“Youll Be Alone and Remember Me”
“Honestly, is it so hard to spare an extra bowl of soup for me and your grandson? I dont get it!”
“Yes, Emily. It is hard. Things have changed since you left,” replied Margaret, not even letting her daughter step inside. “Remind mewasnt it you who threw me out of your house and your life? So why are you making demands now?”
Emily rolled her eyes like a child being lectured on good behaviourwhich, in a way, she still was. The entitlement of “everyone owes me” was hardly a grown-up attitude.
“Mum, seriously? I was pregnant back then! Hormones, stress I dont even remember what I said!”
“Oh, I remember. Every word. How you hated me, how I had no heart, how I wanted to send your own grandson to an early grave and thats the polite version. If Im so awful, why come running to me now?”
“For heavens sake, Mum! Youre a grown womanyou shouldve understood and met me halfway. Youve been through pregnancy; you know how moods swing every five minutes.”
Even now, Emily twisted it so Margaret was the one at fault, as if she shouldve smiled and danced around her daughters whims. But Margaret had had enough.
“I understood you perfectly,” she said slowly, crossing her arms. “But I didnt forgive. Emily, I can help you with money. A little. But I wont let you back in.”
She wasnt just talking about the house. She couldnt let Emily back into her life. Because she knewEmily would push, demand, and eventually wreck everything Margaret had rebuilt.
“A little? How much?”
“Three thousand pounds. Enough to get back on your feet.”
“That wont last a month! Fine for meIm an adult, I can tighten my belt. But how are you okay with doing this to your grandson?”
Margaret didnt want to argue.
“When people are desperate, theyre grateful for anything. If this isnt enough, figure it out yourself.”
With that, she shut the door.
“Fine! I will! But remembermen come and go, but its your children wholl hand you a glass of water in your old age. And you wont get that from me. Youll be aloneand remember me,” Emily spat through the door.
Her footsteps faded. Margaret leaned against the hallway wall, biting her lip to stop the tears. It hurt terribly, but the rift between them had existed for years.
…Emily had always been spoiled. Grandparents rushed for toys at her slightest whim, and her father indulged her most. Didnt like a dress? Hed take her shopping. Smashed her phone in a tantrum? No problemhed buy a better one. Wanted a dog? Of course, sweetheart, pick a breed.
No wonder she was a daddys girl. If Mum said no, she ran to Dadwho always said yes.
Her parents argued over it constantly. Edward was a loving husband and father but had no sense of boundaries when it came to raising Emily.
“Ed, whyd you give her money for cinema tickets? You couldve asked me!” Margaret fumed, hands on hips. “I told her nonot about the money, but because I needed her to help your mum with the garden. And do you know what she said? If you two care, you clean it yourselves.”
Edward would wincehe knew Emily went too far sometimes. But hed just wave it off.
“Come on. Remember what we were like at her age. Let me spoil her while I can. Shell fly the nest soon enough.”
Those words turned out prophetic.
Edward passed when Emily was fourteen. Thats when things truly fell apart. Emily had always been difficult, but after losing her father, she blamed Margaret for everything. Caught a cold? “You brought it home from work, always letting sick clients in.” Broke up with a boyfriend? Also Mums faultshe wouldnt let Emily go clubbing. Failed her A-levels? Again, Mum.
“Everyone else got tutors, but I had to manage aloneno wonder my grades were rubbish,” Emily grumbled.
Margaret never expected her to get into university anyway. Shed set aside savings from her and Edwards joint account.
“Why bother with the degree?” her friend asked. “No offence, but Emilys no genius. If she drops out later, itll be such a waste.”
“She wants it. Im doing it for Ed, really. Hed never forgive me if I sent her into the world with nothing.”
Margaret worked two jobs to support herself and her student daughter. Colleagues called her a hero. But she wasnt bravejust terrified of being left with no one. Emily was all she had.
In her second year, Emily announced she wanted to move in with a “friend”whose parents were renting her a flat. Margaret objected but couldnt stop her. She was an adult now.
Turns out, the “friend” was named James. A year later, Emily said she was pregnant.
“Mum, imaginewere having a baby!” she gasped, breathless with joy.
Margaret felt breathless toobut for different reasons. Her legs nearly gave way.
“Emily Neither of you has a job. Where will you live? How?”
“Benefits, Jamess parents, you Hell pick up extra work,” Emily said breezily.
Margaret hated her place in this plan. Shed hoped helping Emily through uni would fulfil her duty. Now she saw thered be no end.
“Oh, and Mum Tuitions due soon. Can you cover it?”
“Tuition? Youll take a baby to lectures? Take a gap year or sort out the pregnancy. This isnt the time.”
What followed was ugly. Emily claimed half of Edwards savings were rightfully hers, accused Margaret of wanting to abandon her grandchild, and finally called her a monster before slamming the door.
Margaret hoped shed cool off. But next day, Emily had blocked her everywhere. Margaret knew her address but refused to chase her. Enough was enough.
Losing Emily felt like losing her purpose. But nature abhors a vacuum.
After Emily left, Margaret rebuilt her life. She joined a gym, where she met Alan. He helped her with the machines, then offered a lift home. One thing led to anotherthey married.
Alan was ten years older, a widower with a grown son, Thomas, his wife Charlotte, and their little boy, Oliver. Margaret didnt just gain a husbandshe gained a family. They welcomed her, especially Charlotte, who saw her more as a friend than a mother-in-law.
Oliver was special. Margaret doted on himtoys, homemade treats, trips to the zoo. At first, Charlotte only asked her to babysit in emergencies. Soon, Oliver begged to visit, and Margaret never refused.
“Gran, can we feed the pigeons today?” he once asked.
Her heart swelled. Shed forgotten what pure, unearned love felt like.
Life had colour again. Then, two years later, Emily reappeared.
James had decided fatherhood wasnt for him. He finished uni, struggled through odd jobs, then packed up and moved back to his parents.
But the baby remained. And Emily needed somewhere to live.
Only now, Margaret decided it wasnt her problem. Especially when Emily returned not to apologise but to demand, “Youre my motheryou have to.”
“Youll be alone and remember me,” echoed in Margarets mind. Yes, it hurtlike tearing out part of her heart. But shed survived it before.
Her phone buzzed. A text from Alan: “Fancy a romantic evening? What shall I pick up?” Another from Charlottea photo of three lopsided gingerbread men.
“Oliver made these at nursery. One for me, one for Dad, and one for you. Can we visit tonight?”
Margaret smiled. Warmth flooded her. Which to choosea quiet evening with Alan or her unexpected family?
But it didnt matter. Both sounded lovely. What mattered was this: shed once feared loneliness so much shed tolerate anything to feel needed. Now she knewbeing needed isnt the same as being loved.
No, she wasnt alone. And perhaps she never would be again.
