“Listen, Alice! You no longer have a mother or a father. You dont have a home, either,” replied her mother.
Late in the evening, the silence was shattered by the ringing phone. Pauline picked it up from the table and heard her daughters voice.
“Mum, its Alice. Ive got a problem My husbands thrown me out. Im coming to stay with you and Dad tomorrow morning.”
“Listen, Alice. You dont have a mother, a father, or a home anymore.”
“What?” shrieked Alice, as if she hadnt heard. “What do you mean? No home? Im your daughteryour only one! I have every right to live in that flat!” she screamed hysterically.
“Thats just how it is, love,” Pauline replied calmly. “You dont have a flat anymore. Weve signed it over to Lucy. She owns it now, and as far as your father and I are concerned, youre no longer our daughter.”
The argument dragged onaccusations, demands, bitter words.
“Dont call here again! Youve lost everything!” Pauline ended the call sharply. She believed, after what Alice had done, she had every right to say it.
Standing by the window, Pauline couldnt help but remember that another tragedy had begun with a phone call.
A fatal ring had broken the early morning quiet. Pauline bolted upright and snatched the receiver.
“Yes?”
A muffled sob echoed down the line.
“Hello, whos there?”
“Its Christine.”
“Christine, whats wrong? Why are you calling at this hour? Do you know what time it is?”
“I know. Today, Im being admitted for surgery. Im terrified for Sophie. Please, dont leave her aloneshes still just a child. Dont let her go into care.”
Paulines sister had always been unpredictable, full of wild ideas and impulsive decisions. But this time, shed outdone herselfor had something truly serious happened?
Pauline clutched the phone, her hands damp, sensing something terrible was unfolding but not yet grasping it.
“Christine, why didnt you say anything sooner? Why now? Whats wrong? Which hospital are they taking you to?”
Christine had been quietly battling an illness shed ignored for too long. The last month had been unbearableshed lost weight, her face changed. The doctors verdict was grim: emergency surgery. Shed hesitated, unsure how to tell her sister, whod always supported herfinancially, emotionally, practically raising her when their mother couldnt. And now, she was asking her to take in her child, too.
“Pauline, the doctors arent making promises. They say we can only hope for a miracle. Im begging youlook after Sophie.”
Within the hour, Pauline and her husband were at the clinic where Christine had been admitted. The surgery hadnt started yet, but visiting wasnt allowed. In the corridor, curled in a corner, sat little Sophie. Pauline knelt and hugged the girl.
“Will Mum be alright?” Sophie sobbed.
“Yes, darling. Shell sleep through it, and when she wakes up, youll see her smiling and well.”
But four hours later, the surgeon stepped out with tragic news: Christine hadnt survived.
Pauline took her niece home. She led her to her daughters room to explain that Sophie no longer had a mother, and Alice no longer had an aunt. The girls would live together now. Alice shot a furious glare but stayed silent.
A week later, Sophies belongings were dumped outside the door. Alice flatly refused to share.
“Mum, this is my space! Why should I give up my wardrobe and my room for her?”
To avoid constant rows, Pauline and her husband gave Sophie their own bedroom and moved into the lounge. Sophie retreated furthershed never known her father, and Christine had never revealed his name. Now, her entire life depended on Pauline and her husband, who tried to divide their attention equally between their own daughter and their niece.
Time passed. Alice graduated university and married a wealthy older man. She didnt care about the age gap. She packed her things swiftly and moved in with Daniel. A month later, she announced the wedding.
“Mum, just one thingI dont want your niece at my wedding. I dont want to see her there.”
“Alice, thats not fair. Shes practically your sister nowthe only one youve got. If we dont invite her, itll offend us all.”
“I dont want her there!” Alice screamed. “Mum, Ive warned you!”
“Then your father and I wont be coming either.”
“Fine. Dont!” Alice snapped.
Pauline fought back tears but steadied herself and booked a holiday to Cornwall instead.
“What about Alices wedding?” her husband asked, surprised.
“Were not wanted there. Sophie, help me pick a hotelyoure better at this.”
“Were really going on holiday?” Sophie asked.
“Yes, love. We can afford it.”
“Oh, thats wonderful!” Sophie beamed.
Years rolled by. Sophie finished school, got into university, and excelledjust like her mother had. On her eighteenth birthday, Paulines husband collapsed. He was rushed to hospital.
The doctors explained: his life depended on an expensive, rare drug. Desperate, Pauline called Alice, knowing her husbands wealth.
“Alice, love, your fathers dying. We need a special medicationits horrifically expensive. Can you lend us the money?”
A long silence.
“Alright, Ill talk to Daniel and call you back.”
Time crawled. Finally, the phone rang.
“Mum, heres the thingDaniels promised me a car for ages, and nows the time. Either he buys it now, or we give the money to you.”
“Alice, forget the car! Your father needs thishell die without it!”
“And how will you pay us back? Youd be scraping pennies for years. Ill never get that car.”
“Do you hear yourself? This is your fathers life!”
“Take out a loan. I cant help.”
Pauline nearly fainted. Sophie rushed to her, holding her tight.
“Auntie, sell Mums flat. I cant live thereits too painful. The money will save Uncle.”
“Darling, we cant. Its your inheritance.”
“Right now, all that matters is saving him!” Sophie cried.
Touched, Pauline agreed. The flat sold quickly, and the money covered the drugjust in time. It worked. Her husband recovered.
In gratitude, they signed their own flat over to Sophie. They lived together, cherishing every day.
Then, one evening, the phone rang again. It was Alice. Her husband had left her for another woman. She begged to come home.
“We only have one daughterSophie,” Pauline said firmly.
Later, Sophie married Alex, a successful farmer with a spacious home. The couple invited Pauline and her husband to live with them, but they only ever visited, always welcomed into a cosy guest room. Alex and his father-in-law bonded over fishing.
Alice was only mentioned on her birthday. Pauline often wonderedhow had her own daughter grown so selfish, valuing possessions over family? And how had Sophie, whod lost everything, given all she had to save them?
