Where on earth is Thomas? a hushed voice asked among the cluster of relatives crowding the stone steps outside St.Marys Maternity Hospital in Birmingham. Hes vanished! Where could he have gone?
If Thomas had truly been the father of the newborn, the murmurs would have been far quieter. In this case, however, Thomas was merely a nickname for his wife, Mabel, who had disappeared the moment her baby was placed in the worlds arms. Her sudden absence, instead of clutching a tiny bundle, was the sort of thing that stopped people in their tracks.
Runaway! shouted Mabels mother, Mrs. Whitmore, as she handed her soninlaw, Ian, and the infant a stack of papers and a final letter from the fleeing wife.
The letter read like a template for such abandonments: she claimed she wasnt ready for motherhood, begged not to be hunted, promised to pay child support, and signed off with no return address or any explanation as to why a respectable woman, only a few months ago dreaming of a child, would now vanish without a trace.
Dont worry, Ian, Mrs. Whitmore tried to console him. Shell come to her senses eventually, realise what shes done, and return.
Olivia, their teenage daughter, said none of those comforting words. A quiet voice inside her told her that Thomas would never turn up again. When Mabel chose to walk away, she did so with full knowledge of what she was doing. If she decided to abandon, she would see it through.
Dont be daft, Olivia, snapped Mrs. Whitmore when her oldest child hinted that Mabel might never come back. Shell return. Give her a month or two and her mothers love will surface.
Three months later divorce papers arrived. Mabel never appeared at the hearings, refused custody, and in the end little Lily was left in Ians care. Olivia began to visit Ian more often, helping with the child and keeping him company, because she herself had been abandoned a year after giving birth to her own son, Max. Olivia and Max were planning to marry once Max turned three and she finished her maternity leave.
But Max ran off, leaving Olivia drowning in debt and trouble, though the court eventually recognised his paternity and ordered modest maintenance. The fear that her sisters husband might also desert her haunted Olivia; she kept searching Ians behaviour for warning signs, though she never voiced her doubts to her mother or sister.
It turned out she had been looking in the wrong direction. The man who had truly betrayed her was far from who she imagined.
Ian had once suggested they wait five years to save enough money to convert his twobed flat into a threebed house, but Mabel pressed him to hurry. In a twist of fate, he abandoned Lily, the defenseless infant, as soon as she was born.
Perhaps it was because Olivia had already become a mother herself, or perhaps because Lily shared her blood, that Olivia soon began to see the little girl as her own daughter.
Ian, on several occasions, handed Lily to Olivia, telling her, Take her to her mum. He even offered that Olivia move in with him and Max, promising space for everyone and a chance for her to rent out rooms to cover the mortgage, rather than beg her own mother for help.
When Mrs. Whitmore learned that Olivia had moved in with Ian, she launched a verbal tirade, condemning any shameful involvement with her sisters husband. Ian, however, brushed her off, insisting she had no right to interfere.
In a halfdrunk confession later, Ian admitted he would marry Olivia and even adopt Max as his own.
Everything will be fair, Olivia, he said. You raise my daughter like yours, Ill treat your son as mine. I wont force you into anything; well simply stand together. I can earn money, but Im clueless about nappies, colic, and bedtime porridge. Youre the only one who knows how to manage children, even if your own job wont pay much after you return.
Olivia had been a nursery teacher before her maternity break, earning a modest wage at a private preschool, so Ians proposal was brutally pragmatic. After a moments thought, Olivia realised that the fairytale romance she once chased had never brought true happinessonly her son did.
Perhaps it was time to be practical. Ian was decent, sober, nonsmoker, and always helped with money. Lily, now two years old, had grown to call Olivia Mum. Maybe everything that happened for the worst would turn out all right after all.
Mrs. Whitmore never attended their weddingno one expected her anyway. They signed the register, shared a quick drink with close friends, listened to wellmeaning wishes, and returned to Ians flat, now home to four people.
Life changed little, except that the children now shared one bedroom while the adults occupied the other. Olivia and Ian, after all, were still people entitled to personal happiness.
One rainy afternoon, a sudden knock echoed through the hallway. Ian, expecting a delivery, opened the door to find Mabel standing there, hair disheveled, eyes wild. Darling, Im back! she announced. When Ian gently pushed her back, she steadied herself, fluttered her lashes, and asked, Arent you glad to see me?
Should I be? Ian replied with a dry sneer.
He had rehearsed his response for weeks, but when the moment arrived he could only ask why she had returned.
I want to see my daughter. I also thought we could try to fix things, she said, her voice trembling.
Ive already built a family, Ian said firmly. Im not letting traitors back in.
You mean Olivia? Mabel shot back. You never truly loved her. How could you trade me for her?
Olivia, just stepping out of the shower, caught sight of the slightly ajar nursery door, through which Lily and her brother Albert peered like tiny sentinels. Mabel, spotting the children, darted past Ian and lunged for Lily.
Lily, my dear, look how youve grown! she cooed, lifting the little girl just as a scream pierced the air. Albert, instinctively, bit Mabels leg, causing her to yelp. She stumbled, his thin skirt fluttering, and a gasp escaped her lips.
The sudden commotion forced Ian to intervene, pulling Mabel away. Lily fell to the floor, unharmed but startled. Albert scrambled to his sisters side, and both children huddled behind Olivias legs.
Mabel, eyes blazing, whispered, You snake you turned my daughter against me. I wont forget this.
She left as abruptly as she had arrived, never to claim Lily again. The court had already denied her any custody, and even Mrs. Whitmores attempts to negotiate a reverse move failed. In the end, Ian and Olivia cut all ties with Mabel, moving to a new town without leaving an address.
Now they live happily in a quiet suburb, raising three children. Lily sometimes tells her closest friends that she believes her mother was a wicked witch, while Olivia is the benevolent fairy who rescued her. Albert, ever the storyteller, claims his father must be a dark sorcerer for abandoning his goodhearted mother.
Their lives resemble a proper fairytale: a good father, a loving mother, and a brood of happy children. The lesson theyve learned is that true family is built not on blood alone, but on the steadfast care and honesty we show each other every day.
