Where theres kin, theres a kerfuffle, as the old saying goes.
Mabel, born in a tiny hamlet in the Cotswolds, had dreamed since she could walk of slipping away from the thatched roofs and dairy fields. She never imagined herself milking cows, shearing sheep, or tending a garden. The moment she turned sixteen she bought a cheap bus ticket to Birmingham and swore, Ill never set foot back in this backwater, whatever comes.
She enrolled at a technical college, was given a bunk in the dormitory, and after two years landed a job as a crane operator on a construction site, hoisting steel beams with a towering tower crane.
Soon enough, it was time to think about marriage. For three weekends in a row Mabel went dancing in the city park with her mates. There she met a lanky lad named Colin, who, it seemed, was also hunting for a spouse. No dawdling, no courtship gamesstraight to the registry office.
She penned a hurried message to the little village shed left: Mum, Dad, Im getting married! Come and see! Her parents, however, had just given away their older daughter to a farmer, and the timing was impossible. Her mother wrote back, Well visit later, just to meet the grandchildren.
The wedding went ahead in a modest chapel, and the routine of married life began. The small threeroomed terraced house became a crowded hive: Colin, his mother, his sister with her son, his brother with his wife, and Mabel herself. Yet Mabel and Colin were content. They were allocated the tiniest bedroom, which the motherinlaw liked perfectlyshe praised Mabel as obedient, diligent, and never outspoken. The motherinlaw had five grandchildren of her own; two of her daughters lived elsewhere with their husbands.
The youngest of them, Lucy, caused endless trouble. She gave birth to a boy in the delivery ward, then vanished without a word, leaving only a lingering memory. Colin had to fetch his sister and the infant from the hospital, and a nurse, with a dry laugh, told him, Now youll be raising your nephew forever, Uncle. They all chuckled.
Life went on, everyone worked, and friction sparked when Colin brought Lucy home as his wife. Lucys eyes burned with hatred for Mabel the instant she saw her. She came from some remote backwater and snatched a man for herself! she snapped, baring her teeth.
Mabel never entered the quarrels; she bore the blows silently, because Colin never mentioned it to her, and the motherinlaw urged, Mabel, dont mind Lucy. Shes just jealous, miserable from being alone. Keep quiet, or Colin will think of revenge.
Mabel kept her peace, even when Lucy cursed her own mother in the kitchen, and Mabel shielded the crying motherinlaw, who dabbed at her eyes.
In due course, Mabel gave birth to a daughter they named Lily. Motherhood filled her with joy, but Lucys fury grew into daily shouting matches over every little thing. Mabel finally snapped; she lunged at Lucy like a tiger protecting its cubs. The clash escalated until Colin, in a flash of anger, shoved an iron, and the iron missed Lucy entirely. She fell silent after that.
Lucy, however, kept a parade of fleeting lovers and left her son, David, with Mabel while she flitted from one rendezvous to another. She complained that David was a burden, blaming her own loneliness. One night, Mabel, redfaced, snapped, You should be looking after your own son! Hes turning into a little hoodlum!
David, not yet nine, was indeed mischievousstealing coins from his grandmother, causing small riots, and always jingling pocket change. Lucy brushed it off, Ill marry soon and then take care of David. Im tired of lying in a cold bed while you snuggle with Colin.
When Mabels parents arrived to see Lily, they were shocked by the cramped space and the constant bickering. Mabel, come back to our old farm! Youll go mad here, her father pleaded. Her mother whispered, Mabel, return. Uncle Vicky always peeks into the garden, waiting for you and Lily. Remember the love you once had.
Mabel replied, Mother, I didnt move to the city to end up back among the tractordrivers. Ill endure. Soon Colin, as an engineer, will get a flat. The parents sighed, shook their heads at their daughters fate, and trudged back home.
Three years later the factory where Colin worked offered him a council flat. Prosperity overflowed. By then Mabel and Colin had a son, Jack, and the family moved into their own little nestempty, chilly, but finally theirs.
A year after the move, Colins mother died. Lucy, griefstricken, turned grey as a winter sky. She berated herself for the petty fights and coldness toward her own mother. She visited the grave daily, closing the iron gate behind her, sitting on the bench and staring at a fixed point, whispering to herself, Dont close the gate, otherwise youll stay here. Passersby warned, If you lock the gate youll be trapped. She answered, I dont care. Time, as they say, softened the ache, and life moved on.
Lucy eventually found a steady boyfriend, and marriage seemed near. She invited Mabel over for tea in the same cramped house. They laughed, sipped tea, and as Mabel rose to leave, Lucy called, Wait, Mabel, I need to ask forgiveness. I was jealous of you, black with envy. I see now you truly love Colin. Im happy for you. Youre the dearest person in the whole wide world.
Mabel stared, surprised, then said, You look lovely, Lucy. Lucy managed a sad smile and pressed a kiss to Mabels cheek. Mabel, stunned, drifted home.
The next morning Colins younger brother shouted, Colin! Lucy didnt wake up! Shes dead in her sleep. She was thirtyseven, heartfailed. They buried her beside her mother, within the same iron fence.
A year later fresh flowers lay on Lucys grave, tended by an absent fiancé who later swapped them for a bouquet of artificial roses; the real blossoms wilted forever.
David, now fourteen, was left halforphaned. The search for his place began. His birth father turned out to have a new family that could not take him in. Relatives suggested a boarding school, deeming David a troublemaker best raised by the state. Colin, however, declared, No boarding schools! How can you abandon a kin when theres always work to be done? Family is family, even to the bitter end. David will live with us! He secured legal guardianship.
The extended family sighed with relief, Thank heavens we didnt let the boy fall through the cracks. Of course, Colin and Mabel benefited from an extra pair of handsthough there were thefts, rudeness, and threats from David. They survived.
David grew up, married, and named his sons Lovell and Colin, after his caretakers. Relatives marveled, Look how straightened out David has become!
Again fresh flowers were placed on Lucys grave, sent by David himself.
