«It would be proper for you and your husband to swing by my house,» said Margaret Whitfield with a serious tone, «to wash the windows and give the carpets a good beating!»
«How interesting a proposal,» replied Emma Clarke with a wry smile, «but I think I’ll pass.»
«Emma, what are you on about?» George Hargreaves asked, looking bewildered. «Your mother needs help!»
«No, she doesn’t!» Emma declared, wiping the grin from her face.
«How can you say she doesn’t?» George stumbled further, his confusion deepening. «She’s my mother!»
«George, we’ve been married nine years now. Do you really think I’d question my own sanity?» Emma shot back, blunt as a hammer.
«Its not that I just», George mumbled, gesturing vaguely toward his motherinlaw.
«Then dont bother trying to explain that a mother is a mother!»
«Why shouldn’t I help your mother if she asks?» George pressed.
«Did you hear any hint of a request in her words?» Emma asked. «She told us what must be done. She expects us to do it!»
«Exactly, we must!» Margaret shouted. «You are my daughter, and he is my soninlaw! But a soninlaw never asks for less. As for a daughter I gave you birth, which means you cannot leave your mother in a bind!»
Emma considered this for a moment. «I could.»
«And what kind of daughter are you, then?» Margaret demanded.
«Exactly the same as you, mother!» Emma snapped.
«Emma, have some shame!» George exclaimed. «How can you answer your own mother so harshly?»
«I have every moral right!» Emma retorted. «And if you dont know the whole story, I wouldnt raise my voice at my own wife!»
«Emma,» George said, his face turning solemn, «perhaps Im missing something, but a mother deserves respect. Parents should be helped, not berated!» He turned to Margaret. «Margaret, forgive my wife’s outburst. We’ll come over at the weekend and sort everything out.»
«No, we wont!» Emma hammered her fist on the table.
«Fine, then Ill go alone,» George said, not pausing to weigh the situation, and assumed the role of head of the household, making decisions singlehanded.
«If you go to her, you might never come back home,» Emma warned, turning away.
«Indeed,» Margaret nodded. «My daughter is simply marvelous!»
«Thats me!» Emma said, looking at her mother. «Why didnt you ask Lucy to wash the windows and beat the carpets for you?»
«Lucy? Whos that?» George asked.
«You were told you know nothing!» Emma hissed. «And yet you pry! Lucy is my sister, my own blood!»
«So my mother asked me for help, not Lucy,» Emma turned back to Margaret. «Why dont you ask Lucy for a hand, mother? Or does she owe you the same right you keep poking at my nose?»
George looked at his motherinlaw with a puzzled stare; she flushed but said nothing.
«What’s the matter, mum?» Emma asked with a sly grin. «Lost your voice? Can’t find the words? Let me help you, otherwise dear George will be left guessing!»
«The reason mum doesnt ask Lucy is that Lucy sent her packing years ago, when she got married! That was six years back!»
«Exactly then, George,» Emma emphasized, «when my mother decided to reenter the life of her other daughter. Thats when you met her! Remember?»
«Ah, right!» George chuckled. «No one ever mentioned her until she showed up six years ago. I even thought you had no mother at all, let alone a fatherinlaw.»
«Your attention always tops the charts!» Emma laughed. «One day youll ask why she appeared!»
«I was about to, I just got sidetracked,» he admitted, embarrassed. «Then the conversation went on, and I didnt pay it any mind.»
«Want me to tell you the whole truth?» Emma offered eagerly.
«No! Enough!» Margaret shouted.
«What’s the matter, mum? Shame? Conscience awaken?»
«Its none of his business!» she snapped. «He doesnt need to know.»
«It does concern him, doesnt it? Hes about to wash windows and beat carpets for you!» Emma replied firmly. «I also want him to understand why Im saying no!»
***
When parents split, it is the children who suffer most. The wound is always there, but only sensible parents can ease the pain. They can arrange visits, keeping past quarrels out of sight and not digging up old grievances. To a child, parents remain the ones they loved, even if they no longer share a roof. Understanding why the adults are no longer together can be hard for a young mind, yet maintaining a civil relationship is vital for the childs wellbeing.
Emmas own parents never asked such questions. Their sole aim was to part ways.
«I wont be paying alimony,» declared Susan Whitfield.
«The law says otherwise,» replied Edward Morris.
«Fine, Ill pay whatevers taken from my wages!» Susan snarled.
«Thats the money meant for the children!»
«The children are yours! Provide for them!» Edward shouted.
«But theyre yours too! Responsibility is shared!» Susan snapped back, waving her arms in fury.
«Tell the judge!» Edward growled.
The divorce was due to start in two days, an unusual situation indeed. Susan was leaving not only her husband but also two childrenEmma, ten, and Lucy, four. She cared little for how they would manage without a mother, except for the looming alimony bill.
Edward, though comfortable financially, would have preferred to avoid any support. Yet the thought of a wifes meddling made him uneasy. He could have lived well without the children, but he wanted to free them from their mothers hysterical grip.
Susan, lacking any explanation, made a bold move. She coaxed tenyearold Lucy into claiming she wanted to live with her mother, hoping to force a split. Lucy, having spent much time with Susan, had absorbed her mothers temperament.
The judge placed the younger daughter with Edward and the older with Susan. In the end, Edward was left with a single line: I told you I wouldnt pay anything. He said nothing more, though he knew the older girl now needed his care.
Lucy, under her mothers influence, repeated the slanders shed been taught, even within the courtroom. The child was innocent; the words were planted by her mother, Susan, who would soon teach Lucy to think the same way.
Edward lost one daughter but kept the other. The loss of Lucy weighed on him, yet the responsibility for Emma remained.
Later he tried to see Emma, but Susan barred him. When he cornered her at the hallway, she sent her daughter away so far that he felt ashamed to meet strangers on the street.
For twenty years after the split, Emma never heard from her mother or sister again. Strangely, she did not mourn them. Edward, a devoted father, poured his heart into raising Emma.
Emma could proudly say shed had a happy childhood, a wonderful youth, and grew into a contented adult. She never felt abandoned or shortchanged by the absence of a motherbiological or otherwise.
She learned a trade, became a software developer, married, and had a child of her own. A good, happy life that many dream of.
She never imagined that one day her mother would appear at her doorstep, speaking as if theyd only been apart a week, not twenty years. The surprise was such that Emma let her in, introduced her to her husband, and even presented her as a grandmother to her own child. She listened politely to the mothers chats, though Margaret offered nothing more than the latest trivialities and minor woes.
After they talked, they went their separate ways, and only then did the absurdity of the whole affair sink in for Emma. She called her father straight away.
I never told you anything about herno good, no bad. And I wont now, Edward said. I raised you to be clever.
So I hope youll work out why shes back and what she truly wants, he added. I divorced her twenty years ago, but I wont rule out that she may have changed.
Thats the only answer I expected, Emma replied. Thank you, Father.
If you need anything, call, Edward advised, though he didnt truly believe Susan could have turned over a new leaf.
After that conversation Emmas nerves settled. Her father always had a calming effect on her. Once steadied, she began to think.
Searching for a person twenty or thirty years ago could be a hardship; today its a trifle. The internet leaves a trace for everyone. The skill is knowing how to look.
Emma, being a programmer, could search with such skill that even the agencies would envy her.
She found little of interest about her mother. Two marriages, a divorce from her father, and only two children: Emma and Lucy. To learn about Lucy she had to question both father and mother. The father gave only her age, nothing more. Margaret possessed far more detail, but she shared it as if during an interrogationbits and pieces that could have been gleaned from a stranger.
Studied, worked, married, moved in with her husband
Then the story became simple. Emma discovered that Lucy had trained as a geography teacher. Only two colleges in their town offered that course.
She joined the alumni groups, located Lucy by surname, and arranged a meeting.
Looks like youre being drawn in, Lucy said confidently. She cant do it aloneshe needs a victim!
A victim? Emma was puzzled.
Exactlya person shell latch onto with any excuse, making them dance to her tune! Lucy smirked. I didnt just get married; I ran from her!
Who was ready to take me as a wife and then snatch me back? Thats who she was!
Send her far away and never think of her again. Shell lie so much youll never catch up. In the end youll be blamed.
Emma left the meeting deep in thought. The only conclusion she drew was:
Forewarned is forearmed.
If a mother craves contact, shell get it. If she starts to overstep, shell meet a fitting response.
Its funny, but for six years Margaret was content with mere conversation. There were tiny favors here and there, the sort neighbours might exchange. Lucy added a warning:
If you ever show a hint of weakness, youre in her web! Shell torment you till you lose your mind. Shes driven two stepfathers to the brink of madness just to grab their assets!
Emma didnt wait forever, but she did wait.
***
Eventually Emma pressed her father for the full story, the part hed witnessed. He finally relented after Emma mentioned her talk with Lucy. When the whole picture was assembled, she waited for her moment.
George sat, jaw agape, watching his motherinlaw. He couldnt believe what hed missed. Margarets reaction confirmed Emmas truth. The woman seemed stonecold, only a flushed face and a bead of sweat betraying her humanity.
Are you still up for going to her and doing the drudgery? Emma asked.
George shook his head.
Very well, Emma said, turning to her own mother. Mum, if you want a proper human connection, even if you havent earned it, I wont deny you that. But any further talk about what I owe you will be tossed out the door and never return.
How dare you! Margaret shrieked. Im your mother!
Enough! Emma spread her arms wide. No one forced you to speak! Off you go! She smiled. If you come back, Ill lodge a police report for harassment!
Margarets eyes widened.
What, are we sitting here with our legs gone? I could help with a magical kick right to the door! Need help?
She straightened up, as if a bolt of dignity had jolted through her, and walked toward the exit. Emma could not hold back a shout.
Run, you wretched woman!
Margaret, breathing heavily, seemed to summon the last of her strength.
Nice move! George muttered after her flight.
What did she want? Emma shrugged. She hadnt been seen for twenty years and now bursts in, demanding I owe her something. She even expects thanks for the kicks I never gave her!
Mother, still George began.
On paper shes a mother, but in reality shes just a stranger, Emma concluded, and the matter was finally closed.
