A One-of-a-Kind Family

“Liam says.” It was the phrase that had punctuated their hour-long conversation.

“Liam says bedtime’s at nine.”

“Liam says vegetables before dessert.”

“Liam says don’t answer the door.”

Liam said a lot of things. And the things he said seemed to illustrate a deep sense of caring and commitment for his brother. As bristly as he’d been with Anna, she suspected that he had an entirely different demeanor here with Colm.

It was easy to see that he strived to give Colm a stable, loving home. But Anna suspected Colm could do more than what his brother thought.

“Aunt Betty came to help after Mommy and Daddy went to the angels.” For a moment, Colm stopped building and looked at her with the first trace of sadness she’d seen in him. “I miss ’em.”

“My father is with the angels, too,” Anna told him. She’d only been sixteen when her father passed away. “I miss him, but it’s nice to think he’s watching over me.”

“Yeah, Liam says Mommy was always watchin’ me, so why would her being with angels stop her? He says that she’s probably makin’ the angels come watch me, too. She really loved me.”

Anna chased away the memories of losing her father. She’d long since come to terms with it, and though she missed him, she remembered the good times more than the pain. “I bet she did, Colm.”

“Liam says you’re gonna help find me a babysitter for when Aunt Betty can’t come. She don’t like spendin’ too many nights away from Mr. Taylor, ’cause he gets lonely.”

“Is that what you want, Colm?” Anna asked. “Someone to come stay with you?”

Colm seemed confused by her question. “That’s what Liam says. A babysitter for me is what we need.”

“Yes, it is. But what do you want?”

Colm stood up and started to leave the room. “I wanna get some of those cookies and milk. You want some?”

“Sure.”

He took her into the kitchen and said, “Aunt Betty, we want some cookies and milk, please.”

“You two have a seat and I’ll get them—”

Anna needed to get a feel for what Colm could do, so she said, “Actually, Mrs. Taylor. I was hoping you’d come sit with me for a minute. Maybe Colm would get us both some cookies and milk?”

Colm frowned. “I don’t pour milk, ’cause I make a mess.”

“Tell you what, you pour the milk and if you make a mess, I’ll help you clean it up,” Anna promised.

Colm looked to Mrs. Taylor. She nodded and motioned Anna to join her at the table.

Both women watched Colm go to the cabinet and take one glass out, walk it to the island, then go back for another….

“Mrs. Taylor, I’m sure Mr. Franklin told you why I was here.”

Her eyes never leaving Colm, Mrs. Taylor said, “Yes. I love Colm with all my heart, but I can’t be with him as much as Liam needs me to be. Daytimes are fine, since Mr. Taylor has his club, but he likes me home at night, and to be honest, I’m old enough that I need to be home at night. I like going to sleep in my own bed, in my own house.”

“I understand, Mrs. Taylor. I need to ask you honestly, do you think Colm is living up to his full potential?”

“Until this very moment, I wouldn’t have even asked myself that.”

Colm had all three glasses lined up in perfect order on the counter. He got out the half-gallon container of milk, left the refrigerator door open and slowly removed the cap from the carton.

“Colm, you should probably shut the door to the fridge,” Anna said, then looked back to Mrs. Taylor who was still watching Colm pour the first glass of milk perfectly.

“Maybe we have coddled him. He’s doing fine, isn’t he?”

When all three glasses were poured, Colm put the lid back on the plastic container, returned it to the refrigerator and carried the glasses over one at a time.

He started to pick up cookies from the rack that they were cooling on, and Anna said, “It’s probably more polite to put them on a plate, Colm.”

“Oh, yeah. Aunt Betty always does that.” He hurried off to the cupboard and grabbed a salad plate, piled it high with a stack of cookies, and with one hand on the top of the pile, and the other holding the plate, made his way to the table. He set the plate down carefully, but when he took his hand off the stack, the cookies tumbled. “Oh, no, I goofed. I can’t—”

Anna picked up a cookie and put it back on the plate. “Hey, cookies fall. No biggie. If they fall, you pick them up.”

“Ten-second rule?” he asked Mrs. Taylor.

“They’re not on the floor but the table, so there’s a lot more than ten seconds when something falls on a table,” the older woman assured him.

Colm broke into a smile and repiled the cookies. He looked proud as he announced, “There, I did it.”

“You did,” Anna agreed.

“I didn’t even spill the milk. I was real careful.”

“You did great,” she told him. “But even if you’d made a mess, you could have cleaned it up. If you spill milk, you wipe it up.”

“Yeah. If you knock cookies down you pick them up, and if you make a mess, you clean it.”

Anna hadn’t realized he was going to take her off-the-cuff comments to heart. She’d have to remember that. “Right, Colm. Everyone has accidents. All that matters is that when you do, you clean them up and try to do better the next time.”

They all ate their cookies, and Anna caught Mrs. Taylor giving her furtive looks as if she were trying to decide whether Anna would be good for Colm. Anna suspected if Mrs. Taylor decided that she wouldn’t be good for him, she’d be as fierce defending Colm as Liam had been.

When they finished, Colm said, “Hey, I’ll clean up ’cause I brought it all over. I can do it.”

“I’m sure you can, Colm,” Anna told him. “Thank you.”

He looked to Mrs. Taylor and the older woman offered him another dimple-filled smile. “That’s lovely, Colm. I’m going to sit here and let you wait on me.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that ’cause you’re old and get tired. Aunt Betty’s feet ache sometimes and she moans like this,” he made a loud wailing sound, and continued, “so maybe if I help, her old feet’ll feel better, huh?”

“I’m sure they will, Colm.” Anna tried desperately not to grin.

Mrs. Taylor watched as Colm tidied up. “It never occurred to me to let him help. His mother, Maire, was a dear friend, and she waited on him hand and foot, and when I started to help Liam out after she passed…” She paused as if her friend’s passing was still hard for her to talk about “…well, I simply continued on as she’d always done.”

“That happens. Sometimes it’s hard for a family to step back and see a person’s capability. Well, if Liam will let me work with Colm—that’s why I’m here.”

“Oh, he’ll let you. I might not be his mother, or even related by blood, but I’m as close as the boys have to a relative, and I have some clout. I’ll use it on your behalf.” Mrs. Taylor’s bravado seemed at odds with her dimpled smiles.

“Thank you, Mrs. Taylor.”

Mrs. Taylor reached across the table and patted her hand. “Now, you call me Aunt Betty. Everyone does. And you tell me what you need from Liam, and I’ll see to it that you get it. I can’t tell you how much I’ve worried about Colm. I’m not getting any younger and I don’t know what Liam will do when I’m gone.”

“Mrs. Taylor—”

The woman gave her a look and Anna hastily amended, “Aunt Betty. I’m sure you’ll be here for a long time, but I really think there’s a whole world of opportunities for Colm, and I’d like to show them to him, if his brother permits me to.”

“Like I said, you don’t worry about Liam. I’ll take care of him. When do you want to start?”

“Tomorrow morning at eight?”

“That sounds great to me. We’ll see you then.”

Colm was busily putting the dishes in the dishwasher.

“Colm, would it be okay if I came over again tomorrow?” Anna asked.

He turned around and grinned. “Oh, yeah. We can finish our buildin’.”

“Sure we can. And maybe we could try a few other things, too.”

“Okay, that’d be good, Anna.” He hugged her goodbye and Anna didn’t mind his wet hands as she hugged him back. “Yeah, I’ll see ya tomorrow, Anna.”

LIAM OPENED the front door for Anna the next morning.

“Mr. Franklin,” she said, obviously surprised. “Sorry, I was expecting Mrs. Taylor.”

“I’m home today. I wanted to be home yesterday, but I had a meeting, otherwise you’d have dealt with me.”

He loved working for himself, except days like yesterday, when he wished he had an employee to send to meetings.

Because his work centered around computers and programming, he was able to do a lot of it online from his home office, but sometimes he had to see customers in person. Thankfully, yesterday’s meeting had been with a small firm in town. It had been one of his first clients. Thanks to the Internet, he now did security work for businesses all over the country. Those face-to-faces weren’t just an afternoon out of the office, which is why he’d found himself at The Sunrise Foundation.

He reminded himself that he made a good living and was able to be at home most days.

Still, he wished he had been here because he’d have saved himself Aunt Betty’s tongue-lashing. She’d told him that Anna was coming back to work with Colm to be more self-sufficient, and his less-than-enthusiastic response had started the lecture. Every concern he voiced only made it worse.

“I’m sorry you couldn’t join us.” Anna’s expression didn’t quite match her words. Though her look was quickly replaced by an all-business one that Liam recognized because he’d used it himself with difficult customers.

“Well, I’m glad you’re here today,” she said with what sounded like forced enthusiasm. “Maybe we can talk for a few minutes?”

“Come in.” He led her into the living room and gestured to one of the chairs. He took the other one opposite her.

“You have a beautiful home,” she said conversationally. “And that porch. I really love the porch. It makes the house seem so friendly and approachable.”

“This is my parents’ house. I grew up here and moved back in after they passed away. I thought the continuity was important for Colm, given the circumstances.”

“I’m sorry. Mrs. Taylor said that’s when she started helping you out. I’m glad you had some support. But still, I’m sorry for your loss.”

He didn’t say anything to that, because Liam didn’t know what to do with sympathy. He remembered standing at the funeral home while a long line of his parents’ friends filed by expressing their own sorrow and empathizing with his. He’d nodded woodenly, and tried not to envy Colm’s ability to hug everyone.

Needing to change the subject, he said, “So, about my brother?”

“I’d like to spend some time with Colm. A couple of hours a few times a week. Mrs. Taylor seemed to think you’d be okay with that.”

Liam couldn’t help but smile. “That was a polite way of saying that Aunt Betty threatened to kick my butt if I didn’t let you work with him.”

Anna laughed and the movement sent her myriad of curls bouncing every which way, just like when they’d met. Again, Liam wanted to reach out and touch them. They were like a living entity, moving as she spoke. But being attracted to Anna was the last thing he needed, so he kept his hands at his sides.

She was still chuckling as she said, “Yes, I believe there was some promise on her part of using threats if necessary. I’d really like it not to be necessary, Mr. Franklin. I think I have something to offer your brother. I think Colm can do a lot more than you believe.”

“I won’t see him upset or hurt. I don’t want him pushed into doing things he’s not comfortable with. I’ve worked very hard to keep a routine for him since my parents died.” Liam felt a lump in his throat at the thought of their passing. There was a sense of finality—the knowledge that his father would never realize that Liam’s tinkering with computers was indeed turning into a successful business.

His parents had been in their forties when they’d had him and Colm, and his father had some very old-world attitudes about what constituted real work. He’d looked at Liam’s start-up company as an unnecessary risk. He pointed out that Liam could make more money and have more security working for an already established company. But Liam liked working for himself. He liked the autonomy. And his decision to start his own company had paid off. Liam desperately wished his father could know.

“Mr. Franklin, was Colm upset yesterday after he served us our snack and then cleaned up?”

“No,” he admitted. His brother had been excited when Liam had come home last night, telling him that he could make his own snacks now. Someone didn’t have to do it for him. “No, he wasn’t upset at all.”

“Great. Then if you don’t mind, I’d like to keep going—see what else Colm can do for himself. I’ll be by mornings for now, but that’s subject to change. And I’ll look for someone who can stay with him when you have to travel.”

“What do you think Colm needs to be doing for himself, Ms. Chapel?” He bristled at the implication that somehow his parents hadn’t helped Colm enough—his mother had devoted her life to his brother. He was about to say as much to Ms. Chapel but she started talking, and as at their first meeting, he realized that when Ms. Chapel started talking, it was like a speeding freight train. Unstoppable.

“Listen, Mr. Franklin, Colm is a wonderful, well-adjusted man. And I know that’s because of what your family gave him—a stable, loving home. But…” She paused.

“But,” she started again, “everyone needs new challenges. I think I can give that to Colm. Challenge him. Help him grow.”

“And I can’t?” he asked.

“You can—and I’m hoping you’ll help.”

“And what about additional help?”

“Let me know the dates that Mrs. Taylor can’t cover for you and I’ll organize someone.”

It rankled, asking this woman for help. A very big part of Liam wanted to tell her never mind, he’d arrange it on his own. He wanted to assure her that he and Colm were fine as is. But even as he thought the words, he realized it was a lie. He did need help.

So, as much as he hated to say it, he agreed. “Fine.”

At that moment, Anna Chapel smiled.

Other than her wild hair, he’d thought there was nothing especially remarkable about her. Which is why he couldn’t quite figure out why she seemed beautiful. Each of her features was decidedly average, but put together, they made Anna striking.

And that particular revelation made Liam feel even more uncomfortable than before.

“Thanks, Mr. Franklin. Do you mind if I go find Colm now?”

“No, make yourself at home, Ms. Chapel.” The words sounded polite enough, but Liam knew that his tone must have been less than inviting, because the woman frowned, then sighed.

“I will, Mr. Franklin. I will.”

TWO HOURS LATER, Anna said, “Okay, Colm that’s it for today. I’ll see you tomorrow, though.”

“I’ll be ready for you, Anna. All by myself. ’Cause I can do it, just like I can make snacks. Ya think I can do other things, Anna?”

“I think you can do lots of things, Colm.”

Today they’d concentrated on the basics. Colm had been completely sheltered by his family. Someone laid out his clothes. Someone made his bed. Someone prepared his breakfast then did his dishes.

Colm Franklin was able to do all those jobs himself, and the more time she spent with him, the more she was convinced that Colm could do many others as well.

“Come on, Anna, I’ll take you to the door,” Colm said. “’Cause that’s what a gentleman does. Mommy told me. You be nice to the ladies, Colm. And I was. I always opened the door for her, and I pushed in her chair at the table, too.”

“That was sweet. Though I can push in my own chair.”

“I think she coulda, too.” He laughed. “My mommy was a funny woman, but she was nice and smiled a lot. Like you do, Anna. And tomorrow you’ll be back, right?”

The compliment touched her. “Thank you, Colm. That was sweet. And yes, I’ll be back tomorrow. I won’t be able to come every day, but I’ll try to be here a lot of days, okay?”

“And you’ll teach me stuff?” he asked again.

“Yes, I’ll teach you as much as you want me to.”

He frowned a little. “What if I goof up?”

“Remember what I said yesterday?”

He nodded vigorously. “If you spill the milk, you’ll wipe it up. If you drop the cookies, you pick them up. If you make a mess, clean it up,” he parroted.

“That’s right. Everyone makes a mess sometimes.”

“But not Liam—he’s smart.”

“Even Liam. Even me. Even Aunt Betty.”

Colm laughed as if she had to be teasing him. “Nuh-uh.”

“Everyone, Colm. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone has accidents and makes a mess. All you can do is do your best to clean it up and fix it afterwards.”

“But I make lots of mistakes.”

“Hey, it might take you a little longer to learn something, but you learn it. We’ll keep going over it until you know it.”

“Even if it takes a lot of times?” he asked.

“Even if.”

“And you won’t get mad?” he checked.

“Not even a little.”

Quickly, he engulfed her in his arms. “I love you, Anna.”

She hugged him back.

“So, how did it go?” Liam asked, approaching them.

Colm let go of Anna, turned around and immediately hugged his brother. “It was good, Liam. Anna’s teachin’ me to do stuff for myself, but it don’t matter if I make mistakes, ’cause she says we’ll clean it up, right, Anna?”

She wasn’t sure why, but watching Colm hug Liam and prickly Liam return the hug, Anna had a Hallmark-commercial reaction. A warm, mushy, on-the-verge-of-tears sort of feeling. She kept it at bay, sure that Liam would disapprove. “Right, Colm, we’ll clean it up.”

Liam clapped his brother on his shoulder. “So, bud, you’ll have to show me what you learned today after Anna leaves.”

“It’s better stuff than I learned in school. See ya tomorrow, Anna.” Colm waved then ran up the stairs.

Liam watched Colm disappear, then turned to Anna and asked, “What do you suppose he’s up to?”

“If I were going to guess, he’s making his bed, again. He mentioned he was going to like going to bed tonight because he’d have made the bed himself. And if his enjoyment goes up incrementally each time he makes it, he’s going to officially have the best night’s sleep ever.”

“He can make his own bed?”

She nodded. “He’s a special man, Mr. Franklin. I’ve left you some papers to read through about my teaching strategy for Colm. Goals. The criteria for taking new steps. It’s all there. If you have any concerns, let me know. I’ll see you both tomorrow.”

Liam stood in the doorway and watched Anna Chapel get in her car. For a moment, she stared wistfully at the house, and he wondered what she was thinking. Then she started her tiny gray car and took off down the road.

Liam paused, letting the knowledge that Colm was upstairs making his bed sink in.

It sounded like such a simple thing, but it wasn’t simple at all. Now, Liam speculated as to what other kinds of things his brother could do. Things he’d never been given a chance to do because no one had thought he could.

No one but Anna Chapel.

ANNA AND COLM fell into an easy routine over the next few weeks as April progressed and spring settled more firmly into place. A couple of hours a day, three or four times a week if she was able, she and Colm practiced tasks together. Only it wasn’t really a job in Anna’s mind, it was a delight. Anna truly enjoyed all her clients, but Colm soon became a very special one. He was always open to trying something new, and found such joy when he’d mastered the skill. This week’s goals involved cooking.

Since pouring those first glasses of milk, Colm had been building a set of kitchen skills: making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, getting snacks, rinsing dishes. The man who’d never been encouraged to do kitchen work had discovered he loved it. So this week, they were trying actual cooking.

Colm’s first solo meal was spaghetti. Anna sat on a stool and offered advice and listened as Colm’s excitement bubbled over. “Liam’s gonna be surprised, huh, Anna?”

“Very surprised.”

He wiped his hands on the front of the apron he was wearing, then opened a cupboard and took out a large bowl.

“Liam liked my waffles the other day. But ya don’t really cook those.”

“Hey, you used a toaster,” Anna reminded him.

“That’s toastin’, not cookin’.” He shook his head as if he was surprised that Anna didn’t recognize the difference.

“You’re right, toasting’s not cooking.” She scootched her stool a little closer to the stove.

“But today, it’s really cookin’ ’cause there’s a flame.”

The timer rang and Colm clapped his hands. “Are they done?”

“Let’s see,” Anna said. “Carefully use the spoon and pull one noodle out.” She watched proudly as, with the care of a surgeon operating, Colm lifted a noodle from the pot with painstaking slowness.

“Now, you have two options for seeing if it’s done. You can taste it, and if it’s not hard, it’s done, or you can throw it on the wall and if it sticks, it’s done.”

“Throw food at the wall?” Colm’s voice was filled with what might have been shock, but he wore a smile that said the idea was intriguing.

“I don’t recommend throwing food as part of your regular cooking technique, and you do have to wipe the wall off when you’re done, but if the noodle sticks, you know it’s—” As she squeaked out the word, done, Colm threw the noodle at the wall with such force that Anna worried that it was going to leave a permanent mark.

“Done!” Colm announced.

“I see that. Okay, now we need to get the noodles out of the water, so—”

The sound of the front door being opened and closed could be heard, soon Liam came into the kitchen and his eyes immediately honed in on Colm. “Hey, how are things, bud?”

“I’m cookin’ dinner tonight. Aunt Betty, she went home early ’cause me and Anna are cookin’, and I threw food on the wall, only it’s okay ’cause I’ll clean it after, but now you gotta go so I can finish. Go. Go.”

It was a long sentence that Colm somehow managed to get out in one breath.

“I can take a hint,” Liam said, laughing. The laughter died though as he glanced Anna’s way. He gave a brisk nod of greeting and said, “Call me if you need help, Ms. Chapel.”

“She won’t,” Colm assured his brother. “Me and Anna are a team, right, Anna?”

“Right, Colm. We’ve got it under control, Mr. Franklin. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.”

Liam started to leave the room, and Anna called out, “Mr. Franklin, do you think that maybe we could drop the formal address and go with Liam and Anna from now on?”

He turned, frowned, then nodded. “Fine, Anna. Let me know if you need me.” He turned to go.

“We will, Liam,” she called after him.

It had been weeks since she’d begun assisting Colm, but Liam still treated her as if she were an enemy…someone to be on his guard around. She didn’t like it, and wasn’t sure what she could do about it. She sighed.

Colm didn’t notice. He reached for some pot holders and said, “Okay, Anna, let’s get us some spaghetti.”

She helped Colm with the rest of the meal prep. They’d already made the salad, and after draining the noodles, Colm sliced the bread. Anna talked about safety, warning of the dangers of hot water and sharp knives.

Colm repeated her rules back to her again and again until they set the food on the table.

Anna surveyed the result and was pleased. “Everything’s beautiful, Colm. Why don’t you go get Liam.”

“Liii-ammm,” Colm screamed.

She stifled a chuckle and used her best teacher voice. “Colm, what are the rules about inside voices?”

“It’s not polite to yell, so we use a quiet inside voice.”

“Right. If you go into the living room and get your brother, you don’t have to shout.”

“Okay.” He headed toward the door, but it opened and Liam was standing there. “Hey, see, Anna, the scream worked.”