Mum was always terribly strict with me. Dad was often away on business trips, leaving Mum to raise me on her own. Dad loved me, and every time he returned home he brought a heap of gifts for me. Mum, on the other hand, never really showed much affection. One day, Dad left on another trip and never came back.
At school, I never had friends. I went each day dressed like a pauper, wearing an old uniform Mum had picked up from a charity shop down the road. Shed always tell me, Wear what youve got. I need to sort my own life out and I havent got spare money for you. So I patiently wore that ghastly outfit through all of Year Five.
Later, a kind neighbour gave me her daughters uniform after shed finished school. I wore it right through to graduation. As for shoes, I made do with whatever pair happened to fit, and they lasted a few years before I outgrew them. Somehow, I graduated from secondary school with honours and decided to study economics at university. On campus, I kept wearing clothes passed down from friends whod tired of them.
One day, I met Dominic, who had finished university a couple of years before. We started seeing each other, and eventually he introduced me to his parents. When I visited, I felt mortified about my shabby, worn-out shoesmy feet were damp, but Dominics mother pretended not to notice. The next day, she invited me over and gave me a brand new pair of shoes as a gift.
I feared Dominics parents wouldnt accept me, but soon they treated me like family. I still dont know what I did to deserve such generosity. They gifted us a house for our wedding, and after I graduated, my mother-in-law offered me a job at her companywhere I earned a very good salary. At last, I could afford to buy whatever I needed. Ill forever be grateful to God for guiding me through those difficult years.
When Mum discovered I was married, had a good job and a place of my own, she quickly turned up asking for financial support. But our conversation was overheard by my stepmother. She called my husband and my son home at once. Finally, my husband told Mum she shouldnt expect anything more from me. He said he was thankful to have a daughter, but she must never show up at our house again. Since then, Mum hasnt contacted me, and now I await the birth of my child with hope and relief.
