24April
I cant imagine ever letting those traitors back into my life.
The day everyone was gathered on the landing of the maternity ward in Manchester, a murmur rippled through the crowd of relatives. Wheres Vicky? I cant see Vicky anywherehas she vanished?
If Vicky had been Victor, the father of the newborn, the confusion would have been far less. But Vicky isnt a nickname for Victor; its a diminutive of her given name, Victoria, and in this case it belongs to the mother. The fact that Victoria had simply disappeared, rather than cradling her infant daughter, was utterly baffling.
Shes run off! That reckless woman! shouted her mother when her soninlaw, Ian, was handed the paperwork and the final letter from his runaway wife. The letter read like every other note left by a departing mother: Im not ready for this, dont look for me, I wont abandon my child, Ill pay child support, but thats all. No return address, no explanation why a respectable woman who only months ago dreamed of motherhood would now abandon everything.
Ians mother tried to soothe him: Dont worry, dear. Shell come to her senses, realise what shes doing, and return. My older sister, Emily, said nothing. My gut told me Vicky would never come back. She was never careless without purpose; when she decided to leave, she meant to stay gone.
When Emily gently hinted that Vicky might never return, her mother snapped, Dont be foolish, Emily. Shell come back. Give it a month or two and her motherly instincts will surface.
Three months later the divorce papers arrived. Vicky never appeared at the hearings, she refused custody, and little Lily was left in Victors care. Emily began visiting Ians former brotherinlaw more often, helping with the baby and keeping company with him. After all, she too had been abandonednot immediately after the birth, but a year later, when her own fiancé, Mark, walked out just as they were planning to marry once Lily turned three and Emily finished her maternity leave.
Mark fled, leaving Emily drowning in debts, yet the court eventually recognised her paternity of their son, Andrew, and ordered modest support. She feared that Ian might also desert his own sister, leaving her with a child to raise alone. She kept watching Ian for any warning signs, though she never voiced these fears to Vicky or our mother.
In hindsight, I realise she was looking at the wrong man. Who could have guessed that our own sister would turn out sounpredictable?
The pressure to have a child wasnt imposed on Vicky; she wanted it herself. Ian, on his part, suggested waiting five years to save enough money to turn his modest twobed flat into a threebed house, but Vicky kept urging him on, impatient for a family.
And then the outcome: Vicky fled, abandoning little Lilycompletely defenseless, yearning for a mother. Perhaps it was because Emily had already become a mother herself, or perhaps because Lily was, after all, her blood relative, that Emily began to see the child as her own.
Ian occasionally handed the baby to Emily, saying, Take her to your mum for a cuddle. He even offered that Emily move in with him and Lily, promising enough space for both families, so she could rent rooms and use the rent to pay off the mortgage instead of begging her own mother for help.
When our mother learned Emily had moved in with Ian, she launched a fullblown lecture about the impropriety of fraternising with her sisters husband. She even tried to shut the door on Ian, but he dismissed her as irrelevant.
Later, a few drinks in, he confessed that he would marry Emily and even adopt her son as his own. Everything will be fair, he said. You raise my daughter like yours, Ill treat your son as mine. I wont force you into any decision, but well be better off together. I can earn the money, but Im clueless about diapers, cough syrups, and baby soups. You seem to manage children well, even if your own job as a nursery practitioner isnt highly paid.
His proposal felt pragmatic, almost cold. I thought about the romantic fantasies Id entertained beforethose fairytale loves that never brought true happiness, except for the love of my own son. Perhaps it was time to be practical. Ian was decent, sober, nonsmoking, always ready to help financially, and Lily had grown to call her Mum after two years.
Maybe everything happens for the best.
Our mother didnt attend the wedding; we werent really expecting her anyway. After the ceremony we shared a drink with close friends, took in their wishes, and returned to Ians flat, where the four of usEmily, Ian, Lily, and Andrewlived together. Life didnt change much, except that the children now shared one bedroom while the adults occupied the other.
Emily and Ian are, after all, people with a right to their own happiness.
The day Vicky stormed back into the flat was like a thunderclap on a clear morning. I was in the shower when I heard the front door swing open. Ian, expecting a delivery, turned just as Vicky lunged forward, arms flailing.
Darling, Im back! she declared. When Ian brushed her away and pushed her back, she fluttered her lashes and asked, Arent you happy to see me?
Yes, I should be, Ian replied with a sneer. Hed rehearsed what hed say to his ex, but when the moment arrived he could only ask why she had returned at all.
I want to see my daughter. I also thought we could try to sort things out.
I know my decision wasnt perfect, but cant we fix this as a family?
No, Ian said flatly. Ive already built my own family and Im not letting traitors back in.
You mean Emily? he added. You never really loved her, did you? How could you swap me for her?
Emily stepped out of the bathroom just then and saw the partially ajar nursery door, through which Lily and Andrew peered like hidden witnesses. Vicky spotted the children too, slipped past Ian, and rushed to Lily.
My dear, youve grown so much! she cooed, scooping Lily into her arms. Lilys brother Andrew, hearing the commotion, yelped and lunged at Vicky, biting her ankle. The only thing Vicky wore were stockings and a short skirt, and the pain made her howl. She dropped Lily onto the floor, clutching her own wound.
Lily scrambled to Andrew, and both children hid behind Emilys legs. Vicky glared at the scene, whispering, You snake you turned my own daughter against me. I wont let this stand.
In the end, Vickys attempts to regain custody failed; Lily had never known her mother and showed no desire to reconnect, so the courts dismissed her claim. Even our mothers pleas for a reverse move fell on deaf ears.
Ian and Emily finally cut ties with Vickys family and moved to a new town, never leaving an address. They now live happily, raising three children. Only Lily confides in her dearest friends that she is, in fact, the daughter of a real witch, while her aunt Emily is a benevolent fairy who rescued her.
Andrew backs this tale, insisting his father must be a dark sorcerer for abandoning his kindhearted fairy. Fortunately, a goodnatured dad has now entered the picture, giving them a blissful family of mum, dad, and two younger siblings. After all, every story deserves a happy ending.
