Want to get married? Then endure it. A round belly above your nose tells you youre grown up, my motherinlaw used to say, as if it were a proverb. I first noticed my own daughter, Lily, looking a little too hopeful. Shed been mulling over how to tell us she was pregnant, but the words never came out. The ladylike Lily, naturally slim, could no longer hide the growing roundness of her stomach. Shed just turned seventeen.
It didnt take long to pin down the father of the unborn child.
Lily had been smitten with Daniel for years. Back in September of her seventh year at school, she first saw him at the front of the class. The boys had stretched themselves over the summer holidays, changed a bit, even seemed a little older, but they were still lads. Their schoolbags bounced between rows of desks, they often arrived late, and they skipped lessons whenever they could. Laughter, jokes, a bit of mischief just ordinary school life.
Daniel was taller than the rest, quicker, better at everything. Thats when Lily fell for him. Unrequited love, she kept quiet there was no point shouting about it and he didnt notice her. Then, one day, he finally did. They went for a walk together.
She couldnt hide her condition any longer. Their parents quickly arranged a wedding, and it happened almost straight away. Lily was overjoyed.
Family life began under the roof of her motherinlaw. Daniel was the eldest of three children. His two sisters were still at school, in Year 5 and Year 7, so he had to start working.
Now youre a man, youve managed to produce a child! Show us youre an adult. We have two daughters already, and we have no intention of supporting your wife and your baby! his mother declared.
For Lily, adulthood knocked hard. She had to abandon her studies, and she wasnt even taken on as a cleaner. So she cleaned the big house herself, because she had no work.
All the household chores fell on her. Daniels sisters laughed, relieved they no longer had to wash dishes, sweep floors, or tidy the drawingroom.
They even tried to make life harder for Lily: leaving extra dirty crockery, crumbs on the floor, random smudges on cupboards and walls. Lily understood it all, it was painful, but there was no one to complain to.
Daniel went to work and seemed indifferent to the domestic chaos. He hadnt even found his footing in life yet, andtruth be toldhe wasnt much taken with Lily either.
Hed married under his parents pressure. Lily tried to speak with her own mother, but nothing useful came of it.
Want to get married? Then endure it. A round belly above your nose tells you youre grown up! the motherinlaw would repeat.
Lily soon grew weary of her marriage. Shed have fled if it hadnt been for the baby on the way; she might have survived on her own, but nowshe gave birth easily, yet life did not improve.
There was no help with the child, and no one reduced the endless chores. Daniel came home later and later, sometimes not at all.
Lily guessed who he was seeing, and the thought of him gallivanting with another woman gnawed at her. The more she tried, the less family life pleased her. She lived in her motherinlaws cottage like a servant, wept at night, and stared into the future.
One day Daniels sister, Irene Whitfield, arrived at the house. To Lily she seemed a woman with a stonehard temperament. She watched the household quietly, spoke little, and seemed to linger over every detail.
Lily tried to keep everything in order, to finish every task. She managed, but the motherinlaw always found something to complain about, and she vented to Irene. Meanwhile Daniel stopped being ashamed of leaving the house for dates. Their mother fought back, but she could do nothing.
Without my consent, they married me! Youll have to live with my wife now, Daniel replied, then stalked off.
Irene observed everything. Two weeks dragged on slowly, then they passed. She began packing to go home.
What are you doing here? Youve been away for five years, Lilys motherinlaw muttered as Irene gathered her things. What are you sniffing around for?
In the morning everyone set off for work. Lily offered to see Irene off.
Ill walk you to the gate, and well take a stroll with my little girl, Mary, Lily said.
Ive been watching your family. You look tired, your eyes are swollen, youre barely hanging on. How do you endure all this, girl? Anddo you know about Daniel? Irene asked.
I know, Lily replied.
Pack your things, come with me, get away from them for a while.
But where? They wont let me back, and theres nowhere else to go.
Well sort that out. Pack, and Ill push a pram by the house while we wait for the bus.
I have no money for a ticket, Lily protested.
Dont worry about that. I havent got a ticket either. A coach will arrive in two hours. Hurry, dont forget anything. You probably wont have to return. Ill tell you everything when we get there. Its only a threehour ride.
The coach pulled up at the gate of a modest cottage, smaller than the motherinlaws but far more pleasant. The driver nudged the vehicle into the driveway and stepped out.
This is the neighbour. I cant drive alone, so sometimes I ask him for help. If youd like to get a driving licence, Ill support you. Make yourself at home, get settled. Ill rest a bit. Your room is on the right.
Half an hour later Irene began her tale.
My sister and I never talked much. I had a daughter who went off to university and later died in an accident. She was into extreme sports, loved whitewater rivers. She was passionate about them.
The first expedition ended in tragedy. After that my husband left me, unable to cope. Im alone now. I came to my sister hoping for help and an inheritance.
She told me there was no room. Daniel married, you, the child, are his daughter. I saw that everything in that house leans on you. They cling to you, but they dont understand.
My sister expects everything to be done for her. They dumped everything on you. Daniel doesnt love you. Why would he? Ive learned the whole story. No one will help you, not even your own parents.
I wanted to leave my house to Daniel, thinking hed settle down with a family and a child, but he Ive decided. Bear with me a bit longer; itll all be yours. I think its time to file for divorce.
I have about a year left. Well manage. Call me Aunt Irene. Get used to the house being entirely yours.
What will they say?
Dont worry about that. They have enough of their own problems, and you shouldnt give them yours. Be strong; you have a daughter.
Irene lived a little over a year after that. Lily divorced Daniel, and he remarried quickly. Relatives turned up for Irenes funeral, openly dissatisfied with her sisters decisions. Daniel even tried to rekindle things, but the road back was closed.
Now Lily lives with her daughter in her own cottage. She finally got her driving licence, studies parttime at university, and most importantly, shes learning to live on her own. And she loves every minute of it.
Thats how life turns out. Inheritances go not to those who are greedy, but to those with a good heart. And thats a fair deal.
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