“Mum, stop lecturing me. Mark and I planned to have a baby in about three years… At least three! We’ve got so many projects, plans—Egypt, for heaven’s sake. A baby right now? Seriously, Mum?” The irritation in her daughter’s voice was so sharp that Catherine quickly ended the call.
Young, beautiful, ambitious, ready to take on the world—until an unplanned pregnancy turned everything upside down.
“Darling, please don’t do anything rash until we visit Willowbrook,” her mother whispered.
***
For as long as Diana could remember, they’d celebrated her mother’s birthday in Willowbrook, though she’d never understood the appeal: a quiet family dinner by candlelight, followed by a morning visit to the chapel.
“Dad, why do we always go to that village for Mum’s birthday? It’s so dull!”
“Without Willowbrook, there’d be no you, no Mum… maybe not even me. Understand?”
“Fine,” Diana muttered, though she didn’t understand at all.
This year, her father was gone—a sudden heart attack. Watching her mother weep for days, Diana suggested the trip herself.
“Sweetheart, I thought you hated Willowbrook.”
“I love you, Mum… Just the two of us, though. Mark can’t get time off work.”
***
The stifling heat had lifted, leaving something magical in the air. Catherine stepped onto the porch, breathing in the scent of freshly cut grass and wild strawberries.
“Wish William could see this…”
“Mum, remember when Dad and I baked your birthday cake? Flour everywhere—the kitchen, the porch, even the garden shed. You just laughed and said it looked like a snowstorm,” Diana smiled, draping a blanket over her mother’s shoulders.
“Darling, I need to talk to you about the baby.”
“K.eep it or not…” Diana sighed, rolling her eyes. “Mum, don’t start. Mark and I have made our choice. We want our freedom!”
“Just let me speak…” Catherine’s throat tightened, her vision blurring. “You know you were a miracle baby. The doctors said I’d never survive childbirth. A hundred percent chance I’d die.”
“Oh, Mum…” Diana hugged her tightly, feeling her tremble.
“Let me finish… When William found out I was pregnant, he was devastated—started smoking again. He wanted children so badly, but he loved me more than life itself. Said he couldn’t live without me. Around that time, my friend Margaret invited me to Willowbrook. I went to say goodbye. To prepare him, too. My mind was made up—you’d live instead of me.”
“You gave up your life for me…” Diana’s breath hitched, fighting tears.
“I’d decided, but I didn’t know how to tell William. I started visiting the chapel, praying to St. Agnes for guidance.
One evening, I was walking back when I saw the neighbours’ barn on fire. A dog ran inside, came out with a puppy in its mouth, then dashed back in. The roof collapsed—but she emerged with another. Her fur was singed, her eyes blistered. She nosed the pups, counting them, then charged back into the flames. Five minutes later, she dragged out a third, dropped it at my feet, licked the tear on my cheek… and went still.
William found me sobbing, clutching those puppies. He never asked me again. He knew I’d choose life. But his eyes stayed red-rimmed until the day you were born.
You arrived healthy, right on time. The doctors called it a miracle.” Catherine’s face softened, her worry fading.
“Mum, why’d you never tell me?”
“I suppose… it wasn’t the right time.”
***
A year later, Diana and Mark bought Catherine a cottage in Willowbrook. Sitting on the porch, Diana cradled her newborn son.
“Mum, this is our greatest project. Our happiness. I can’t believe I almost threw it away for some idea of freedom.”
Catherine smiled mysteriously and whispered to no one in particular:
“We didn’t live this life for nothing…”
