Im not letting traitors back in.
Wheres Tom? someone asks, voice cracking through the crowd of relatives that has gathered on the landing outside the maternity ward. We cant see Tom! Where has he vanished to?
If Tom were truly Thomas, the newborns father, there would be far fewer confused murmurs. In this case, though, Tom is a nickname for the womans name, Emily, and the fact that Emily has simply disappearedrather than cradling her infant daughterstrikes everyone as wildly out of the ordinary.
Shes run off! That wicked thing! Emilys mother bellows when she hands her soninlaw James, the baby, the papers and the last letter from his runaway wife.
The letter reads like every other note left by a departing mother: she isnt ready for this, dont look for her, she wont abandon her daughter, shell pay child support, and thats all. Theres no return address, no explanation of why a respectable woman who, only six months ago, dreamed of motherhood would suddenly vanish like this.
James, dont worry, Emilys mother says, trying to soothe her soninlaw. Shell get her wits about her, see the error of her ways, and come back.
Grace, Emilys older sister, says nothing. Her inner voice tells her that Tom will not return. When Emily decides to abandon, she does it deliberately; she never halfmeasures.
Dont be a fool, Grace, their mother snaps when Grace hints that Emily might never come back. Shell return. In a month or two shell remember the mothers love for her child.
Divorce papers arrive three months later. Emily never appears in court, she refuses custody, and little Lily ends up living with her father. Grace starts visiting James more often to help with Lily and to keep in touch with him. After all, Grace has her own looming disaster: a year after giving birth to her son, her fiancé Mark walked out on her.
They were supposed to marry when the boy turns three and Grace finishes her maternity leave. Instead, Mark fled, leaving her drowning in problems. At least the court confirmed that Grace is the father of her son Andrew, and she receives some childsupport.
Grace constantly watches James for any sign that his wife might abandon him again, though she never tells anyone about it. She finally realizes shes been looking at the wrong person. Who would have thought her sister could be the one to cause trouble?
It isnt as if Grace was forced to have Lily; she wanted the child. James, on the other hand, suggested they wait five years to save money and turn his modest twobed flat into a threebed one, but Grace kept pushing him to hurry.
Now the result is here: Emily has left Lilya tiny, defenseless babyalone. Either Graces own experience of motherhood or the fact that Lily is, after all, her blood relative makes her start treating the child as her own.
James sometimes hands Lily to Grace, saying, Go give Mum a cuddle. He even offers that Grace move in with him and Lily, claiming theres enough room and she could rent out spare rooms to help pay the mortgage, instead of begging her own mother for assistance.
When Grace tells her mother shes moving in with James, her mother launches a tirade, calling it indecent to be with her sisters husband. James, however, brushes off the former motherinlaw, saying she has nothing to do with it. Later, slightly drunk, he admits hed marry Grace and even adopt her son as his own.
Everything will be fair, Grace. Ill raise your daughter like my own, Ill consider your son mine. I wont force you into anything, you decide what to do with the house, but otherwise were better off together. Its easier for both of us.
He can earn a decent wage, but hes clueless about diapers, doctor visits, and baby food. Grace, on the other hand, manages children well, even though she never earned a high salary as a nursery practitioner for a private preschool before her maternity leave.
Jamess proposal feels overly pragmatic, yet Grace realises that the fairytale love she once chased never brought her true happinessexcept for her beloved son. Perhaps its time to be practical. James is decent, kind, doesnt drink or smoke, and helps financially; Lily has grown to call him Mum after two years.
Maybe everything that happens for the best.
Emily never attends the wedding. Grace and James toast a shot with friends, hear wishes of happiness, and return to the flat they already share with Lily and Andrew. Life hardly changes, except now the children share one bedroom while the adults occupy the other.
Grace and James, after all, are people who deserve personal happiness and a private life.
The sudden appearance of Emily is like a bolt of lightning on a clear day. Grace is in the kitchen, so James opens the door. He doesnt even glance up because hes waiting for a delivery, assuming the courier is at the door. Instead, his former wife bursts in, landing right on his neck.
Darling, Im back! she declares. When James brusquely pushes her arms away and steps back, she blinks her lashes and asks, Arent you happy to see me?
Should I be? James retorts disdainfully. He has thought many times, as he later confides to Grace, about what to say to his ex, but when the moment finally arrives he can only ask why Emily has shown up at all.
I want to see my daughter. I also hoped we could sort things out between us.
I know my actions werent great, but we can fix everything, like a proper family, cant we?
No. Ive already found a family, and Im not letting traitors back in.
Is that about Grace? You never really had anything with her. How could you trade me for her? Grace, Grace!
Grace, just out of the shower, spots the slightly ajar nursery door, through which the children peek like theyre watching from a fortified wall. Emily sees the kids too and, slipping past James, darts toward Lily.
Lily, my dear, look how youve grown! she exclaims, scooping the little girl up. In that instant Lily lets out a shrill wail, trying to pull Emilys hair.
Let go of my sister, you witch! little Andrew immediately bites Emilys leg. Wearing only tights and a short skirt, Emily winces from the bite, lets out a highpitched squeal, and hurriedly sets Lily down, clutching her wounded spot.
Andrew rushes to his sisters side, and the children scramble under Graces legs for cover. Emily casts a murderous glance at the scene and whispers, You serpent youve turned my own daughter against me I wont let this stand, mark my words.
The motherinlaws attempts to intervene and persuade James to reverse the situation fail. In the end, James and Grace cut all ties with Emilys mother and eventually move to another city, leaving no forwarding address.
Now they live happily in a new town, raising three children. Only their closest friends hear Lilys occasional confession that she is, in fact, the daughter of a real witch, while her mother Grace is a goodhearted fairy who rescued her and never gave her back.
Andrew backs up the story, saying his dad must be an evil sorcerer too, because he abandoned the kind fairy and ran away.
Fortunately, their kind father found a loving mother, and they now have a happy family of mum, dad, younger sister, and baby brother. After all, fairytales must end well.
