**Married to the Wrong One**
There was little Evelyn Whitmore could do about her only daughter, the headstrong Poppy. Theirs was a well-to-do familyPoppys father, Dr. Edmund Whitmore, a respected physician, and Evelyn herself an accountant at a modest firm.
Poppy had fallen for Daniel, a decent and earnest young man, but in Evelyns eyes, he was not from the right sort of family. Daniels mother had died in childbirth, leaving him to be raised by his father, George, and his grandmother. The old woman was often ill, and when Daniel turned fifteen, she passed away, leaving just him and his father, who never remarried, working as a lorry driver at the factory.
Father and son had a strong bond, understanding each other perfectly. George never touched a drop, always supporting his boy in everything. Daniel took up sports, too. The only trouble was moneythey lived on Georges wages alone, and both knew it. Daniel never asked for expensive things, and George was grateful for that.
“Dad, Ive met Poppy. Shes brilliant, but her familyher mother runs everything. Mrs. Whitmore is exacting, and I dont think she likes me one bit. I feel it every time I visit.”
“Son, its not her mother who matters, but the love between you,” George reassured him.
Yet Poppy and Daniel saw nothing but each other, so in love they were, and soon they were planning their wedding. Evelyn, however, seethed. She could not abide her daughter marrying a mechanic.
The wedding felt more like a funeral. The only ones smiling were the bride, the groom, and their attendants.
“Well, this isnt the wedding Id have wished for my only daughter,” Evelyn thought bitterly, watching Poppy walk down the aislenot in white, but in a soft coffee-coloured dress that suited her caramel hair, crowned with a delicate wreath, and of all thingstrainers on her feet.
Daniel matched her, in a shirt of the same shade, jeans, and trainers. To the young, it was bold and modern. To Evelyn, it was a travesty.
“Edmund, what *is* this?” she muttered, nodding toward the couple.
“Thats our daughter and her husband, Daniel,” he replied calmly.
“I meant their *clothes*,” she snapped.
“Oh, I rather like it. Dashing, youthful. They look splendid no matter what.”
Evelyns irritation only grew at the sight of George, sitting stiffly in the grand restaurant in his threadbare old suit, clearly out of place.
But the greatest disapproval came from Poppys grandmother, Margaret, a stern old woman who had tried to dissuade her granddaughter before the wedding.
“Poppy, I beg you, call this off. That boy has no proper familyno mother, just his father. Hes got no proper education, just a mechanics wage. Hell never provide for you.”
“Gran, Daniel didnt choose his lot. I dont care what he doeshes my other half, and thats that.”
Margaret huffed but saw the steel in Poppys eyes. At the reception, she turned to Evelyn.
“How could you allow this?” she muttered, glaring at Daniel and George.
“Mother, I did everything*everything*to stop it. But you know Poppy. Once shes set her mind, theres no shifting her.”
“No surprise there. Takes after *you*,” Margaret sighed.
“Dont start,” Evelyn said sharply.
When Evelyn had first met Edmund, both were nearing thirty. She had been picky with suitors, and none pleased her mother. She wanted a man with a degree, wit, and good looks.
Edmund, meanwhile, had been hung up on a woman named Clara, who kept him danglingaccepting his flowers and gifts, then vanishing for months. He knew she was toying with him, yet forgave her every time. Then one day, he met Evelynsharp, clever, and knowing her worth. She was stubborn, but she won his heart.
One evening, as Evelyn lounged in his flat, the doorbell rang. Clara stood there, pouting.
“Arent you going to let me in?” she said, as if shed just stepped out, though it had been months. “Ive missed my Edmund.”
Then Evelyn appeared, wrapped in a towel.
“And whos *this*?” Clara sneered.
“My beloved,” Edmund said, pulling Evelyn close.
“Well, well see who ends up with him,” Clara spat before storming off.
Soon after, Clara married and left town. Evelyn only relaxed when a friend confirmed it. Clara made a few attempts to reclaim Edmund, but in vain. Evelyn had won.
Margaret had never approved of Edmund either, but she took it in stride. No man could ever meet her mothers standardsleast of all a mere doctor, not a handyman.
Edmund caught Evelyn whispering with Margaret and grinned.
“Discussing me again?”
“Whats left to say after twenty-odd years? Now its your son-in-laws turn.”
“Daniels a fine lad. Life will tell. Hes young yet. And we dont choose our in-lawsthey come as part of the package.”
At last, the evening ended. Poppy and Daniel spent their wedding night in a hotel, then moved in with her parentsEvelyns decision. She still hoped to drive them apart.
“Before there are children, itll be easier,” she thought.
But fate had other plans. News came that Clara had returned. Panicked, Evelyn forgot her scheming and turned her suspicion on Edmundinspecting his clothes, lurking outside his surgery.
Finally, Edmund sighed.
“Shall I hire a detective for you, love?”
Evelyn gave up pretending.
“Fine. I want to know if youd run off with *her* if she asked.”
“She already did.”
“What? When?”
“Days ago. Came to my surgery.”
“And?”
“Nothing. So my wife *does* still care. Dont you know theres only one woman for meyou!”
Evelyn laughed, clinging to him, the weight lifting. She loved him, and that love had only grown stronger.
As for Poppy and Daniel, they were happy. One evening, over supper, they exchanged a glance.
“Mum, Dadyoure going to be grandparents.”
Evelyn nearly leapt from her chair.
“*What?*”
“You *do* know how babies are made, dont you?” Poppy teased.
“Im too young to be a grandmother!”
“Then youll be a *young* grandmother,” Poppy said, grinning.
Evelyn sighed. Perhaps this was how it was meant to be. If fate had chosen to bless them with a grandchild, who was she to argue?
Edmund, meanwhile, was overjoyed, counting the days. Life had its own rules, never asking permission. And in the end, it had turned out far better than Evelyn had feared.
