The Wadhams – Oh, Brother!

By Karen Byrom

We’re delighted to bring you the continuing adventures of Life & The Wadhams, featuring the younger members of the family. Not yet met the Wadhams? Read the background on My Weekly’s best-loved family, then come back and enjoy the next generation’s adventures as Mike and Polly Wadham’s elder grandson, Alex Clark settles into family life with wife Natalie and toddler son William. Now living in a house with attached annexe for Natalie’s grandmother Julia, they’ve just welcomed twin daughters Lyra and Lottie into their family.

Young William Clark was living life in a state of perplexity at the moment, ever since his mummy had come home after nearly a week’s absence with two screaming creatures in tow.

Not that William could count the days – every minute his mum was away had felt like a year in his short little life.

And what were these creatures? Daddy had told him he would be getting two little sisters, and warned him that they would be too tiny to play with just yet, but William had expected a bit more than the two bald, red-faced squawking babies that looked like the baby dolls at nursery, but were a lot noisier and more demanding.

He’d envisioned miniature replicas of Ruby – his five-year-old boon companion, who was Daddy’s little sister. Shouldn’t all little sisters look the same? It was a mystery.

He was keen to discover more, but every time he prodded them experimentally, he’d receive a telling-off from Daddy, Mummy or Gaga for being too rough. Wisely, he decided he’d leave them be, and stick to playing with Ruby.

There were upsides, of course. The twins had brought him the most magnificent racing track with cars when they arrived home with Mummy, and he loved playing with it. But he needed a racing companion, and Daddy wasn’t so readily available as usual, while Gaga downright refused to get down on her knees to play with it. She was only good for stories and the park.

The racing cars weren’t the only bonus. William had begun to look forward to the arrival of visitors who came to coo at the babies and invariably brought something for him, adding greatly to his collection of cars and Spider-Man figures.

So when Mummy told him that Suzi was coming to visit them today, he had high hopes …

“Oh, Natalie, they’re gorgeous!” Suzi gushed as she nestled into the comfy sofa in the Clarks’ smart new home, Lyra in one arm and Lottie in the other. Both girls had just been changed and fed, and were drowsily exploring this strange new face.

“Aren’t they just?” Natalie grinned. “Though I’m a bit disappointed they don’t have more hair. Alex’s mum thinks it will come in red, which will make a lovely contrast to William’s blond – though it seems to be going darker now.

“Anyway, tell me all about the wedding – I can’t wait to hear how it all went.”

“It’s such a shame you missed it.” Suzi nodded. “But I’m so glad that Lottie was out of special care on the day – we were really worried about you all.”

“It was a hard time.” Natalie’s eyes clouded as she recalled the few days while her younger daughter fought to gain the strength and stamina of her sister. “But they’re both thriving now.”

“How’s William with them?”

Natalie grimaced. “A bit rougher than we’d like. He just doesn’t seem to understand that they’re not dolls he can prod and pull around.”

Suzi laughed. “I seem to remember being the same when my little brother was born. But that reminds me. William, I’ve got something for you.”

William looked up from his chunky child’s iPad with interest. Another car, hopefully? Or some Duplo? Maybe sweeties?

The package was soft and squishy. At his mummy’s prodding he dutifully said thank you to Suzi, then began tearing at the paper, to reveal an orange T-shirt.

Swiftly, Natalie pulled it from him before he could express any disappointment.

“Oh, look, William! It says Big Brother on it! Thanks, Suzi, it’s lovely.”

“I got it in Spain while we were on honeymoon,” Suzi said. “Along with the dresses for the girls. It’s a shame they’re too big – I’m not very good at visualising small babies.”

“They’ll fit soon enough.” Natalie laughed. “Meanwhile this looks perfect. Come and try it on, William.”

William looked at his mother in disgust. Did she really think he was going to take off his favourite Spider-Man T-shirt when it wasn’t even dirty?

Natalie did think that, and before he knew it, William had been strong-armed into the new top and made to pose with the babies for a series of snaps on both Mummy and Aunt Suzi’s phones.

Like any other small child, William usually automatically adopted a smiling pose when a phone was waved in his face, but this time his expression on the photographs would be enough to turn the milk sour.

“Want my Spider-Man top!” he growled.

Natalie was having none of it. She was determined to bring up all her children to be unspoiled and polite, and at that moment William was behaving like a spoilt brat.

“Go and play in your room,” she ordered, before turning her attention back to Suzi and the babies, who were beginning to fuss. “Chuck them here, and I’ll feed them while you tell me about the wedding and Spain.”

“I can’t believe you’ve mastered that already,” Suzi said admiringly as Natalie settled a baby to each breast.

“No choice,” Natalie laughed. “Now come on, I want to hear about Jake’s best man speech. I bet it was rude…”

William would have liked to make his feelings known by slamming the door, as he’d seen Ruby do with great effect in her own home, but he was too small to manage it, so instead he stomped up the stairs, kicking at the bannister as he went.

It was a good job Gaga was out at her bridge club or she’d have had something to say about the noise filtering through to her own dwelling!

He went to his room and looked at his cars, but he wasn’t in the mood for playing with them right now. The same went for his Noah’s ark and his bricks. He wished Daddy was home, or even Gaga. Though Daddy would probably say he had no time to play as he was still painting the babies’ nursery.

William pondered. If that job was finished, then Daddy would have time to play with him and his new racing track.

He hurried out into the hall. The door to the room designated for his sisters was tightly shut, but William was nothing if not ingenious. A quick trip to the bathroom to fetch his special step to reach the loo, and a little patience as he pushed round the door handle, soon yielded results. He was in!

And there were the tins of yellow, white and pale orange paint, their lids tantalisingly loose, the brushes conveniently sitting on newspaper beside them.

It was time to get to work.

“William is being very quiet,” Suzi said, as she got up to leave.

“He’ll be playing with his cars,” Natalie said. “Poor wee man. He has been good, really, considering all the upheaval of a new home – and two new sisters,” she added guiltily. “I’ll put the babies in their cots and go and play with him for a little while.

“William! Come and say bye to Auntie Suzi.”

“Bye.” A voice floated from upstairs.

Natalie frowned. It didn’t sound as ifWilliam was in his own room. That voice had come from further down the hall.

She ushered Suzi out and went upstairs to investigate, dropping the sleeping babies into their own cots in her bedroom as she went.

What was William up to now?…

Alex surveyed the damage with a grim eye. The pristine white door was splashed with yellow paint and would have to be given a fresh coat of gloss. The yellow wall he’d finished yesterday was liberally specked with the white and the soft orange paint he’d planned to use for contrast. The floor was a mess – thankfully they hadn’t put the carpet down yet.

Julia had returned home, too, and, uninvited, had come to see the mess, though she was supposed to be keeping an eye on the babies while Natalie scrubbed William in the bath.

“It’s your own fault,” she said tartly to Alex. “You should have put the lids on the tins properly, and moved them out of William’s reach.”

“I didn’t think he could get into the room…” Alex tried to defend himself. But even as he spoke, he remembered an occasion when his little brother Matty got into his teenage bedroom and scribbled all over his prized posters of Lionel Messi.

He chuckled wryly. Matty had just turned 16 himself now. He wondered if he remembered it.

Julia’s face softened.

“You have to remember William wasn’t trying to be bad, Alex. He was trying to help.”

Natalie appeared from the bathroom with William in her arms, his skin glowing more pinkly than usual from the extra hard scrubbing he’d had.

“Give him to me,” Alex demanded. “You shouldn’t be lifting him yet.” He took his small son in his arms and William nestled into him.

“Come on, let’s get you dressed. What will you wear?”

“Spider-Man top!” William yelled in glee, quite happy with himself once more.

He’d painted his sisters’ room so his daddy didn’t have to. Mummy hadn’t been too cross.

And as for that Big Brother T-shirt? Well, he’d seen Mummy with his own eyes putting it in the bin, along with his trousers as she muttered that it wasn’t worth trying to get the paint out.

For him, it had been an eventful and ultimately successful afternoon.