“Mum, please stop lecturing me. Mark and I were planning to have a baby in about three years… three years at the earliest! We’ve got so many projects, plans, a trip to Spain, for goodness’ sake. A baby right now? Really, Mum?” The irritation in her daughter’s voice was so sharp that Catherine quickly ended the conversation.
Young, beautiful, ambitious, with dreams of conquering the world—and then, suddenly, an unplanned pregnancy.
“Darling, please don’t do anything drastic until we’ve been to Willowsend,” her mother murmured softly.
***
For as long as Diane could remember, they’d always celebrated her mother’s birthday in Willowsend, though she’d never been thrilled about the trips: quiet family dinners by candlelight, followed by a morning visit to the old chapel.
“Dad, why do we always go to that village for Mum’s birthday? It’s so dull!”
“Without Willowsend, there’d be no you, no your mum… maybe even no me. Understand?”
“Fine,” Diane grumbled, though she didn’t understand at all.
This year, her father was gone—a heart attack. Watching her mother cry day after day, locked in her room, Diane finally suggested a weekend trip to Willowsend.
“Sweetheart, I thought you hated it there.”
“I love you, Mum… Just the two of us. Mark can’t get time off work.”
***
The stifling heat had lifted, leaving something magical in the air. Catherine stepped onto the porch, breathing in the intoxicating scent of freshly cut grass and wild strawberries.
“Wish David could see this…”
“Mum, remember when Dad and I baked your birthday cake? Flour everywhere—the kitchen, the porch, the garden shed, even the greenhouse! And you just laughed and said it felt like a winter fairy tale.” Diane smiled, draping a blanket over her mother’s shoulders.
“Darling, I need to talk to you about the baby.”
“For heaven’s sake…” Diane sighed, rolling her eyes. “Mum, don’t start. Mark and I have already decided. We want our freedom!”
“Let me finish, love…” Catherine’s throat tightened, her vision blurring. “You know you were a late baby. The doctors said I’d never survive childbirth. A hundred percent chance I’d die.”
“Oh, Mum…” Diane hugged her tightly, feeling her tremble.
“Let me speak… When David found out I was pregnant, he was beside himself—started smoking again. He wanted children so badly, loved me more than life. Said he couldn’t live without me. Back then, my friend Margaret invited me to Willowsend. I went to say my goodbyes. And to prepare David. But I’d already made my choice—you would live in this world instead of me.”
“You gave up everything for me…” Diane’s breath hitched, fighting back tears.
“I’d made my decision, but I didn’t know how to tell David. I started visiting the chapel, praying to St. Jude for guidance.
One evening, I was walking back when I saw the neighbours’ shed on fire. A dog ran inside, dashed out, dropped a tiny bundle, then charged back in. The roof collapsed. The dog reappeared, another puppy in her jaws—burned all over, her eyes blistered. She nosed the pups, checking if they were alive. Realised she hadn’t saved them all, then bolted back into the flames. Five minutes later, she dragged out a third puppy, dropped it at my feet, licked the tears off my cheek… and went still.
David ran over, and I was sobbing, clutching those puppies to my chest. He didn’t ask questions after that. He knew I’d decided to keep you. But his eyes were red every day until you were born.
You arrived right on time, perfectly healthy. The doctors just shook their heads and said miracles still happen.” Her mother’s eyes glistened, the worry lines smoothing away.
“Mum, why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“I don’t know… Maybe the time wasn’t right.”
***
A year later, Diane and Mark would gift Catherine a cottage in Willowsend. Diane would sit on the porch, cradling her tiny son.
“Mum, this is our best project yet—our happiness. I can’t believe I almost gave up the most precious thing in the world for some silly idea of freedom.”
Catherine would smile softly, whispering to no one in particular:
“We didn’t live this life for nothing…”
