Yes, I know youre not obligated! But hes your own flesh and blood! Would you really leave the boy without warm clothes in winter? Alex, is this how I raised you? his mother pressed, her voice sharp with accusation.
The phone lay on the table. After a few family blowouts, Alex had learned his lessonwhen his mum called now, it was best to put her on speaker and let Lydia Sergeyevnas words hang in the air between him and his wife. Otherwise, shed wear them down one by one.
Lydia, were not refusing to help, Emily interjected, voice steady despite the tension. But if looking after Jamie is too much for you, let us take him. Anna doesnt mindweve already spoken.
Silence stretched on the other end. Lydia was weighing her optionsdumping an unwanted burden or keeping her grip on her daughter. Control won.
Youve no idea what youre asking for! Lydia scoffed. Neither of you has ever raised a child, not even a kitten! You both work all daywholl look after him? Or do you think kids grow like weeds? A child needs care, attention, love!
I understand that, Emily said calmly. But given the situation, wed make it work. Id quit if I had to. Call it maternity leave in Annas place.
Oh, and how will you live then, rolling in it, are you?
Youve always said my wages barely make a dent. Wed manage without those pennies.
Lydia went quiet. Alex exhaled, exhaustion pressing into his temples. Emily was still new to the family drama, but hed been suffocating under it for years.
Fine. Ultimatums now, Lydia finally sneered. Go on, then. Youre young, naïveyouve no clue what youre signing up for. Im the one trying to help, taking all this on myself. But carry on being stubborn. Just rememberwhile youre busy playing hero, that child is freezing and sick because of you.
The line went dead. Emily sat beside Alex, wrapping an arm around him, and remembered how it all began.
Back then, Lydia had seemed warm, if strong-willed. Shed welcomed Emily into her home with open arms, long before she was her daughter-in-law. Her tables groaned under feasts, and every visit ended with bags of groceries pressed into their hands.
Lydia had woven herself into Emilys life effortlessly. Daily callschecking in, asking if Alex was treating her right, inviting her over. Once, shed even pulled strings to get Emilys mum into a private hospital, ensuring top-tier care. Emily had been grateful.
But shed noticed the cracks. Miss a call or cut one short, and Lydia transformed. Weeks of icy silence, clipped replies, the unspoken demand for an apology.
Too busy for me now, are we? Lydia would say, voice dripping with wounded pride.
Emily had laughed it off then, but the “care” had always felt sticky, suffocating.
Lydia had a daughter, tooAnna. The girl was a puzzle: jumpy, unsmiling, always retreating to her room. Emily had put it down to teenage angst. Sixteen was a moody age, after all.
Whats Anna into? Emily had asked once, before Christmas. Im stumped on what to get her.
Nothing, Lydia had snapped. Glued to her phone all day. Never happy, never satisfied. Useless…
That was when Emily knew something was wrong. Her own mother would never speak of her that way.
Over time, it became clearerLydia resented Anna. Sweet to Emily one moment, then screaming at her daughter over unwashed dishes the next. Wrong friends, wrong walk, wrong music. And that was just what Emily saw.
No wonder Anna had bolted into marriage at eighteen. Less for love, more for escape.
That idiot! Lydia had raged. Threw herself at some loser. Thought happiness was elsewhere. Hell ditch her within the month!
With Anna gone, Lydias focus shifted to Emily and Alex. What had once been quirks became unbearableunsolicited advice, surprise visits, the relentless “When are you giving me grandkids?”
Emily, love, maybe its time to quit that shop? They pay peanuts, Lydia had said once. I could pull strings, get you something better.
By then, Emily knew better. Agree once, and shed owe Lydia forever. Grateful or not, because Lydia would demand obedience. And if she stepped out of line? Those same strings could yank her job away.
No thanks, Im happy where I am. The girls there are lovely.
Lydias lips thinned. Suit yourself. Just trying to help you get ahead. But if youre content scraping by, fine.
As for Anna, Lydia had been half-right. The marriage lasted a year and a halfjust long enough for Anna to have a baby.
Though they werent close, Anna had cracked one evening, spilling everything between sobs.
Hes never home, shed whispered. Says hes at mates places, but Im not stupid… Caught him in lies. Dont know where hes sleeping, but its not with friends. And thats just the start… Hes raised his hand at me.
Anna, youve got to leave.
And go where? Back to Mum? No thanks. Ill take my chances here.
That said it all. Anna would endure anythingbetrayal, fearrather than return to Lydia.
But soon enough, her husband filed for divorce. “Not ready for family life,” hed claimed. Truth was, hed found someone else.
The baby stayed. Anna moved back in with Lydia. And the nightmare began”useless,” “failure,” “waste of space.” But at least Lydia watched Jamie while Anna worked, and helped with bills.
Until Annas patience ran out. One day, she packed a bag and left. Without her son.
Id take Jamie, but where would we go? shed admitted to Emily later. Im crashing at a mates. Need to sort myself out first. Maybe see a therapist… Mum used to wind me up so bad, Id be minutes from snapping. Jamie doesnt deserve that. I need time.
While Anna pieced herself back together, Lydia turned to Alex and Emily. Demands for help with Jamie, complaints about money, her failing health.
Emily watched it all and knewif Jamie stayed, hed end up broken, just like Anna. Alex barely stood up to his mother as it was.
Then he surprised herhe suggested taking the boy. But confronting Lydia? Impossible. Emily, though, was certain they could do it together.
Anna, do you want Jamie to go through what you did? Youre his mum. Take him from Lydia, bring him to us. Well look after him until youre back on your feet.
Easy for you to say… Anna had sighed. I cant just snatch him. The fallout…
You could contact social services. There must be a way.
Doubt theyd help… But youre right. I wont let her ruin him too.
Anna had a plan. She pretended to return home. Lydia, haughty but victorious, let her in. Two weeks later, Anna took Jamie for a “walk”and brought him to Emily and Alex.
What followed was chaos. Lydia threatened, rallied relatives, neighbors, even the police. But she got nowhere. Anna ended up in hospital, shattered. They all bore the scars, but it was over.
Emily quit her job to care for Jamie. She didnt mind. Alex earned well, and theyd already talked about kids. If Anna reclaimed him one day, fine. If not? Theyd gained an unexpected son.
Five years later, Anna had a steady job, a flat shared with a friend, andfor the first timepeace. No shouting, no demands, no judgment.
Mummy Em, look! Me and George built a tower! Jamie beamed, pointing at wobbling blocks.
He lived with Anna now but spent weekends with them, convinced he had two mums, adoring his baby cousin. Emily always bought two of every toyone for her son, one for Jamie. She couldnt leave the boy theyd fought so hard for wanting.
As for Lydia? Theyd cut ties. At first, shed sent furious letters, threats. Then, silence. Through relatives, Emily heard the gossipmoney gone, friends vanished. Many had only tolerated her for favors.
Sometimes, Emily pitied her. But watching Jamie and George laugh, she knewthered been no other way. Lydia had demanded obedience, mistaking family for an army. Now the “deserters” were building their own happiness, leaving the past behind.
