Mum turned out to be the odd one out.
What’s the flat like? The one on the fourth floor?
Im the spare one! Olivia Finch confessed, cheeks flaming with embarrassment.
Then come over to my place! a former schoolmate blurted out, catching her off guard.
Lydia, Roxy, is that you? a scruffy bloke shouted, halfshouting her nickname.
Im Roxy, she replied, though after the divorce shed kept her exhusbands surname, Frost, so now she was Olivia Frost. How on earth did he know her?
Im Sam Lewis! the stranger chirped. Dont you recognise me? I spotted you straight away you havent changed a bit!
Leon had dumped his wife after their second child was born, claiming she hadnt given him room to grow.
It was the wild 90s. Nobody talked about personal development everyone was just trying to get by. No internet, no lifecoaches. When Leon walked out, Olivia was left with two kids, the younger one still a baby.
Her first thought was to end it all, but common sense won out.
Dad stepped in: the plant where hed worked shut down, and he was let go. The engineer turned into a parttime carer.
They scraped by, barely affording food. Olivia was the only one earning, while Leons alimony was a joke, and everything else kept climbing in price.
When the little one turned one, Olivia started importing secondhand coats from abroad the money flow eased a little.
Together they managed to raise the kids, and even got them a free education.
Now the children had their own families. First up, Lena tied the knot. Im pregnant, Mum! Youll be a grandmother soon! she beamed.
Nice one, love! I thought, grinning.
All was well until Lenas husband brought his sister into the twobed flat that Olivias dad had been given back in the 70s when the factory was still booming. By then, her parents were long gone.
Back then a tiny twobed flat was considered a palace, especially with its little storage cupboard and balcony.
Now Olivia had to share a bedroom with her son, and later Simon brought a girlfriend along. Weve applied for a joint tenancy! they announced.
Everything seemed neat and uplifting, but reality bit back: there was nowhere for Mum to sleep!
While the girlfriend crashed on the sofa, the foldout cot could be set up either in the kitchen or the cupboard yes, the cupboard! Olivia flatly refused to sleep in the kitchen; that was, in her eyes, downright humiliating. So she ended up in the cupboard
Just dont lock the door and everythingll be fine, her son and daughter urged, halfjoking, halfserious.
For a few days she left the door ajar and things were tolerable. Then she spotted her own belongings shoved into the cupboard, along with odds and ends, and they finally moved her in there for good.
By then Simon was already married. You have to understand, Mum, we cant afford a separate room. Sorry.
She tried to be useful cooking, cleaning but they treated her like an old, scruffy dog, shoving her into the cupboard.
The idea of living forever among jars and boxes was mortifying. Shed raised a son and a daughter, and there was no pride in that.
Money was tight; she taught English at the local school and did a bit of private tutoring, but it still wasnt enough for a decent rented flat. And the free cupboard was already hers
So Olivia grabbed her bag passport, wage card and walked out of the house, plopped down on the bench outside the block, hoping some constructive idea would pop up.
No lessons the next day, just a chance to sit and stare at the world go by.
Lydia, Roxy, is that you? the same bloke called out again.
Im Roxy! she replied, still clutching the Frost name.
And Im Sam Lewis! the stranger shouted cheerily. Dont you recognise me? Youve not changed a bit!
Right, I havent, Olivia thought, now fully Olivia Frost.
Time, that good doctor and terrible beautician, had done its work. The class heartthrob turned into a balding, chubby old man, and she wasnt much better.
How many years had it been? Twenty? At the school reunion you could still recognise everyone.
Shed been smitten with him back in school, even asked him to a slow dance at the prom. Hed later married a bossy daughter of a local party official a real careerclimber.
Why are you standing there shivering? Warm up, dont freeze! Alex laughed, the humor that used to make her swoon.
A former schoolmate, now looking a bit rough, asked, What are you doing in this area? I thought you moved?
Yes, I was visiting my grandchildren they still live in my old flat. Im heading home now. Where do you live? Do you still have that fourthfloor flat?
Lets go together, remember school, Roxy? And that prom slowdance!
Did you ever remember him? the elderly woman asked.
Of course, Sam replied. And why did you disappear after school?
I vanished, Olivia snapped. Because you started seeing that monkey? I just disappeared!
Dont mix cause and effect, Sam corrected. You left first, then I started seeing the monkey!
Olivia sighed, Nowhere to go. and burst into tears.
Nowhere? You dont have a home? the lad asked, bewildered.
It seems not, she whispered.
About the flat the one on the fourth floor?
Im the spare one, she admitted, mortified.
Then come to my place! the former classmate offered out of the blue.
What about the monkey what about the wife? Olivia asked, nervous about a stranger moving in.
Were divorced from the monkey ages ago, Sam said. Come on, move your suitcase. I wont be a pest, I promise.
He extended a hand, helped her up from the bench and said, Ready? My cars just around the corner.
And off they went.
Sams flat turned out to be surprisingly cosy, and he really didnt pest her at least for the first two months. Then he asked her to marry him.
Fiftythree, huh? Were not that old, she laughed. He always liked a good laugh, and hed never forgotten their school prom dance.
Olivia gave her nod to the charming realtor of her heart. Who could say no?
The kids never called mum once during all that time. She first waited anxiously, then just waited, and eventually found a new purpose: planning weddings and family life.
They decided not to tell the kids about the upcoming nuptials. No big ceremony, just a quiet café with four witnesses at least the absence of relatives could be explained.
Later Olivia deleted her sons and daughters numbers from her phone.
If you havent thought of something in months, you probably dont need it, right? Thats what the smart coaches say about decluttering.
Same goes for people: mum became just another unnecessary item in her kids lives.
And if thats the case, they dont need her either. Harsh? Yes. Fair? Also yes.
Eight months had passed since she left home. With the long New Year break looming, Olivia and Sam went shopping at the supermarket.
A shrill Mum! split the air, and her daughter lunged onto her neck, while the happy son waddled beside them.
They hugged, and Olivia asked, Why the odd little family today?
Because the brother and sister never shopped together before either solo or with partners.
Were always this odd now! Simon stammered, blushing.
Turns out they were both divorced.
Right away? mum asked, surprised. Quick as a flash! Why?
Just because, he replied. The word quick made mum smile theyd woken up in a rush!
Theyd shown up at an odd hour, catching Leons wife and Lenas husband together, no doubt in the middle of some longstanding loveaffair.
When will you be back, Mum? her smiling son asked, eyes sparkling. Well finally be all right!
He added, Where have you been? Weve missed you!
What made you realise it so early? a strange bloke, looking oddly healthier, chimed in. You thought youd be gone for years before wed even notice!
Who are you? the daughter snapped.
Im the bloke in the drab coat! the man declared, patting his coat proudly.
Kids gawked, What sort of husband?
Just an ordinary chap, Mr. Blokey, he replied smugly. So Mum wont be coming back. Shes got her own life now!
Dont you want to be a grandma? Lena asked, hopeful.
Mum wants to be a wife again thats more fun. Besides, I dont need to share a bed with a grandma, he quipped, then added, Nice meeting you, eh? Were off now!
What about us? Simon whispered.
Youll probably go too, the husband sneered.
All the while Mum just smiled faintly, never really joining the conversation.
The man took Olivia by the arm and said, Ready? Lets go.
And they walked off, leaving the kids standing, mouths open.
Later, when Olivia and Sam were loading groceries into the car, the man asked, Hows the space suit feeling? Too tight? Getting enough air?
They both knew exactly what he meant. Alex a name that means defender was indeed their protector.
Can you suffocate from love? No one ever loved her like that.
Olivia thought, finally, shed got a space suit that fit just right she could launch into the cosmos any day, never too late.
Ready?
And off they went.
