**Whats Cut Short Cant Be Restored**
Whenever Tanya showed her wedding photos to friends, shed always sigh and say,
*Goodness, I suffered in that dress! Lovely, of course, but so heavy and bulky! Next time I marry, Ill pick something light and airy.*
Everyone assumed she was jokingand laughed along. Tanya *was* joking. Her friends knew shed married for love. It had been a holiday romance: Tanya, just 21, and Oliver, 28.
August, the gentle sea, sparkling wine, starry skies, romanceall of it came together, leading to a registry office. Though first, Oliver had to divorce his second wife, and Tanya had to move to his hometown.
*LondonBristolLondon.* That route would become achingly familiar to Tanya for the next decade.
But back then, the young couple had to rent. Oliver had given his flat to his second wife, whod threatened to swallow pills, throw acid on the next woman, or leap from a window if he didnt return. Yet over time, she quietened. Maybe Oliver had promised to come back? As for his first wifeOliver preferred not to dwell. That marriage had lasted a year and a half. They just didnt suit. Later, hed even helped her marry his mate. Made everyone happyhimself included.
Wife number two had lasted longer. Three years was enough for Oliver to see her true nature. A woman who called babies *human pups* and refused to have any.
None of this troubled Tanya. She was self-assured, ambitious, certain of her beauty and uniqueness. Oliver adored her. He thought hed found paradise on earth. If he bought flowers, they came by the armful. If he bought a coat, there were three. Shoes? She couldve changed them daily. He whisked her off to Paris, Rome, the Alpsto broaden her horizons, he said, before their first child arrived.
Soon, little Emily was born. While Tanya doted on her, Oliver bought a house and furnished it with care. Everything for his girls!
They celebrated their new home, enrolled Emily in nursery, and Tanya threw herself into studyingpreferably back in London, near friends and family, under familiar oaks.
Emily stayed with Olivers mother, who doted on her. And while Tanya attended lectures, Oliver grew jealous. Hed turn up unannounced, stage absurd chance meetings in another city! Not that Tanya gave him reasonor so it seemed.
Truth was, she longed to escape domesticity. Shed study forever if it meant no dishes, no floors, no husband or child to tend. Life was short, and why should sheclever, beautifulwaste it on trivialities?
Eventually, Tanya had three degreesall first-class. Psychology was her trade. She carried her certificates everywhere, job-hunting with zeal. Oliver was adamant:
*Do we lack for money? Ill go mad waiting for you! Lets have anotherboy or girl, I dont care. Just stay.*
But Tanya saw no more children in her future. Shed done her duty: a child for her husband, a life for her daughter. What more? When Olivers mother offered to raise Emily until *Tanya* grew up, she agreed at oncethen left for London without a word. *Ill call from there,* she decided.
But Oliver was waiting. He knew her tricks.
*Tanya, wheres Emily? Why arent you in Bristol? Found someone else?*
*Dont be silly. No one else. Im just bored with you. I want freedom.*
*From me? From Emily? Wheres the love gone? A midlife crisis? Well weather it.*
*We wont.*
Oliver ran to her mother, who shrugged.
*Cant help you. Shes stubborn as stone.*
He returned to Bristol alone, baffled. How to reason with her? Reunite his family? Madness. *No good deed goes unpunished*, he thought.
Days, weeks passed. Tanya didnt return. She answered calls curtly: *Im fine.*
At last, Oliver sold the house, took Emily, and moved to Londonall to save his family.
Tanya was icy. She argued: Why upset Emily? New school, lost friends, grandmothers disapproval Excuses. She revelled in her freedom, her new sewing business, her admirers. Why return to husband and child? That life wasnt hers anymore.
Oliver ignored her. Hope still flickered. Hed meet Tanya after work, bring Emily (her mirror image). Useless. Tanya was a statue. Finally, she snapped:
*Oliver, leave me be. Lets divorce. Emily can stay with me.*
Emily was 11 now. She didnt need shelter. She had a loving father, a grandmother who prayed for her daily. She remembered her mother. Loved her. Couldnt understand why shed left.
Time flies. Unstoppable.
Oliver gave up. Hed never reach Tanyas heart.
Fate sent him a simple womanno flights of fancy, just steady earth beneath her feet. Now they live in the countryside. She has two sons from her first marriage. No Paris, no furs, no shoesjust wellies for autumn mud, a warm coat for chores, and dreams of raising her children right.
Oliver found peace at last. Pure love, even if it took four tries. The first three marriages? Best forgotten.
Tanya lives with her mother. A business partner promised the world, then swindled her. Her sewing venture collapsed. Suitors vanished.
Now she works as a school psychologistall that study, finally useful. No regrets. Though the human soul has depths no one can plumb. Might this *bird of the air* ever feel a spark of remorse? Who knows?
Emily, grown now, lives in Bristol with her grandmotherthe one who raised her.
On her wedding day, she wore a light, airy dress. A gift from her mother, Tanya.
