to Miss Rose.

- (Boy) Bye, Mummy. - (Boy's mum) Bye now, boys. See you later.

- (Girl) Bye. - (Girl's mum) Bye, chicken. See you later.

Where's my mummy?

I've told you, Michael, she had to go away.

Far, far away?

Yes.

Far, far away.

Kiss.

Hi, Michael.

See you in there.

I'm sure she'll love that. Have you put the books in your bag?

Yes, Mummy.

Yeah, the commute can be difficult sometimes,

but it's worth it though when you come back to this every night.

Peace and quiet, surrounded by greenery.

Does he like nature?

We're very outdoorsy people.

We like to go for long walks, as you can see.

We were thinking about maybe getting a dog?

I know Michael would love a puppy, to be responsible for.

That's great.

We sort of hope the boy would enjoy the same childhood as ourselves,

not just inside on the computer all day.

And here he's free to run around, not be mollycoddled,

free to climb trees and fall out of trees.

I mean, we will look after him obviously, but you know what I mean.

No, I'm... I'm sure he'll love to climb trees.

He's a... he's a quiet wee boy, but he listens and he's always well-behaved.

He's very popular at school. I'm always being told what a great kid he is.

He's loving... caring.

He... he's a happy wee boy.

I, er... I want...

He deserves a normal family, two parents, a loving family home

and all the opportunities I never had as a child.

- (Michael shrieks) - Oh!

You bang your head? Are you all right?

- (Michael) I'm all right. - (Shona) You sure?

I want him to be able to do all the things I never could.

Never even thought of.

We understand that.

We've painted one of the rooms blue,

but if he didn't like it, we could always change it.

And, of course, we can afford the best education for our son.

I mean, your son.

As you know, Celia's a nursery teacher. We could get him into her school.

And perhaps later on, he could attend my own boarding school.

They're very keen on having children of alumni.

Well, yeah, but, er... he's doing well where he is.

And, er... you know, it's not far. He's got friends, so...

Oh, of course. We... we'd follow your guidance.

And what does he know of your situation?

Nothing. The less he knows the better.

And the birth mother?

There is no birth mother.

Can you see? Can you see the bugs?

Can you see the bugs in there?

What about in the future,

what would you like your son to know about you?

To remember?

What would you like your... the new family to...?

I'm a window cleaner.

One, two, three,

six, seven, twelve, fifteen, fourteen.

Just think, Michael, all those lorries,

taking so many things to so many places.

And all those cars with people going to work,

or to see their friends, far away.

One day, Michael, would you like to live somewhere else,

in a different town, a different home?

I like home.

I don't want him to think about it...

...to understand death.

Not now, not yet.

He's... he's just too young.

He'll think it'll happen again,

to his new family, all those around him.

He'll be left thinking that he will die, too. I mean, you know...

What kind of childhood is that?

John, a memory box is different.

He won't need one now, but he will need it

and his new parents will too.

You know, John, there might come a time when he thinks about you every day

and he'll need something to start with, physical, real,

to connect with and build on.

Build on?

Is that from a manual? Have you just passed the exam?

John, please. Shona's right.

Maybe not now, but later.

And certainly when he's eighteen

and he has the right to find out for himself who his birth parents were.

Why does he have to know he was adopted?

We will find him a family that will be his family, his only family.

He won't even have to remember how useless his parents were.

His mother leaves him and then his father dies.

I mean, that... that would definitely fuck him up.

Oh, Michael, it's early.

Michael, I told you not to draw in the books.

What's Mrs Donnelly at the library gonna say?

Here, where do we put it? You choose.

That's good. Let me show you. Give it a big push.

I'm winning!

Don't you just hate them?

They leave their dogs in the garden, loose,

but they still expect their mail, don't they?

And then they complain if something's late, or God forbid, goes missing.

Them and their bloody dogs.

A menace.

And then, they come at you and they bite you.

It's like you're their bit of fun for the day.

- The small ones are the worst, aren't they? - (Woman) Mmm.

Look at that, Michael.

Right through my trousers.

Always watch out for dogs, Michael.

You never know what they feel like biting next.

Michael loves dogs.

He knows a very nice puppy.

Er... would you like some more cake, John?

It's great, isn't it? She made it herself.

None of those old preservatives.

Thank you, no. It was delicious.

Er... Shona, would you?

Oh, thank you, Pam, I really couldn't.

Michael, would you like a wee bit more of Pam's cake?

Ah, well...

I'd better have a wee bit more myself then, before the rabbit gets to it.

Dad, rabbits don't eat cake.

I'm sure Michael knows I'm only joking, don't you, Michael?

And you've been fostering for three years now, is that right?

Mm-hmm. Yeah, but it's been tough, you know?

It's... hard letting go of the idea of being pregnant.

You know, you want people to make a fuss over you,

you want to get the... the baby room ready, you know?

And it lingers in your mind and you feel this pain

watching other mothers with their babies.

Every month you feel like you... you've failed as a woman.

No.

Sorry, John.

I'm sure you know life doesn't always work out the way you mean it to.

So I thought that maybe I was put on this earth to look after other people's children.

- And when Anne was... six? - Seven.

Seven, we started fostering.

How was it for you, Anne? Did you enjoy?

Oh, she took to it straight away, didn't you? Didn't you, pet?

Like a duck to water.

But sometimes it's sad to see them go, you know?

Now we don't want to say goodbye to any more.