Why on earth wont you take his surname?! hissed my mother-in-law, her voice echoing through the marble hall of the Registry Office.
Eleanor had never really dreamed of marriage. At just nineteen, she had found herself unexpectedly expecting a baby with a classmate shed dated for three years. There seemed no way outshe didnt want her child to grow up without a father.
Even though Edward was a few years older, he acted more like a sulky schoolboy than a man. He was utterly devoted to his mother, but to his credit, he didnt run away. He promised hed marry Eleanor and help raise the baby, so together, they quietly started preparing for their modest wedding.
Eleanor would have honestly preferred a simple ceremony, just them and a couple of witnesses, but her relatives insisted on a proper affair. She couldnt fathom the point of throwing away thousands of pounds to feed and entertain distant cousins and her soon-to-be husbands extended family, when that money could buy a cot, a buggy, and all the babys first clothes. No one cared what she thought. Her future mother-in-law and older sister decided everything: the venue, her dress, even the guest list.
When they sent her out for the first fitting, Eleanor dreaded it. In her minds eye, she pictured a frothy white dress weighed down with frills, pearls, and cheap beadsa horror straight from her in-laws tremendously questionable taste. Her attempts at protest were met with shouts and accusations of ingratitude, but Eleanor had bigger problems: finishing her A-levels, revising for exams, and preparing for a new life.
When the day arrived, Eleanor simply slipped into a plain white shiftelegant, simple, and most importantly, truly her. Thats when everything unravelled.
None of his relatives had any clue that Eleanor had decided to keep her own surname. Edward knewhe hadnt objectedbut his mother flew into a rage right in the waiting room:
How can you not want to be one of us? she shrieked.
Eleanor just smiled quietly and stepped away from the commotion. Tomorrow would bring more drama: a reception in Edwards home village, surrounded by every aunt, uncle, and cousin you could imagine. She needed to save her energy for what lay ahead.
The marriage barely made it a few years. Edward was hopelessa negligent husband, a father in name only. Every weekend, he sunk into the sofa, glued to his laptop, as if his family were invisible. At last, worn thin by broken promises, Eleanor packed her bags and left.
Her mother-in-law, unsurprisingly, railed against her choice. But Eleanor felt something she had not in yearsa flood of relief. At long last, she was truly freehappy, at peace, and her own woman again.
