Curtains Close; Take a bow. I think we fooled all of them now.

Hanley's POV

"Hello?" The strange man tapped on the door.

I hid lower in my blankets.

"Hey... Hanley. I was wondering If you could show me where you keep the milk?" He crept inside the room and looked down at me.

"It's in the fridge..." I whispered.

"Of course, it's in the fridge. But I can't see it." His voice was calm and comforting. He sat on the end of the bed. "I'm sorry, but we haven't really met yet. I'm your... technically your uncle."

I sat forward in bed and rolled my sheets down. "How can you be my uncle? I thought you said you were looking for my Uncle?"

He smiled. "You're real uncle loved me." He held my hand. "But he was needed up in the clouds a long time ago..." His voice quivered.

"Don't be sad." I said. "Because I heard it's happy up there. They can float around on the clouds all day and wait for you to join them... But how can a man love another man?"

"Your mother, she had a brother." He went on. "And her brother, loved me very much. And he did very big things for you, kid. You should always remember him."

"Whats your name?" I asked, trying not to fall too deep into the conversation.

"Anthony. You can call me Uncle Anton If you like." He smiled softly and got up. "Now where's that milk?"

I wiggled out of my bed, excited to have somebody want to talk and play with me. He followed me down the stairs and into the kitchen where I opened the fridge and pulled it out of the fridge door. It was obviously there, but I wondered if he just wanted an excuse to talk to me.

"I'm just adding it to my tea." He said. "You want a glass?"

I nodded.

"Actually, you know what, I'm pretty sure I still have a couple of cookies left in my bag." He got up and pulled his rucksack out from in front of the back door. He shuffled through it quickly before pulling out a brown paper bag that was folded over. "Here you go."

I was so happy. I munched on the cookies while he told me about his travels from Denmark. He told me about the rough sea and how his car broke down so he had to walk four miles to get to his University. He told me about the people he had met and the places he had been. And I looked up to him greatly. I wanted to know so much more, his stories were funny and amazing.

We both jumped into silence. The door slammed in the nursery and mommy was running down the stairs in tears. She slammed herself into her bedroom door and finally opened it, swinging it shut behind her again.

"Oh no..." I whispered.


Sienna was crying and I could here daddy trying to hush her but failing. I looked back at Uncle Anton, who was looking at me nervously.

"Do they always argue?" He asked.

"Not always. But sometimes." I replied quietly.

"I haven't even seen them talk to you since they have come back from the hospital." He looked at me sadly.

"No. But they have to look after the new baby. Its okay, they didn't used to talk to me much when mommy was sick either."

He rested his head on his hand. "You poor kid... You must be so lonely..."

Daddy stormed into the room, snapping open the door and yelling at me. "You should be in bed Hanley!" He shouted, his eyes tearful.

Uncle Anton tried to stand up to him. "It's okay, Oli. We were just having a chat, I'll put him to bed in a minute."

Daddy's eyes looked outraged. He came up closer to us and shouted louder at me. "Go to bed Hanley. Now!"

I was frightened. I had never seen him so angry before. I tear fell down my cheek and I jumped down from the table silently and ran up the stairs. I sat down on the top step and started to quietly sob.

"Why? What happened?" Uncle Anton went on to say. "Why would you take it out on your own son?"

I could hear daddy crying. He would never cry.

"Rain doesn't want the baby. She hates her..." He quietly said.

Uncle Anton told him that he would try and talk to her, but couldnt promise anything. And then he came running up the stairs and saw me listening and sobbing. Instead of being angry, he picked me up and carried me to my bed, where he laid me down and try to calm me.

"Don't cry, little kid. Your parents are going over a rough patch. It happens. But I won't allow him to shout at you next time. I promise. We are going to be good friends and I'm going to try and fix this family."

"Thankyou." I whispered.

I felt protected, and he didn't leave my room until I was asleep. Now that someone could stand up for me and talk to me felt great. Uncle Anton was a really nice person. But it made me think that maybe my father and mother were not so nice.

Notes