The rain stopped, the sky soon cleared to bright sunshine, and we made our usual foray to the playground via public footpaths.
Vincent and Donald played on the swings while I sat watching.
They weren't the only children in the playground, a group of four girls was there also, and they were watching Vincent and Donald. One of them came and sat on the swing next to Vincent and asked him to push her. I heard him reply that his Uncle Jean-Michel might push her if she asked me, so she came over to where I was sitting, said her name was Ellen and politely asked me if I would mind pushing her on the swing. I have never been able to resist a polite child, and I took her hand and led her to the swing. I decided to push all three of them while the other three girls looked on. I heard an adult call for the girls, but Ellen stayed where she was. She told me that she had no connection with the other three; they were sisters and she had started playing with them because she had no one else to play with.
Donald, ever the gentleman, said “You can play with us if you like. Uncle Jean-Michel's looking after us.” Here I was, supervising three ten-year-old children, none of whom I had even met a week ago. Ellen said that she lived nearby, and asked if she could come home with us to play with the boys. I replied that I would have to speak to her parents about that; she said she only had a Mum; her Dad was somewhere else in the world, but she didn't know where. She had a baby brother, David, who seemed to take up all her Mum's time, and she felt slightly aggrieved at that. I said that we would walk home with her and speak to her mother about the possibility of her playing with Vincent and Donald. Donald suggested that the three of them could play 'tag', so I was treated to the sight of three children running around at breakneck speed, tagging each other. I took the opportunity to relax and politely declined to join the game, saying that I was much too old and infirm. To 'prove' it, I tottered about, resting on an imaginary walking-stick. But this playtime was the kind of strenuous life these youngsters needed, I thought, not vegetating in front of the TV and living on fast food in the way of some children. When the children had worn themselves out, we sat and recuperated. The ice-cream van arrived and I treated the four of us.
Then I suggested that we go to Ellen's house and talk to her mother.
This we did, and Ellen's mother was surprised to see her accompanied by a man and two boys. She introduced herself as Hannah Lacey and invited us in, but asked us to be as quiet as possible because although David was asleep, he was rather a light sleeper. She regretted that she didn't have time to give Darlene the attention she needed, and was very pleased that another family had taken an interest in her. She said that her husband was an electrical contractor involved in a large job in Sweden, and that she didn't expect him to return to UK any time soon. They corresponded by phone and e-mail, but it wasn't the same as having him at home, and Darlene missed him terribly. This, I thought, was par for the course; little girls and their Dads are often almost inseparable. I explained the situation with Vincent, Donald and myself. Hannah was surprised that although we had known each other only a short time, we seemed to be very close; I didn't enlighten her as to the real reason. She was very pleased that I had invited Darlene to join us, and I asked what time I had to return her. “Darlene usually goes to bed at about eight o'clock on school days, but now that the holidays have started I allow her an extra hour.” “Nine o'clock it is then. But if she's naughty I'll bring her back chopped up into small pieces in a supermarket bag.” Hannah smiled and said that she had plenty of spare plastic bags if I couldn't find one. We all trooped off to my house, and I noticed that Ellen and Donald were holding hands. Vincent looked up at me and smiled. “Girls are silly, aren't they?” he said, just loud enough for Ellen to hear. Ellen returned and swatted him on his backside, then she kissed him. Cute. When we reached my house it was time for lunch. I didn't have enough food in the house for three hungry children, so I bundled the three of them in the car and we went to the local MacDonald's. The car was ringing with cheers of three children when we arrived, and they were soon tucking in to hamburgers and chips. When Ellen made a trip to the ladies' toilet, I reminded the boys that they mustn't say anything to her about our private games. Afterwards I decided to buy some fresh food from the nearby supermarket to ensure that they all had a properly balanced diet. Then we went home and the children played together in Vincent's room while I sat at my computer to get some real work done. When I reached a natural break I decided to check on the children as they seemed to be rather quiet. When I opened the door, I saw Ellen sitting on the bed with the two boys on either side of her, She had her knickers off and her skirt high up round her waist, the boys had their willies exposed, and they were obviously playing doctor, as children have done since time began. Ellen looked embarrassed and started to cry, but I just smiled at her and said that they weren't doing anything wrong.
She looked surprised, but then Vincent said, “See, I told you he wouldn't mind.” “Carry on with your games,” said I, “but please make sure you don't hurt each other. I'm responsible for your safety and it wouldn't be very good for me if Ellen had something stuck inside her, or one of you boys had your willy damaged.” I took a long look at Ellen's delightful and hairless little snatch, and as I watched, Donald put his finger into the little slit. Ellen parted her legs exposing her vagina and I noticed that she didn't have a hymen. I made a mental note to ask her about it when the time was right.
“Can Ellen see yours, Uncle Jean-Michel?” Vincent asked, coyly.
“I don't think that would be a good idea,” I replied. “There's no law against children doing that together, but if an adult joins in, he or she could be in big trouble.” “Oh please, Uncle Jean-Michel,” said Ellen. “I used to hold my Daddy's willy, but he's been away for a long time and I don't know when I'll see him again.” I asked Ellen, “What did your Mum think of your touching your Dad's willy?”
“I didn't tell her,” she said. “Daddy asked me not to.” I knew than that Ellen could keep a secret as well as the boys. “I'll think about it, but not today. I have lots of work to do and not much time to complete it. We'll think about it tomorrow if your Mum lets you come here again.”