“Kath, Mum,” whispered Victor softly when they were alone in the kitchen, “I’ve been meaning to tell you something for a while.”
Kathleen looked up. She wasnt used to her son-in-law seeking private conversations with her.
“What is it, Victor?” she asked cautiously, drying a teacup.
Victor hesitated, then spoke slowly:
“I see you living for everyone elsefor Aggie, for little Julia… and in all that, you forget yourself. Youre still a young woman, fifty-oneand you walk around with your head bowed like lifes already over. Thats not right.”
Kathleen forced a bitter smile.
“Oh, Victor, what else is there? My husband left me for a younger woman, I lost my job. All I have now is being a grandmother.”
Victor shook his head firmly.
“I dont see it like that. Youre strong, clever, beautiful. And I want you to knowyoure not alone.”
Kathleens heart clenched. There was a warmth in his eyes that startled her.
“Victor…” she murmured, flustered. “What exactly are you saying?”
He stepped closer, then stopped, as if holding himself back.
“You dont have to say anything. Just remember thistheres someone who truly values you.”
Kath fell silent. His words echoed in her mind all night.
The weeks passed as usualJulias nursery, the chemists, housework. But Victors words wouldnt leave her. Even though he never spoke like that again, Kathleen caught herself seeking his gaze more than once.
One afternoon, while walking Julia home, she bumped into Simonher ex-husbandarm in arm with Ursula. He looked tired, older.
“Hello,” Simon said flatly. “How are you?”
“Im all right,” Kathleen replied calmly. “No complaints.”
Ursula looked her up and down, then sneered, “Still so… plain.”
Kath just smiled. For the first time, she didnt feel the need to prove anything. Her strength wasnt in dresses or makeup.
Not long after, an old university friend called. Offered her a jobteaching at the polytechnic. Kath thought long and hard, then said yes.
The work revived her. Preparing lectures, marking papers, guiding students. They listened with respect, and Kathleen felt young again.
One evening, as she headed home, Victor was waiting outside, holding a small bunch of wildflowers.
“These… are for you,” he said awkwardly. “Just because.”
Her heart pounded.
“Victor, you know this isnt right,” she whispered.
“Whats not right is denying your heart,” he answered earnestly. “You deserve happiness.”
Kath fought back tears. She took the flowers, murmured “Thank you,” and hurried up the steps.
That night, sleep wouldnt come. She knew she couldnt take what belonged to her daughter. But for the first time in years, she felt her heart still beating. Still capable of love.
By morning, shed made up her mind. She called Aggie and Victor to the table.
“My dears,” she began, “Im grateful to you both, but things will be different now. Im going to live too. No more just being a grandmother who carries everyones burdens. Ive a new job, Im refurbishing the flat, and Ive decidedIm going away. To see the sea, like Ive always dreamed.”
Aggie stared, stunned.
“Mum… you never mentioned this.”
“Nows the time,” Kathleen replied firmly. “Dont worry, Ill always be here for youbut I wont live just for others anymore.”
Victor stayed quiet, but his gaze said it allrespect and warmth shining through.
Months later, Kathleen had changed. New clothes, a language course, and shed taken up an old passion againpainting.
When the family gathered for her next birthday, it wasnt the broken, lonely woman at the table, but a radiant one who believed in herself.
“Happy birthday, Mum!” Aggie said, pouring champagne. “To a woman whos finally learned to love herself.”
They clinked glasses, laughter filling the room. And Kathleen, smiling to herself, thought: *Yes. Now my life really begins.*
