Mark, you need to come over with me and your wife, clean the windows and beat the carpets, Eleanor said, her tone deadserious.
Emma smirked. Thats an interesting offer, she replied, but I think Ill pass.
Emma, whats wrong? Mark asked, bewildered. Your mother needs help!
No, she doesnt! Emma snapped, pulling the grin off her face. Thats absurd.
Come now, why would you say no? Shes your mother, Mark stammered, more confused than ever.
Mark, weve been married nine years. Do you really think Im losing my mind? Emma shot back, eyes fixed on him.
Dont dont say that, Mark muttered, gesturing helplessly toward his motherinlaw. Its my mum!
I dont need any lecture about mum is mum, Emma snapped. If she asks for help, does she even ask?
Did you hear a request in her words? Emma asked, leaning in. She told us what must be done. Were supposed to do it for her!
Yes, we must! Eleanor exclaimed, puffing out her chest. Youre my daughter, and hes my soninlaw! A soninlaws request is a mere whisper, but a daughter I gave birth to you, so you cant abandon your mother when shes in trouble!
Emma stared, thoughtful. I could.
So what kind of daughter are you? Eleanor demanded.
Exactly the same as you, mother! Emma retorted.
Emma, have some shame! Mark shouted. How can you speak to your own mother like that?
I have every moral right to! Emma declared. And if you dont know the whole story, I wouldnt raise my voice at my own wife!
Emma, Mark said, his face turning grave, maybe Im missing something, but a mother must be respected. Parents deserve help, not contempt. He turned to Eleanor. Eleanor, forgive her. Well come this weekend and sort it all out.
No, we wont! Emma thumped her fist on the table.
Fine, then Ill go alone, Mark said, instantly assuming the role of head of the family, the one who decides everything.
If you go to her, you might never come back home, Emma warned, turning away.
Eleanor shook her head, a thin smile playing on her lips. My girl is simply marvelous.
Exactly! Emma said, glancing at her mother. Why didnt you ask Lucy to wash the windows and beat the carpets for you?
Whos Lucy? Mark asked.
You were told you know nothing! Emma snarled. And youre sticking your nose where it doesnt belong. Lucy is my sistermy blood.
So Mum, why dont you ask Lucy? Emma turned back to her mother. Or is she not obliged to you simply because shes your child?
Mark stared at his motherinlaw, who blushed but didnt answer.
Whats the matter, love? Emma teased. Lost your voice? Cant find the words? Let me help you, before Mark gets lost in his guesses!
Your mother never asks Lucy because Lucy sent her packing the day she got marriedsix years ago! Emma continued, her tone icy. Thats when you, Mark, first met her. Remember?
Mark forced a grin. Ah, right. No one ever mentioned her until she resurfaced six years back. I thought you had no mum at all, and the fatherinlaw never said a word.
Your attention is a wreck! Emma laughed. You never bothered to ask how she reappeared.
I was going to, but I got distracted, forgot, he muttered. Then the communication started, and I just ignored it.
Want me to tell you the whole truth? Emma offered, eyes bright.
No! Not a word! Eleanor shrieked.
Whats wrong, Mum? Ashamed? Did your conscience finally wake up?
Its none of his business! Eleanor snapped. And it doesnt concern him at all!
How can it not concern him when hes ready to wash windows and beat carpets for you? Emma shot back, firm. I also want him to understand why I refuse.
***
When parents split, the children suffer first. The wound is inevitable, but a sensible pair of parents can soften it. They can arrange visits, keep the past out of those meetings, and avoid stirring old quarrels. To a child, parents remain the beloved ones, even if they no longer live together. Understanding why they part can be difficult for a youngster, yet its vital that, even if the couple no longer wishes to stay together, they preserve a civil relationship for the childs sake.
Emmas parents never asked those questions. Their only aim was to run away.
Im not paying any maintenance, Eleanor declared.
Law says otherwise, John, Emmas father, replied.
Its none of my concern! If they take anything from my wages, Ill give it back to them! Eleanor hissed.
Ha! Thats the money meant for the kids! John snapped. You should be the one feeding them!
But theyre your children too! Responsibility is shared, Eleanor retorted.
I wont hear a word about it! Not about you, not about the kids, not about maintenance! she flailed, fury blazing.
Tell the judge! John shouted.
The divorce was to be finalised in two days. It wasnt a tidy affair. Eleanor walked out not only with her husband but with both childrentwo daughters, aged four and ten. She cared little how they would live without her. The only thing that rattled her was the thought of paying maintenance.
If things had been fair, John could have managed without those payments. He earned a decent living. Yet the idea of a strangerlet alone a former wifehandling his daughters lives made him sick. He could have lived fine, provided he rescued his girls from their mothers hysterical grip.
Eleanor, never one to explain, pulled a fast one. She coaxed tenyearold Lucy to claim she wanted to stay with her mum. She despised her sister outright. Lucy, having spent too much time with her mother, absorbed her behaviour and temperament.
The judge placed the younger daughter with John and the older with Eleanor. That seemed plausible.
In the end John was left with a single line: I told you I wont pay you a penny! He said no more. He wanted to argue, to say that if his daughter stayed with her, she still needed raising. Yet Lucy, under her mothers influence, spat insults at both father and sister right there in the courtroom.
Clearly the child wasnt at fault. Lucy was merely echoing what her mother fed her. And her mother, Sonia, would soon teach her to think the same way.
John lost one daughter, but another remained, and his duty to her was unchanged. He truly mourned Lucys loss.
Months later he tried to see Lucy, but Eleanor barred him. When John cornered Lucy near the stairwell, she shoved him away so hard he felt ashamed to meet any passerbys gaze.
For twenty years after the split, Emma never heard from her mother or sister again. Strangely, she didnt mourn them.
John, a devoted dad, poured his heart into raising his child.
Emma could honestly say shed had a wonderful childhood, a brilliant youth, and grew into a happy adult. She never felt abandoned or shortchanged by the lack of a motherbiological or otherwise.
She trained, earned a qualification, married, and had a child of her own. A good, happy lifewhat many dream of.
She never imagined her mother would ever knock on her door. When she did, the woman spoke as if theyd only been apart a week, not twenty years.
It threw Emma off balance. She let her mother in, introduced her husband, even presented her as a grandmother to her baby. The mother chatted calmly about everyday things, but Eleanor said little more than the latest news and minor inconveniences.
They talked, then went their separate ways. Only later did Emma grasp the absurdity of it all. She immediately called her dad.
I never told you anything about hergood or bad. And Im not going to now, John said. I raised you to be a smart girl. Figure out why shes here and what she really wants.
The only thing I can tell you is that I divorced her twenty years ago, he added. I wont rule out that she may have changed in all that time.
Thats the answer I expected, Emma replied. Thanks, Dad.
If you need anything, ring me, John urged. He didnt truly believe Eleanor could become better, but he kept quiet.
The call calmed Emma; his voice always steadied her. With that peace, she began to think.
Twenty or thirty years ago, searching for a person could be a nightmare. Today, its a trifle. The internet leaves a trail for anyone. The skill is knowing how to search.
Emma was a software developer; she could hunt for information like a detective.
She uncovered nothing remarkable about her mother beyond two marriages after divorcing her father, and two children: herself and Lucy.
To learn about Lucy she had to interrogate both father and mother. John gave an age, nothing more. Eleanor held far more details but shared them as if under interrogationbits and pieces that could be gathered from any stranger.
Studied, worked, married, moved in with her husband were the basics.
The rest was simple. Emma discovered Lucy trained to be a geography teacher. Only two colleges in their town offered that course.
Emma joined the alumni groups, found Lucys profile, and messaged her for a meeting.
Youre being invited, then? Lucy replied. No surpriseshe cant do it alone! She needs a victim to cling to!
What? Emma blurted.
A victim! Someone she can latch onto, any excuse, to make them dance to her tune! Lucy sneered. I didnt just get marriedI ran away from her!
Thats the one who wanted to take me as a wife, then snatched me back. Thats her!
Tell her to go far away and never look back. Shell lie so much youll run out of stories in a lifetime, and youll end up blamed! Lucy warned.
Emma left the meeting deep in thought.
Her only conclusion: Forewarned is forearmed.
If a mother craves contact, shell get it. If she oversteps, shell meet a fitting reply.
Its funnysix years ago Eleanor was content with just chatting. Small favors here and there, the sort neighbours exchange. Lucy added a warning:
If you ever show a hint of weakness, youre in her web! Shell haunt you till you lose your mind. Shes driven two stepfathers to madness, snatching their money and property.
Emma didnt wait long for that to happen.
***
Emma finally pressed her father for the whole story, the parts hed only glimpsed. He only relented after Emma mentioned her chat with Lucy.
When the full picture was assembled, the moment arrived.
Mark sat, mouth agape, staring at his motherinlaw. He couldnt believe what hed heard. Yet Eleanors reaction proved Emmas words were true. The woman turned stonecold, a flushed face and beads of sweat betraying her humanity.
Are you still willing to drive over and do the work? Emma asked.
Mark shook his head vigorously.
Fine, Emma said to him, then turned to her mother. Mum, if you want a proper human conversationeven if you dont deserve itI wont deny you that. But any claim that I owe you anything, Ill throw it out the window and never let you step over my threshold again.
How dare you! Eleanor shrieked. I am your mother!
Enough! Emma spread her arms wide. No one forced you to speak. Now get out! Come back and Ill file a police report for harassment!
Eleanors eyes bulged.
What are we waiting for? Our legs gone? I could kick you right to the door! she snarled, lunging forward.
She stood upright, back straight as a soldier, trying to preserve some dignity as she stalked toward the exit. Emma couldnt help but shout after her, Run, you w***e!
Eleanor staggered, barely keeping her balance.
Nice work with her! Mark muttered as she fled.
What did she want? Emma shrugged. She vanished for twenty years and now shows up, acting like shes owed something. She even expects thanks for the kicks I never gave her.
Well, mum, still Mark began.
On paper shes a mother, but in practice shes a stranger, Emma said, and that sealed the matter forever.
