I only ever knew my parents from faded photographs in a worn leather album. My mother had passed away bringing me into the world, and my father, heartsick and inconsolable, refused to lay eyes on me and relinquished his rights. It was my grandfather who gathered me from the hospital, raised me, and became my steadfast guardian.
Grandfather couldnt simply set aside his profession, so he found a nanny to care for me while he was at work. Life grew a bit easier for him once I started nursery school. Time swept us along, and Grandfather and I created a harmonious home, always finding compromise, never raised voices, not even through my tempestuous teenage years. I was ever grateful for his presence and sometimes shudder to this day contemplating all that might have become of me without him.
I expressed my gratitude chiefly by helping out around the house and applying myself diligently to my studies. He was proud that his granddaughter was invited to compete in academic Olympiads and sporting events.
It was Grandfather, too, who helped me chart the course of my future. Id always harboured an interest in biology but lacked certainty about my path, until he introduced me to his friend, a distinguished doctor. Our conversation lit a spark within me, and I realised this was what I truly longed to do.
The years at university were consumed by study. My medical placement was at one of Londons finest hospitals. There were trying moments along the way, but I persevered and eventually specialised in neurosurgery.
Soon after Id completed my studies, the director of a renowned private hospital offered me a position. It would have been sheer folly to turn such an offer down. Then began the grueling days filled with endless hours and intricate surgeries. Yet, I am proud to say that during those days, not a single operation failed. Within a year, even the seasoned doctors came to hear my lectures. After another three years, my name was known throughout international circles, so neither Grandfather nor I were surprised when a leading hospital in America extended me a position. After long deliberation, we decided to take the chance.
So, we moved across the sea to a new land. Grandfather, however, stayed only a short while, finding himself pining for England, and so he returned home. I would have followed, had I not found love there. I met Theo at one of my lectures; he was a surgeon at another hospital. We started as friends, progressed to courting, and then began to share a home. We decided to wed in England, for Id always wished for Grandfather to walk me down the aisle. When I tried to persuade Grandfather to join me abroad, he adamantly refused, insisting that his years were numbered and he wished to rest in English soil.
On the day Theo and I spent an entire afternoon playing board games with Grandfather, I received a telephone call from my father. He opened with hollow congratulations regarding the wedding, but I had no patience for his pretense and pressed him directly as to what he wanted. He replied:
I want money, my girl! Here you are, living the life of a queen. Youve found yourself a wealthy man overseas and are now swimming in pounds! So what harm would it do you to spare a little for your own father?
I refused to listen to any more, hung up the receiver, and blocked his number then and there.
I cannot fathom how he found the nerve to call me and preach of family, after he had cast me aside so long ago.
I have two family members, and I would do anything for them. But as for my fatherhe is a stranger to me and nothing more.
