“You’re Worth Something to Someone, At Least”
“You don’t need my son. He’ll ruin your life.”
“That’s not true, Sophie. And why would you say such things about Jeremy? He’s your only child!”
“That’s exactly why I’m warning you. I know my son too well to doubt my words.”
Sophie walked out of the kitchen slowly, leaving Lucy sitting at the table in her new evening dress. She’d put it on specially, coming over to show it off to her neighbour, hoping it would stun Jeremy when he saw her.
Lucy had been in love with Sophie’s son for years. Her feelings had started when she was just a girl—young, naive, but already capable of deep devotion.
Jeremy was seven years older. He was seventeen, and Lucy just ten, when they first met. Lucy and her parents had moved to Appleton from a nearby village after her father lost his job. Sophie had lived there for years, raising her son alone.
“Very respectable family,” Lucy’s mother had remarked that evening after visiting Sophie. Though fifteen years older, she and Sophie had struck up a friendship, and soon Lucy and Jeremy saw each other often.
A year later, Jeremy left for university, and Lucy stayed behind, never forgetting him, always visiting Sophie.
Right after graduation, Jeremy married—a crushing blow for Lucy. She’d refused to believe he could really love someone else. To her, marriage was forever. Her parents had been wed nearly twenty years; her grandparents had stayed together till death. Even Sophie had spoken of staying married to Jeremy’s father until he vanished without trace in a warzone.
“He didn’t even introduce me to his wife,” Sophie complained one evening at Lucy’s house. “Some city girl, full of herself.”
“Why not visit them then?” Lucy’s mother suggested. “Meet your daughter-in-law, see how he’s living.”
Sophie waved her off.
“Why bother? If Jeremy didn’t invite me to the wedding, that’s that. No reason for me to know his wife. I won’t go.”
Lucy pitied Sophie, but her real pain was the thought that Jeremy would never return to Appleton. Yet, barely a year after his marriage, he came back with only a few belongings.
“Sophie’s boy’s home,” Lucy’s mother announced when she returned from work.
Lucy leapt up, nearly knocking her over in her rush to the door. She reached Sophie’s house in seconds, nearly colliding with Jeremy on the porch as he stepped out for a smoke.
“Oh, Lucy-Loo!” He grinned and winked.
She noticed how much he’d changed—grown into a man. He had a beard now, streaks of grey at his temples, though he was barely twenty-five.
“Hi, Jeremy,” she said softly, fighting the urge to touch his face. “You’re back?”
He shrugged, indifferent.
“Dunno, we’ll see. Got divorced, had to come back to Mum. Was living with my wife’s parents—got fed up with their ‘do this, don’t do that.’ Drove me mad.”
Lucy stared, wondering how anyone could think Jeremy was anything but wonderful. Handsome, kind, clever! That city girl must’ve been the problem—no wonder Sophie hadn’t wanted to meet her.
“Maybe we could go to the cinema?” Lucy ventured.
Jeremy shook his head.
“Nah, too much to do. Mum’s got me running around.”
Lucy hid her disappointment. Just having him near—breathing the same air, talking to her—was enough. Maybe, in time, he’d realise she was the one meant for him.
Sophie wasn’t happy about his return. She tried getting him work at the farm, then trekked to the city to arrange jobs with friends, but Jeremy turned them all down.
“I’m tired of his complaining,” Sophie confided to Lucy one day. “Now I see why his marriage failed. It wasn’t her fault—it was my son.”
“That’s not true!” Lucy protested hotly. “Jeremy’s good, you just don’t understand him!”
Sophie smirked.
“Of course, what would I know about my own son? He’s as selfish as his father was.”
She fell silent, eyes drifting away. Lucy bit back a reply—Sophie looked too weary.
After months of unemployment, Jeremy left again without saying goodbye. Lucy cried, aching for him, remembering him as the best part of her life.
Then tragedy struck. Lucy’s parents died in a crash. Barely eighteen, her college plans vanished. Without Sophie’s support, she’d have drowned in grief.
Jeremy came to the funeral—with a slim blonde girl gazing at him adoringly. Lucy’s heart twisted. He wasn’t alone again.
Two weeks later, Sophie mentioned casually that Jeremy had remarried. To Lucy, it felt like a thunderbolt. She still loved him, but hope was gone.
After her parents’ death, Lucy stayed in Appleton, working at the farm as a poultry hand. She never studied, slowly clawing her way out of depression, forcing herself to live without them—or Jeremy.
Then, just before New Year’s, Sophie told her Jeremy was coming home.
“Is he bringing his wife?” Lucy asked, already knowing the answer.
“No, he’s alone,” Sophie replied dryly. “Think he’d come back here if things were going well?”
Lucy’s heart leapt. Finally! She’d tell him everything she’d held back for years.
“Don’t get your hopes up,” Sophie warned.
Lucy, who’d already picked out a beautiful new dress, was stunned.
“Why? Sophie, I care about him—”
“Too much,” Sophie cut in. “He doesn’t deserve it.”
Lucy shivered at Sophie’s bitter tone. She bought the dress anyway, showing it off proudly.
“You don’t need my son. He’ll ruin your life.”
Lucy gaped. How could Sophie—who’d always doted on Jeremy—think him unworthy? Didn’t she understand how deeply Lucy loved him?
On New Year’s Eve, Jeremy turned up at Lucy’s after a row with Sophie. Drunk, sullen, he brought two bottles of champagne and a foul mood.
“Let’s drink,” he said, ignoring her dress.
He stayed the night. To Lucy, it was magical. To Jeremy, just a fling with consequences.
She woke transformed. Jeremy—the man she’d waited for—lay beside her.
Two days later, he left without a goodbye. Lucy wept, pestering Sophie for news while the older woman watched in silent disapproval.
“I warned you,” Sophie said flatly. Lucy had no answer.
In February, Lucy discovered she was pregnant. She took the bus to the city, calling Jeremy on the way. Reluctantly, he agreed to meet her at a café near the station.
“I’ve got twenty minutes,” he said coldly.
The news didn’t move him. Lucy searched his face for joy—but found only icy detachment.
“If you think this’ll make me marry you, forget it,” he said. “I’ve met someone. Serious plans.”
Lucy blinked rapidly, as if grit had caught in her eye. That night had meant everything to her—to him, nothing.
Back in Appleton, she spent days agonising. Then she went to Sophie, who asked bluntly:
“You’re keeping it?”
“How did you know?” Lucy stared.
“I’m not stupid. And this village is tiny. Planning to get rid of it?”
Lucy looked down.
“I… don’t know. I thought you’d advise me. It’s Jeremy’s.”
Sophie sighed, then took her hand.
“Listen—I won’t tell you what to do. My choice was my own. Once, I was involved with a married man. Thought I could build happiness on someone else’s pain. Got pregnant—had Jeremy. Do I regret it? Probably. I could’ve married a decent man, had a child properly. But I chose this path. I won’t advise you—but it’s easier living with your own mistakes than someone else’s advice.”
Lucy gaped.
“But what mistake? Loving your son?”
“Maybe,” Sophie shrugged. “Or maybe you’ll regret ending it. Or regret having a child whose father didn’t want him. Like me. Then you’ll spin stories—a father lost in action, whatever—to hide the truth.”
“Jeremy’s father is alive?”
Sophie smirked.
“Alive and well, on his fifth wife probably. Didn’t want me, but hopped from one marriage to the next. Jeremy takes after him—never even met the man.”
Lucy left without another word. The next morning, she woke resolved—she’d have the baby.
Her daughter, Olivia, was born in October. By the next New Year, Sophie was gone. She’d held her granddaughter once—but never saw her son again. Lucy took care of her till the end.
Jeremy came to the funeral, gave Lucy a stiff nod, another woman at his side. She said nothing about Olivia—he asked nothing.
Six months later, he returned to settle Sophie’”He stormed off without another word, leaving Lucy standing on the porch, heart full of quiet relief that she had finally found happiness without him.”
