You wanted to get married, so youll have to endure it! That baby bumps up past your nosemeans youre an adult! my mother Susan said, eyes narrowing at the obvious.
Susan had spotted the change in her daughters shape long before anyone else did. Emily had been mulling over how to tell her parents for weeks, but the words never came. The girl, naturally slight, could no longer hide the swelling belly that announced a new life. She had just turned seventeen.
The first question was simple: who was the father?
Emily had long been smitten with Daniel. She first saw him back in September of Year7, one of the first faces she noticed in the hallway. The boys had stretched themselves over the summer, grown a bit taller, even seemed a touch more mature, but they were still just boys.
Their school bags bounced between rows of desks, they were late for class, they skipped lessons together. Footstools, jokes, laughter the ordinary rhythm of a British secondary school.
Daniel was taller than most, quicker, better at everything. Thats when Emily fell for himan unrequited crush. She kept quiet; there was no point shouting about it, and he hardly noticed her. Then, one day, he did. They went for a walk, and everything changed.
Emily couldnt keep her situation under wraps any longer. The families struck a deal, and the wedding was arranged almost straight away. Emily felt a surge of happiness.
Life as a wife began in Daniels mothers house in a modest suburb of Manchester. Daniel was the eldest of three children. His two sisters were still at school, one in Year5, the other in Year7, so Daniel had to find work.
Now youve managed to make a child, prove youre an adult, his mother warned. Weve already got two daughters, and were not going to support a new wife and baby!
For Emily, adult life arrived with a thud. She gave up any thoughts of further education, and, despite pleading, she wasnt taken on as a cleaner. Instead, she swept the large house for free because she had no other job.
All the domestic chores fell on her shoulders. Daniels sisters laughed; they no longer had to wash dishes, mop floors, or tidy the sitting room.
They even tried to make her life harder: more dirty plates, crumbs scattered across the floor, mysterious stains on cupboards and walls. Emily understood the cruelty, but she had no one to complain to.
Daniel went to work, indifferent to the chaos at home. He hadnt even settled into his own life, and he barely liked Emily. Hed married under his parents pressure. Emily tried to speak with her motherinlaw, but nothing useful came of it.
You wanted to get married, so bear it! The bumps over your nosemeans youre an adult! Susan repeated, as if it were a mantra.
Emilys joy in the marriage faded fast. She would have run away if it werent for the unborn child. She gave birth easily, but life grew no easier.
There was no help with the baby, and the housework never stopped. Daniel started coming home later and later, sometimes not at all.
Emily guessed that Daniel was seeing other women; she even imagined who they might be. The household in the motherinlaws home felt more like a servants quarters. She cried at night, wondering what the future held.
One day, Daniels sisterinlaw, Irene Whitfield, arrived from her own home. To Emily, Irene seemed like a woman of iron willquiet, watchful, and speaking little.
Emily tried to keep everything in order. She managed, but Irene always found something to complain about, dragging her sisterinlaw into the argument. Meanwhile, Daniel no longer hesitated to leave the house for a date. Their mother fought back, but she could do little.
I was married without my consent! Live with my wife now, Daniel said, turning his back.
Irene observed everything. Two weeks crawled by, then passed. She began packing to leave.
Why did you come back after five years? the motherinlaw muttered as Irene gathered her belongings. What are you sniffing around for?
The next morning, everyone headed off to work. Emily offered to see Irene off.
Ill see you out, and we can take a walk with little Molly, Emily said.
Ive been watching your family. You look exhausted, dark circles under your eyes, barely holding on. How do you manage, love? And do you know about Daniel?
I know.
You dont have anywhere to go. Pack your things, and Ill take you away from all this.
But where? They wont let me back, and theres nowhere else to go.
Well sort that. Pack, and Ill stroll around the house with a trolley.
I have no money for a ticket.
Dont worry about that. I dont have a ticket either. A van will be here in two hours. Hurry, and dont forget anything. You probably wont have to return. Ill fill you in when were on the road. Its only a threehour drive.
The van pulled up at the gate of a smaller, but far neater, house in a leafy part of Leeds. The driver parked in the driveway and stepped out.
This is the neighbour. I cant drive myself, so sometimes I ask him. If you want to get your driving licence, Ill help you. Make yourself at home, settle in, and Ill rest a bit. Your room is on the right.
Within half an hour, Irene began her story.
My sister and I never talked much. I had a daughter who left for university and later died. She was into extreme sports, diving down mountain rivers. She loved the rush.
Her first trek ended in tragedy. After that, my husband left me, and I was alone. I came to my sister asking for help and to sort out the inheritance.
She told me there was no room. Daniel married, you, his child, and his daughters. I saw that everything now rests on you. They dont understand that.
My sister expected everyone to do everything for her. Theyve thrown everything onto you. Daniel doesnt love you. Hes not right for you. I know everything now. No one will help you, not even your parents.
I wanted to leave my house to Daniel, thinking hed have a family and a child, but he Ive decided. Hold on a bit, everything will be yours. I think its time to file for divorce.
I have about a year left, Emily thought. Well manage. Call me Aunt Irene. The house will be yours.
What will they say
Dont worry about that. They have enough of their own problems. Keep your strength, you have a daughter.
Irene lived just over a year after that. Emily divorced Daniel, and he remarried quickly. Relatives turned up for Irenes funeral, still displeased with her sisters decisions. Daniel tried to rekindle things, but the road back was gone.
Emily now lives with her daughter in her own home. She finally passed her driving test, studies parttime at a university, and, most importantly, learns to live on her own. She loves every minute of it.
Thats how life sometimes turns out. A legacy isnt left to the greedy, but to the kindhearted. And thats a fair thing, isnt it?
