Listen, his fatherinlaw said sternly to David, we took you into the family, we treat you like a man, and you turn us down over trifles? Not proper, soninlaw! You must respect your wife’s parents. What if you need our help someday?
***
Lucy was born when her mother was barely nineteen. Early motherhood became a stumbling block for the young couples plans, and for the first few years the girl was left in the care of her grandmother. While the parents studied, Edna, the grandmother, became Lucys first and most reliable anchor in the world.
The wedding happened after the daughters birth, but the true household rhythm only settled when Lucy turned six. It was then that the parents took her to their new home in a town up north, enrolled her in the first grade, and the fragile balance began.
The new family never clicked from the start. The father, who held a respectable post at a railway office, showed a complete lack of interest in both wife and child. His days were a parade of latenight outings, affairs, and heavy drinking. The mother, meanwhile, vanished into her shift at the bakery until the small hours. Lucy, left to herself, roamed the streets. Irregular mealsoften cold and meagreleft a permanent mark: a chronic gastritis. When the ailment flared, her mother would ferry her from one clinic to another, turning the visits into a lever of control.
In that house there was no notion of personal boundaries or the right to an opinion. Any wish Lucy voiced was snuffed out at the root. If she tried to defend herself, a scandal erupted, followed by a torrent of accusations. Her mother would openly declare, Lucy, youre an ungrateful child.
I try for you, and you cant muster a morsel of thanks! Only God knows how much suffering youve caused me, she would whine, get out of sight!
The tension peaked over a seemingly trivial clash when teenage Lucy refused to join her parents evening photo session with guests. Her mother erupted:
Shameless! How dare you disgrace me in front of people? Change immediately and leave this very second!
Mum, I dont want to be photographed, Lucy protested, Im tired! I have to get up early.
Her mother lunged, fists ready; the father intervened to separate them, then told Lucy bluntly that they dreamed of another child but, for some reason, could not have one.
If I could, Id throw you out of this house this instant! he snarled, pity we cant have any other kids! If there were a chance, Id hand you over to a childrens home!
***
Lucy had no right to say no. Her mother increasingly called her worthless, idle, and ungrateful. Only when Lucy turned sixteen and a foster daughter arrived did the mothers tone softena new, heavier stress for Lucy.
After all, youre our gold, her mother sighed, watching the foster girl fling plates in a tantrum because shed been denied a computer like everyone else, you never gave us trouble! We listened to your father, agreed to foster now no more problems
No one at school knew that Lucy was beaten and locked in storerooms. She was openly despised, and instead of friendship she was tormented by a whole pack. Lucy never complainedshe saw no point. What good is it if no one steps in for her?
She chose a career in law, the path her parents had pushed, hoping to earn their approval. It failed too; they now chided her for not finding her place in life.
Why study law? the father sneered, youll end up on the factory floor anyway. Youre talentless! Maybe theyll take you somewhere else
Lucy endured in silence, dreaming of shedding the ropes her parents twisted around her. She was exhausted.
***
When Lucy married, her parents ignited a prewedding scandal, accusing her of selfishness, of thwarting their plans, and of taking money from them. In truth, she had borrowed a modest sum to contribute to the wedding. Meanwhile, her mother kept loading Lucy with her own woes.
Do you realise, Lucy, how much weve spent on you? her mother demanded when Lucy tried to decline another favour.
I understand, Mum, but David and I are trying to stand on our own, we have our own concerns, Lucy replied cautiously, Mum, we have no time for all this!
What concerns? Your concerns are ours too! Your husband should understand that, the father interjected, and are we asking much? Pick up groceries, deliver them to the restaurant, sit with the younger sibling while were at the celebration.
Dad, David works late and has an important meeting tomorrow, Lucy tried to object.
A meeting? More important than family? Have you forgotten how hard it was raising you? Your illnesses, your unbearable temperament! her mothers voice rose.
Mum, you speak of my illnesses that sprang up while you were busy with work and other matters. I dont recall you ever really raising me, Lucy said bitterly.
Ungrateful! You dont know what it means to be a parent! If it werent for us, youd still be on the streets! her mother shouted, youd be starving at your grandmothers!
Mum, Im grateful, but Im not obliged to give you my whole life! We only ask for a sliver of personal space, Lucy sighed.
Personal space? You just got married and already think of yourself! We gave you a roof, we raised you! the father argued, and now you dare refuse us?
Mum, you have nothing to do with our flat, Lucy replied, hinting that the couples home was a mortgage they now repaid together.
If youre so independent, why cant you land a decent job, why are you skulking about in contracts? And why havent you paid us back for your education? the father jabbed, a low blow, we taught you. Wheres the gratitude?
Lucy turned to him:
Father, could you at least stop enabling this nonsense?
Lucy, dont begin, the father said calmly but firmly, Mum is right. We ask only a little. Your husband should know his place. Nothing will happen to him if he drives us. We are your family.
David isnt a taxi! He doesnt have to ferry you! Lucys voice quivered with hysteria.
Have you lost your mind?! How dare you raise your voice at your father?! her mother stepped forward.
David, who had been silent until then, finally broke:
Enough! Stop shouting at her! I married your daughter, I took responsibility for her. Not yours! I never promised to be your servant.
Who do you think you are, telling us what to do? the father flared, you took my daughter, you were welcomed into the family, and out of gratitude you must help us!
I love Lucy, and I want her happy. Since the wedding youve given us no peace, David said firmly, either we live our own lives or there will be no contact with her.
Lucy gazed at David, then at her parents.
Lucy, you cant! Youll betray us?! her mother hissed, youre still our daughter! Weve given you so much
I remember, Mum, Lucy whispered, clenching her fists, I remember everything you did to humiliate me, to beat me. I remember you saying you wanted another child. I remember
Ungrateful! her mothers voice rang like a bell.
No, Mum. Im simply an adult with a family. David is right: we will live our own lives. You can stop calling us until you learn to respect our decisions.
The first days of this socalled freedom were tense. The parents called, threatened, tried to blackmail with silence, but Lucy and David held firm. Lucy also decided to strip her father of the only leverage he hadshe planned to repay the parents for her tuition. The couple scrimped on everything to clear the debt faster.
The hardest part was surviving Lucys breakdowns. Claiming her right to a life forced her to confront years of psychological pressure. David was her backbone, her rock.
Well get through this, Lucy dear. Well get through it!
And they did. It took a year for the couple to settle the parents claiman invoice of £500,000, even though the actual tuition cost was half that. After the money was paid, Lucy cut off contact. Her parents lingered, unwilling to mend the breach, still nursing their grievance against the daughter they had called ungrateful.
