**»A Quiet Word for Grandad»**
*My flat? What do you mean, my flat?*
Mum, its Grandads. The one he left me. You even rented it out for a while. Dont you remember? Alice asked, baffled.
Oh *that* flat. Well, it was never really yours, Irene replied breezily. Forget about it. I sold it.
Alices pulse spiked. Her heart hammered like it wanted to leap out of her chest. Her legs wobbled, and she had to sit down.
*Sold* it?
Well, yes. Put it on Rightmove, found a buyer, done. Steves car broke down, and you know hes useless without one. Had to get him a new one.
Alice couldnt even muster a reply. She hung up. A sharp pang twisted inside her, so tight she wanted to scream.
She remembered Grandad, beaming with pride, showing off the freshly done-up bedroom, saying it would all be hers someday.
*When youre older, love, youll have your own little castle. A head start in life. Youll thank me for it* Hed smile and ruffle her hair.
Grandad passed when she was twelve. At that age, Alice barely grasped what owning a flat even meant. Sure, she knew it was *good*, but the weight of the gesture was lost on her. So when it turned out Grandads promise was just wordsno paperworkshe hadnt been too upset.
*The flats staying in my name for now,* Irene declared as the sole heir. *Grandad asked me to keep an eye on it so you wouldnt fritter it away. Ill rent it out to cover bills and slowly update the place. You dont want to inherit a dump with backdated bills, do you?*
*Course not,* Alice agreed easily.
*Good. Its simpler this wayIll handle the tenants, not you. When youre older, well transfer it. Dont worry, love, Mum wouldnt cheat you.*
And that was that. Alice forgot about the flat for years, buried in schoolwork. It only resurfaced when she was finishing sixth form.
*Mum, Ive talked with my mate Sophie,* Alice ventured. *Were applying to the same uni. Thought maybe we could share the flat? Splitting bills would help. Id like to start being proper independent.*
She assumed it was a formalitythat her mum would agree, and soon shed be living the student dream: late-night chats, takeaways, dissecting crushes. But no such luck.
*Alice, love, independent at eighteen? Hows that going to work? Youd have to juggle work and uniimpossible! And what if Sophie shacks up with some bloke and leaves? Then what? Mum, bail me out?*
Resentment curled under her ribs, but Irenes arguments still sounded reasonable. She *was* the adult, after all. Alice hadnt even done her own laundry yet.
Mortified, Alice apologised to Sophie and scrapped their plans.
The dream of independence seemed doomeduntil her mum offered an alternative.
*Why not look at unis outside London? They do student halls. Same idea, but free. Ill send you some cash from the rentnot loads, but enough to get by.*
Alice couldnt believe her ears. She flung her arms around Irene, planting kisses on her cheeks.
For the first six months, it was perfect. Then came the first short transfer.
*Dentist bill wiped me out,* Irene said. *Well both have to tighten our belts.*
Next, the payments got later. If rent came in on the 10th, Alice got her cut a week after. Then longer. And longer
Then she found out Mum had moved Steve in almost the second shed left.
Steve split his time between two womenmarried to one, but *mid-divorce* (a process that never ended). That wasnt his only flaw.
Irene moaned about him constantly, treating Alice like a free therapist. After each call, Alice felt drained. It was obvious Steve was using her, but Mum refused to see it.
*Can you believe it? He asked to borrow money! For the kids day out. Since when am I funding his kids?*
*Mum you lent it?*
*Well, yes. What else could I do? Decent men are hard to find*
*Decent? Hes leaching off you!*
*Oh, stop! Im not some gold-digger. Its love, not money.*
Steve *was* leachingliving rent-free, eating her food. If his jacket tore, Irene raced to replace it.
What did she get in return? Nothing. He worked in construction, yet when her sink needed fixing, he charged triple.
No gifts, except onea lamp for Mothers Day. Irene had *begged* for it. And even then, at checkout, Steves card declined. She paid most of it herself.
Then Steve upped his gameshowing her land plots, hinting hed *build them a house* if the deed was in his name. Irene gushed to Alice about dream gazebos.
*Mum, wake up! Hes a freeloader! Youre not even married!*
*Oh, what do you know?* Irene snapped. *I deserve happiness!*
After that, she stopped mentioning Stevesmall mercies.
By third year, the money stopped altogether.
*Got made redundant. Youre on your own for a bit, love.*
Alice felt cheated. That rent was *hers*. But she stayed quiet, scraping by on tutoring gigs and odd jobs.
Somehow, she graduated, even saved a little. Thrilled, she called Mumready to give the tenants notice.
Then came the bombshell: *No flat.*
But Alice had a card to play. Not as big, but somethinghalf of Mums *current* flat.
It took her a while to remember. First, she scrambled for a place, burning through savings. Once settled, she called.
*Since its come to this I want my legal share. Im selling it.* Her voice was ice, though inside, she trembled.
*What?! Thats mine!* Irene spluttered.
*Lifes unfair. You sold my flatI need to live.*
*Your flat? You never paid a penny! I managed it, fixed it, lived there!*
A lump rose in Alices throat. She wanted to scream about broken promises, but she stayed calm. She had a goal.
*Im not arguing. You bought Steve a car. Now its my turn.*
*Steve drives me everywhere in it!*
*Listen carefully,* Alice said, steel in her voice. *Either you buy me out, or I sell to strangers.*
*I raised you! Fed you!* Irene shrieked. *Youre worse than your father!*
Alice hung up. Next day, she mailed a formal noticeno face-to-face.
A month later, the money landed in her account. Enough to start fresh.
*Sorry, Grandad,* she whispered. *But you taught me not to trust words.*
She felt rottenhed wanted them happy, each in their own home. But hers had turned into car parts, so shed played dirty too.
