I discovered that my son had abandoned a pregnant woman. I paid for her solicitor.
When I learned what my son had done, it felt as if the world collapsed around me. Not from shame, but for the sake of that poor girlI once spotted her in Oxford, weaving through the relentless drizzle on her scooter, delivering takeaways, with weariness in her eyes and a swollen belly beneath her jacket. That was the moment I decided I needed to step in.
I knocked on her flat door one Tuesday afternoon. She opened it, still in her work uniform. Her pregnancy was impossible to miss, and her face bore the exhaustion that broke my heart.
Yes? she asked, a little wary.
Im the mother of that irresponsible son of mine who left you on your own, I said straight out. Im here to put things right.
Her eyes welled with tears.
Missus, I really dont want any trouble
I havent come with trouble, love. Ive come with solutions. Do you know the best family solicitor in London? Well, their fee has already been paid. You have an appointment tomorrow.
She was speechless. I continued,
That lad may have come from my womb, but Im afraid he didnt take after my upbringing. Hell pay child support for this baby, even if I have to make him work day and night.
And so it went. The solicitor handled everything brilliantly. When my granddaughter was bornbecause she is my granddaughter, whether my son is ready to accept it or notI went to the hospital with nappies, baby grows, and a travel cot in the car boot.
Madam, you really dont have to
Oh, but I do, I interrupted. Im the grandmother.
Naturally, my son stopped speaking to me. He accused me of betrayal, of meddling, of ruining his life. I told him the only life ruined here was the one he walked away from, and I was merely patching up the damage.
Two years have passed. The young woman and my granddaughter now live with me in our house on the outskirts of Cambridge. She studies at night to become a nurse, I look after the little one, and weve become the most peculiar but tightly-knit family on our street. My son still refuses to talk to me, but he pays the maintenance on the dotthe solicitor is rather persuasive.
Yesterday, as I fed the baby her bottle, the girl wrapped her arms around me from behind.
Thank you, Mum, she whispered.
Mum.
And I wonderis there any better gift than gaining a daughter and a granddaughter, even if it means losing a son for a while? Sometimes family isnt the one youre born into, but the one you fight to protect.
A story about responsibility, conscience, and unexpected love.
