Tommy leaves Whittleford Lodge after Daisy’s death, turning a bereavement into a second, deliberate separation for Sunday. His note presents the departure as temporary but uncertain: he has not chosen what to do next, and promises to visit one day, while offering no date for his return. For Sunday, the immediate consequence is stark. The friend who had helped make the Spooner household feel like a family is gone, and she must face another absence she cannot control.

Causes and Decision

Tommy explains to the people at the Lodge that staying has become difficult since Daisy died. He seems to see her everywhere, and, with her gone, he feels there is nothing to keep him there. His decision is to leave for a while, not to announce a settled destination or a permanent break. He considers training as a carpenter or going to sea, but has not yet decided between them—or made any final plan.

The uncertainty is part of what makes the departure consequential. Tommy does not leave with a new home or occupation already secured; instead, he says he has saved enough money to manage for some time. The savings give him room to choose what comes next, while the note’s promise to visit offers the household a possible future reunion. Yet that promise is indefinite. He asks them not to worry, but cannot tell them where he will go or when they will see him again.

The Note and the Farewell

Tommy’s note is addressed to everyone at the Lodge. He apologizes for letting them down and explains his reason for going, making the departure something the household learns through his written words rather than a face-to-face farewell. He thanks Mrs Spooner for what she did for him and Daisy, and says he will not forget her kindness. His gratitude recognizes that the home has mattered to both siblings, even as grief has made it impossible for him to remain there.

He also asks Sunday to make sure the animals are fed. That practical request keeps him connected to the ordinary responsibilities he is leaving behind: his final message is not only about loss and future possibilities, but about a task that still needs doing. Tommy says that someone from the workhouse can replace him, giving another youngster a chance. The thought acknowledges that his place in the household can be filled, even though the relationship he has formed there cannot simply be transferred to a new arrival.

When the note falls from Sunday’s hand, she stares ahead in shock. Annie tells her that everyone will miss Tommy, but that Sunday will miss him most. Sunday replies that she will survive, then rises and goes out to check on the animals. Her movement from the note to the work she has been asked to do gives the moment a restrained, practical ending; inwardly, however, she feels bereft and hides the depth of her feelings.

Sunday’s Loss

Tommy’s departure compounds the loss of Daisy, whose death is the stated reason he cannot bear to stay. Sunday had found solace in her friendship with Daisy and Tommy, and now both are absent from her life: Daisy has died, and Tommy has gone. The two losses are distinct, but their closeness makes his departure feel like another rupture in the small circle of affection that had sustained her.

The event also closes off one of Sunday’s childhood consolations. As a child, she had been able to imagine that the mother who abandoned her would return and that they would be joyfully reunited. She now recognizes that this reunion will never happen. With Daisy dead and Tommy gone, she wonders whether she will ever have anyone to call her own, or whether a happy ending is beyond her. The narrative sets her practiced concealment of feeling against the persistence of that fear: she says she will survive, but still has to reconcile herself to losing someone she cares about.

Aftermath at the Spooners’ Home

For the first few weeks after Tommy leaves, Sunday waits for the postman each day, hoping for a message. As the weeks pass without word, she accepts that he is not going to get in touch yet and can only hope he is safe wherever he has gone. His promised visit remains possible, but the silence gives the household no assurance of when it might happen.

Eventually Michael Lomax, known as Mickey, joins the Spooner household to take Tommy’s place. He has lived in the workhouse since his grandmother died when he was two, and, like Tommy, Daisy, and Sunday before him, thinks the happy household feels like heaven. Mickey is almost Sunday’s age and painfully shy. His self-consciousness is visible in his lowered head and reluctance to meet people’s eyes; the story connects that reserve to couples who had visited the workhouse but refused even to consider him because of his skin colour. His arrival fulfills Tommy’s practical suggestion that another young person could have a place, while also showing that replacing a worker does not erase the personal loss his departure has left behind.