You want to get married? Then endure it. Your belly’s already higher than your nose that means youre an adult! declared the mother flatly.
Margaret had only just realized that her daughter, Emma, was expecting. Emma had wrestled with how to tell her parents, but the words never came. The slender girl, her pregnancy now obvious, had just turned seventeen.
The first question was simple: who was the father?
Emma had been in love with Daniel for years. The first day of September, in Year 7, shed spotted him at the back of the classroom. The boys had stretched themselves over the summer, changed a little, even seemed to grow up a touch. Still, they were boys.
Their schoolbags flapped between rows of desks, they lingered after lessons and occasionally skipped them. Laughter, jokes, the ordinary rhythm of a British secondary school.
Daniel towered over everyone, was quicker, better at everything. Emma fell for him then a love that never returned. She kept quiet; she didnt shout it, and he didnt notice. Eventually he did. They started to meet in secret.
Emma couldnt hide her condition any longer. The families arranged a wedding almost on the spot. Emma was overjoyed.
She moved into her motherinlaws house. Daniel was the eldest of three children. His two sisters were still in primary school, so he had to find work.
Youve grown up enough to father a child. Show us youre an adult. Weve got two daughters already, and were not going to support your wife or child! his father bellowed.
Emmas adult life began in earnest. School was out of the question; she wasnt even hired as a cleaner. She spent her days scrubbing the big house, because she had no other work.
All household chores fell on her. Daniels sisters laughed; they no longer had to wash dishes, mop floors, or tidy rooms.
They even tried to make Emmas life harder: extra dirty plates, crumbs all over the floor, random smears on cupboards and walls. Emma understood it, she suffered in silence there was no one to complain to.
Daniel worked long hours, indifferent to the chaos at home. He hadnt even settled into his marriage, and he barely liked Emma.
Hed married under his parents pressure. Emma tried to talk with Margaret, but nothing improved.
You want to get married, so suffer! Bellys out, youre an adult! the mothers voice echoed at every turn.
Emmas joy in the marriage faded quickly. Shed run away if not for the child she carried; shed survive, but life only grew harder.
There was no help with the baby; the housework never stopped. Daniel came home later and later, sometimes not at all.
Emma knew he was cheating; she guessed with whom. The marriage grew more unbearable each day. She lived in her motherinlaws house like a servant, weeping at night, dreaming of an escape.
One day Daniels sister, Eleanor Whitfield his mothers younger sister arrived to stay. To Emma, Eleanor seemed a woman of an iron will, silently watching every corner of the home, speaking little.
Emma tried to do everything perfectly, and she managed, but Eleanor always found a snag to complain about, then reported it to Margaret. Meanwhile Daniel felt free to leave for dates. Margaret argued, but could do nothing.
They married me without my consent! Live now with my wife, Daniel snapped, and walked out.
Eleanor kept a close eye on everything. Two weeks dragged by slowly, then passed. She began packing to leave.
Whyd you come back after five years? Margaret muttered, eyeing her sisters suitcase. What are you sniffing around for?
Morning came; everyone headed to work. Margaret asked Emma to see Eleanor off.
Ill see you out, then we can take Mary your little girl for a walk, Emma offered.
Ive been watching your family. Youre exhausted, dark circles under your eyes, barely holding on. How do you manage, love? And do you know about Daniel? Eleanor asked.
I know, Emma replied.
Come with me. Pack your things; well get away from them.
But where? They wont let me return, and theres nowhere else to go.
Well sort that out. Pack, and Ill push a cart around the yard while we wait.
What about a ticket? I have no money.
Dont think about it. Ive none either. A van will be here in two hours. Hurry, dont forget anything. We probably wont have to go back. Ill tell you everything once were on the road. Its only a threehour drive.
The van pulled up at the gate of a modest house, far tidier than Margarets. The driver steered it into the driveway and got out.
Thats the neighbour. I cant drive on my own, so I sometimes ask him for help. If you want a licence, Ill support you. Make yourself at home. Your room is to the right.
Half an hour later Eleanor began her story.
My sister and I never spoke much. I had a daughter who left for university and later died. She chased thrills riverrafting, mountain climbs. Her first expedition ended in tragedy. After that my husband left, unable to cope. I was alone, so I went to my sister for help, hoping to leave a legacy.
She told me there was no room. Daniel married, youre his child, his daughters daughter. Everything now rests on you, and they dont understand that. Your sister expects everything done for her. Daniel doesnt love you. Hell never help. No one, not even your parents, will.
I wanted to leave the house to Daniel, thinking hed be a family man, but he isnt. Ive decided endure a little longer, then file for divorce. I have about a year left. Call me Aunt Izzie. The house will be yours.
What will they say?
Dont worry about that. They have enough of their own problems. Keep strong for your little girl.
Eleanor stayed just over a year. Emma eventually divorced Daniel; he remarried quickly. Relatives attended Eleanors funeral, openly disapproving of the sisters choices. Daniel tried to rekindle the relationship, but the road back was gone.
Now Emma lives with her daughter in her own cottage. She finally passed her driving test, studies parttime at a university, and, most importantly, learns to live on her own and she loves every minute of it.
Thats how life can turn. Inheritances arent left to the greedy, but to those with good hearts. And that, truly, is fair.
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