Tea and Nonsense

Valjean told them fanciful stories and threw them in the air, and light as they were his great strength made for easy games. He let them kneel in the flowerbeds and tend to the vegetables, and young children have such an affinity for dirt and colourful things. Valjean let them curl their fingers through his white hair, and when they pulled he did not seem to mind, and when one or the other started to cry Valjean’s comforting hands were enough to quiet them.

Javert had never felt a compulsion to have children at any stage in his life, and in his Autumn years he wanted them around even less. They tried his patience more than any stubborn case. They were messy and left disorder in their wake, they were loud and uninterested in listening to him recite scripture, they would not stay still, and when they pulled at his hair he had not the patience of Valjean and he did mind a great deal. Cosette and Marius bring their children round to see Valjean and Javert. Javert might just allow one to sit on his lap if it makes Valjean happy.