I wasnt about to let any of the traitors back in.
Wheres Tom? someone whispered among the crowd of relatives packed on the stairwell outside St.Marys Maternity Hospital. Hes gone, vanished where could he be?
If Tom were the father of the newborn, the murmuring would be far less frantic. In this case, though, Tom is a short form of the womans nameEmmaso the whole thing feels oddly out of place.
The fact that Emma had simply disappeared, instead of cradling her infant daughter, was a real shock.
Shes run off! That wretched thing, shouted Emmas mother as she handed the paperwork and a final letter from the runaway wife to her soninlaw, David, along with the baby.
The letter was a textbook example of the sort of note a departing mother leaves. Im not ready for this. Dont look for me. I wont abandon my child; Ill pay child support, but thats all I can do. There was no return address, no explanation as to why a respectable woman, just six months ago dreaming of motherhood, would suddenly bolt like that.
Dont worry, David, Emmas mother tried to console him. Shell come to her senses, realise what shes missed, and return.
Their older daughter, Emily, said nothing. Her gut told her Tom would never come back. When Emma acted, she did it deliberately; she was never one for halfmeasures. If she decided to leave, shed stay gone.
Mind your tongue, Emily, snapped her mother when the teenager hinted that Emma might not return. Shell be back. Give it a month or two and a mothers heart will pull her back.
Divorce papers arrived three months later. Emma never showed up for the hearings, refused custody, and little Lily stayed with her father.
Emily began visiting David more often, helping out with the child and keeping David company. After all, they now shared a common worry: Emily herself had been abandoned by her fiancé a year after their son, Max, was born.
Theyd planned to marry when the boy turned three and Emily finished maternity leave. But Max walked out, leaving Emily drowning in debts, even though the court eventually confirmed his paternity and ordered modest child support.
Emily kept watching David for any warning signs, though she never mentioned them to her sister or mother. She eventually realised shed been looking at the wrong person.
It turned out Emma hadnt been forced into motherhood; shed wanted it. David, on the other hand, suggested they wait five years to save enough money to turn his modest twobed flat into a threebed house, but Emma kept urging him onward.
And so, in a flash, Emma abandoned Lilystill a helpless infantjust as she herself had become a mother not long before. Whether it was because Emily was already a mum herself or because Lily was her own fleshandblood, Emma soon began treating the child as her own.
David, on a couple of occasions, handed Lily over to Emily, saying, Take her to her mum. He even offered Emily to move in with him, Lily and Max, arguing there was enough room and she could take in boarders to cover the mortgage, rather than beg her own mother for help.
When Emmas mother learned Emily had moved in with David, she tried to lecture her. Having a sisters husband on the side is scandalous, she warned, though David promptly shut her out, saying it was none of her business.
Later, a few drinks later, David confessed hed be willing to marry Emily and even adopt her son as his own.
Everything will be fair, Emily. Ill raise your daughter like mine, consider your son mine too. I wont force you into any house, you decide that part, but well be better off sticking together. Its simpler for both of us.
I can earn a decent wage, but Im clueless about nappies, doctors visits, and baby food, he admitted. You handle children well, even if your job as a nursery assistant doesnt pay muchstill, the private preschool isnt rich.
Davids proposal was practical, almost mercenary. Emily thought about it and realised the fairytale romance shed once chased hadnt brought her lasting happiness, aside from her beloved son. Perhaps it was time to be pragmatic.
David was a good, sober man, never drinking or smoking, always supporting them financially, and Lily had, after two years, even started calling her Mum.
Maybe everything happens for the best.
Emmas mother didnt attend the weddingno one expected her anyway. After the ceremony, they drank a shot with a few close friends, took wellwishes, and returned to Davids flat, where the four of them already lived.
Life changed little, except that the children now shared a bedroom while the adults occupied the other.
Emily and David, after all, were just people who deserved some personal happiness.
One ordinary afternoon, a delivery was due, and David, waiting for the courier, opened the front door. Emma, his former wife, barreled in, hair dishevelled.
Darling, Im back! she declared. When David briskly pushed her back, she blinked and, as if nothing had happened, asked, Arent you glad?
You expect me to be? David retorted, his tone dry.
Hed spent many nights wondering what to say if they ever met again. When the moment finally arrived, all he could manage was to ask why shed turned up.
I want to see my daughter. I also thought we could sort things out, she said. I know I was wrong, but can we try to be a proper family again?
No, David snapped. Ive already built a family. I wont let traitors back in.
Is this about Emily? Emma asked, incredulous. How could you swap me for her? Emily, youre nothing to me!
Emily, just out of the shower, noticed the ajar nursery door, through which the children peered like they were watching from a fortified wall.
Emma, spotting the kids, darted past David and lunged for Lily.
Lily, my dear, look how youve grown! she cooed, scooping the baby up just as little Jack, Lilys brother, let out a scream and tried to pull Emmas hair.
Let go of my sister, you witch! Jack shouted, biting her leg.
Emma, dressed only in tights and a short skirt, let out a shriek, dropping Lily onto the floor and clutching at her wound. Lily scrambled to Jack, and together they hid behind Emilys legs. Emma glared at them, hissing, You serpent, turning my own child against me! I wont let this stand!
In the end, Emmas abandonment of Lily had long ago been sealed; Lily had never known her mother, and any hope of reclaiming the child dissolved. Even Emmas mothers attempts to convince David to reverse the situation fell flat.
David and Emily finally cut ties with Emmas mother, moved to another city, and never left an address. Now they live happily in their new town, raising three children. Only Lilys dearest friends know the truth: shes the daughter of a true witch, while her mother Emily is a kindhearted fairy who rescued her.
Jack tells anyone wholl listen that his father, too, must be some sort of dark sorcerer, having fled his gentle fairy.
Fortunately, a good father stepped in, and now they have a happy family of mum, dad, a little sister and brother. After all, every good story ends well.
