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It’s a lovely afternoon in London, with a perfect blue sky, and Georgie Banks is frowning as he kicks at the dirt paths in the park.
“My friend Robbie at school said that Mother’s Day is tomorrow,” he says, gripping tight onto Gilly. Annabel and John share a look over his head. “But we don’t have a mother... so how are we gonna celebrate?”
“We don’t have to celebrate,” Annabel suggests.
“Everyone else does.” Georgie looks up at her and almost trips on the grass.
“Everyone else has a mother,” John points out, then immediately realizes what he’s just said, and goes quiet.
The children don’t speak for a minute or two, the only sound being their shoes against the ground. Georgie’s just on the edge of the path, staring down at the grass to make sure he doesn’t step on any bugs. He hears the sound of bike wheels approaching and looks up.
“Uncle Jack!” he yells happily. The twins run with him to where Jack’s stopped his bike.
“Hey there, kids!” he greets them, tipping his cap. “What’re you three up to this lovely afternoon?”
“Mother’s Day is tomorrow,” Annabel says, and that itself seems to get the message across, because Jack’s face falls. He recovers quickly, giving them a soft smile.
“Why don’t we sit down?” he says, leading them to a nearby bench. He sits on the edge, Georgie at his side and the twins on the other end. “Now, what’s the problem with tomorrow?”
“We don’t have a mother, so we don’t know how to celebrate,” John explains. “I dunno if we can celebrate.”
“Well, don’t go ‘round saying that. Of course you have a mother,” Jack says. “She’s just...”
“Lost?” Annabel finishes. Jack looks surprised. “Mary Poppins told us that she’s in the place where the lost things go.”
“Ah, yes, the Place,” he says, and the children swear they see a sort of twinkle in his eyes. “Lemme ask you something. Your mum’s in the place where lost things go, yeah?”
They nod.
“So... how d’you think things get to the Place?”
Georgie pets Gilly’s head while he thinks. Then he says, “They get lost?”
“Exactly!” Jack says, smiling. “Everything that’s lost goes to the Place. So if your mum’s there, maybe you can send her something.”
“But you can’t lose something on purpose,” Annabel points out. “How can we send something to her by losing it?”
“Father’s good at losing things,” John says, and the children laugh. Jack chuckles.
“Here’s what I think you should do.” Jack leans towards them, like he’s about to tell them a secret. “Write her a letter, and then hide it where no one ever looks. Eventually, it’ll get lost, and it can go to the Place.”
“How do you know so much about the Place?” John asks.
Jack keeps smiling, but it loses a bit of its usual shine.
“I lost my mother, too. And my father. I was just around your age. They got sick an’ never got better,” he explains quietly.
“That’s what happened to Mother,” Georgie whispers, leaning into Jack’s side and cuddling Gilly close. A sense of understanding passes through the four of them.
“But then I learned that they were simply lost, and they’re watchin’ over me.” His tone is gentle and he shuffles so that all three of them can sit closer to him. “I’m gonna send my mum somethin’ for Mother’s Day, too.”
“I think Mother would like a letter,” Annabel says after a few silent moments. The other two nod.
“Now, I’ve gotta go. But write that letter and hide it tonight. I’m sure she’ll love hearing from you three.” Jack stands and gets on his bike, smiling softly.
“Bye, Jack,” John calls as he rides away. Then he turns to his siblings. “Let’s go write a letter.”
~
“She’s gonna love my drawing,” Georgie says, bouncing on the bed in his pyjamas. He watches Annabel fold up the letter. John helps her put it in an envelope and they seal it.
“Do you need an address if you’re writing to someone in the Place?” John wonders. Annabel shrugs, but writes To: Mother on the back anyway. She adds Kate Banks, from 17 Cherry Tree Lane, London for good measure.
The children know their house very well, but they can’t think of a hiding spot. Ellen is in her room and they’re not allowed in, but they find their father at his desk.
“Father, we need to lose something,” Annabel says, not realizing that Michael has no idea what she means by this.
“What are you talking about?” he asks, taking the letter from her. His face softens. “Oh.”
“Mother’s Day is tomorrow, and Jack told us we could write a letter and send it to the place where lost things go, because that’s where Mother is, and the only way to do that is to lose it,” Georgie says.
“Well, I can find a spot in the house where I don’t look very often,” Michael suggests. He stands up and walks around the room. “How about... the bookshelf?”
He places the envelope in between two books and turns around to see the approving faces of his children. Georgie’s clinging tightly to Gilly and pretending that he isn’t half-asleep.
“Alright, now off to bed you three, it’s late,” he says, heart aching.
~
Sunday greets them with a smile, sun shining through the windows. Ellen’s made a wonderful breakfast with the help of Michael, and Jane’s visiting before she has to leave for work. The children have already finished eating, and on their way upstairs, Annabel’s sharp eyes land on the bookshelf.
“John, look!” she whispers, tugging on his sleeve. Georgie stops too, and he’s the first to run over.
A bright pink cherry petal is lying on the shelf.
John searches the books, but there’s no sign of the letter. The children share a look. They all know that the cherry trees have already bloomed and aren’t pink anymore. Perhaps you could say that the petals have been lost.
Georgie takes the single petal with extreme care and puts it in his pocket.
When he checks later, it will have disappeared, lost again.