Two Mums, One Heart
My mum Natasha passed away when I was just two. I only knew her from photos, but I never forgot her. Yet, all my life, I called another woman “Mum”the one who walked into our home and stayed forever.
I dont remember the day she arrived. It felt like Mum Gloria had always been therepetite, round-cheeked, with eyes as dark as coal and a smile that could warm you up even on the dreariest English winter day.
“Mum Gloria,” Id call her.
“Glorie-bear,” Dad would say affectionately.
No one ever hid the fact she wasnt my birth mother, but my heart accepted her without question. I believedmaybe still believingthat Mum Natasha, before she left, asked God to send me a guardian. And so he sent Gloria.
Mum Natashas sisters and my grandma often whisked me away for visits. They never missed a chance to prod:
“Does she make you breakfast? Does she hug you? Does she take you to the park?”
I stayed quiet. Back then, I didnt have the words to tell them their questions stung. Now I knowthey wounded my love for Mum Gloria. Because she loved me just as fiercely as if shed given birth to me herself.
She never stopped me remembering Mum Natasha. In fact, shed take my hand and walk me to church herself.
Wed step into the cool, hushed nave, where candlelight flickered before the icons. Shed buy two candlesone for health, another for remembrance.
“This ones for you, love, so God keeps you healthy and happy. And this ones for Mum Natasha, so Heaven stays bright for her.”
Id watch her cross herself and whisper the prayers after her.
“Mum does Mum Natasha see us?” Id ask softly.
“She does, sweetheart,” shed say, smoothing my hair. “Souls dont die. They live with the Lord. And when we pray, Mum Natasha hears us and smiles.”
After the service, wed always request a memorial. And when the priest sang “Eternal rest,” Mum Gloria would cross herself again and murmur,
“Rest in peace, Natasha see how well were loving your little Emily.”
Then, stepping back into the brisk air outside, shed smile through tears.
“See, love? Youve got two mums. One in Heaven, one here. But we both love you just the same.”
We lived in a village where everyone knew Mum Gloria. She worked as a cook for the harvest crews, always bustling to work with quick, tiny steps.
“Wherere you off to in such a hurry, Gloria?” the neighbors would tease.
“Work, of course! No time to dally,” shed laugh.
She came home just as fast. The second she crossed the threshold
“Emily, how was your day? Did you eat? Homework done?”
And without failwarm hugs, kisses on my forehead, cheeks, nose
“This nose is my favorite!” shed whisper, peppering it with kisses.
When she baked scones, she always made a little extra dough just for me.
“Here, my little helperyour own mix. Time to learn!”
“Will they taste nice?” Id ask, already flour up to my elbows.
“Course they will! Youve got golden hands, just like Mum Natasha.”
Her scones were heavenlyslathered with butter, or garlicky cheese ones And she was like bread herselfwarm, soft, comforting.
When I started my first job and stumbled over mistakes, shed soothe me.
“Mum, I keep messing up nothings working,” Id groan.
Shed sit close, wrapping my hands in hers.
“Emily, who doesnt mess up? Mistakes are how you learn. Write things down so you remember. I didnt know a spatula from a ladle at firstjotted every recipe in a notebook. And look at me now. Youll get there. Just dont lose heart.”
When my son was born, Mum Gloria stood outside the hospital all night. It was April, the air sharp with frost, but she wouldnt leave.
“Mum, whyd you stay out in the cold?” I asked later.
She gave me that special, sunbeam smile.
“Where else would I be, love? I was praying under your window, asking God to keep you strong and the angels to rock your boy. Even if I couldnt be inside, my heart was right there with you.”
Then one morning, Dad called.
“Love Mum Glorias gone.”
I couldnt believe it. How could light vanish like that?
Now, flipping through an old album, I see photos of Mum Natasha and Mum Gloria woven together like threads in the same tapestry. And I understandGod never left me orphaned. One mum gave me life. The other gave me love, and faith.
