Be Happy, Mum
“Kate, weve got a problem!” My sisters voice rang out so sharply I winced, holding my phone away from my ear. “Are you listening? Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“If youd let me get a word in, I would. Whats happened now? Whats the crisis?” So far, I wasnt worried. Millie was known for making mountains out of molehills, and her overreactions usually revolved around the most insignificant things.
“Mums getting married! What do you think about that? Really, have you ever heard anything so outrageous?”
Millie carried on, but Id already tuned her out. That was certainly news! Still, best to call Mum and find out whats whatcould be just Millies imagination running wild.
“Kate! Are you even listening?”
“Im here. No need to shout.”
“I actually caught them together, you know! Yesterday. I asked Mum to take Olivia to ballet, but she said no, so I had to do it myself. And who does that? What sort of grandmother is more interested in sitting in a café flirting with some man than helping out with her own granddaughter?”
I let out a sigh. So thats what this was.
“I made such a scene, you should have seen! Mum was mortified.”
“Thats always been your forte, I suppose.”
“Honestly, how can you make light of this? Its entirely serious, Kate! She wont listen to reason!”
“Millie, take a breath, will you? Why should Mum listen to you?”
That pause, heavy with accusation, gave me a moment to turn off the hob and kiss my son on the head as he ran in clutching his Lego plane.
“Kate, I dont understand you… Arent you bothered that Mum is making such a mistake? Betraying Dads memory? How can you think like that?”
“And what about you? Millie, its been almost fifteen years since Dad died. Mums not an old womanshes spent all these years looking after us, then our children. Isnt that enough? Wheres your compassion come from, now? You yourself are on your second marriage. Why? Because you wanted a bit of happiness, simple as that. So why deny Mum that? If you can give me a solid reason why she cant do what you did, Ill listen.”
“You Honestly, I didnt expect this from you! How little you seem to care about your own mother!”
“Or maybe its not really Mum youre worried about. Maybe youre just put out because the free babysitter wants a life of her own at last?”
“Kate!” Millie shrieked, completely at a loss for further arguments. Id always had that effect on hera calm tone and a sharp comment would drive her up the wall. Grannie used to say I “set her straight.”
“Yes, darling?”
“You… youre impossible!”
“I know! And you, my sweet, wildflower, just leave Mum alone, will you?”
“As if! Im the only one looking out for her! She doesnt need drama, she needs peace!”
“Well, thats not your decision to make, Millie,” I replied, sinking wearily onto the kitchen bench. My eldest daughter poked her head around the door, eyebrows raised. I waved her offeverything was fine. Good thing when your kids pick up on things straightaway. Pity things werent always so easy between Mum and us.
Margaret, our mother, got married very young, just eighteen. DadAlanwas a year older. Theyd been classmates from day one. On their first school day, a scrawny lad with big ears settled next to her, glanced over at bright-cheeked, upright Margaret, and declared loud as you like, “Youre pretty!”
She raised her eyebrows in surprise but didnt even turn his way. She already knew it, what with the fancy ribbons shed persuaded Grandma to find for her. None of the other girls in class had ribbons quite like hers.
Alan was wounded by her indifference and hit her across the head with his reading book at break time. Her hair was ruined, she wept a fair bit, but she soon managed to get her own back. Turned out Alan wasnt mean, just full of energy, and he became a real asset in her life. Despite not being very tall, he was strong and, more importantly, clever. Margaret was shy about pairing up with him at first, but soon got used to the idea and ignored the classmates tauntslet them be jealous. At least she always knew: if she didnt understand something, it was Alan whod explain it, never the teacher. No one did better in school than them. By fifteen, Alan shot up, suddenly taller than his friend.
“Now Im a lamppost!” his deepening voice boomed, though he still ended his sentences with a squeaky laugh. “And youre my Thumbelina!”
“Some Thumbelina!” Margaret laughed in reply, always the tallest, strongest girl in class. “Big bones,” as Grandma said. She carried herself like a queen, and no one ever dared say anything less than pleasant to her. Grandma insisted on ballet and gymnastics for posture. Margaret wasnt Olympic material, but she got what she neededconfidence, poise, and willpower.
At the wedding, people couldnt help but smile at the young couple: tall, slim Alan holding strong, graceful Margaret, who, though a touch shorter than him, could still easily block him from view.
Right on schedule, nine months later, Kate appeared. Being parents so young, neither was fully prepared, but Margaret never balked at a challenge. With help from both mums, she continued her studies, and Alan picked up another job.
“Its nothing, really,” he used to say, rocking baby Kate to sleep. “We just need a bit of patience, everything will work out. I promise you.”
And he kept his promise. They werent rich, but never lacked what mattered. Margaret went back to work, putting Kate in nursery, and things eased up. She was sharp and ambitious, quickly climbing to head accountant in five years, and took on extra work as start-up firms popped up in need of expertise.
“Youre not just a beauty, but a smart one too!” Alan would tell her, hugging her as she worked through papers at the kitchen table with her glasses perched on her nose. “Ill take Kate out for a walk so you can get on.”
Things went well. They hoped for more children, but it wasnt to be.
“If theyre close in age, theyll always be friends,” Margaret used to say, dreaming out loud.
But fate had other plans.
Alan, by then Mr. Alan Beckettthe managing director of a big companytried to reassure her: “Weve got Kate. If more come along, wonderful. If notso be it.”
“If only…” Margaret would sigh, hugging her daughter, making a secret wish.
Millie was a real surprise. Margaret had nearly lost hope by then, and Alan was utterly beside himself with joy at the news, and even Kate, who wished for a sibling, had no idea what it would really be like. Her world turned upside down.
“I dont want to be a big sister!” Ten-year-old Kate wailed, two years after Millies birth. “I want to be little again!”
She couldnt understand all the fuss over a baby. Of course, she didnt remember her own arrival, but the grandmothers were only too happy to enlighten her.
“It was so easy with Kate. Nursery, job done. But with Millie, Margaret, you baby her far too much!”
“Shes a bit frail, just in case! No need to rush her to nursery. I can manage.”
“Frail” Millie actually delighted all with round rosy cheeks, fair curls and sky-blue eyes. “An angel!” people remarked, but only Kate knew what lay beneath that cherubic look.
“Mum! Shes winding me up again!” Millies cries would ring right through the flat, and Margaret would rush to help.
Millie would lie in the middle of the room, wailing, clutching her arm or leg, while Kate stood puzzled, wondering what on earth had just happened. Every time she fell for it, every time she got scolded by the parents.
“Whats happened? Kate!”
“I didnt touch her!”
“Mum, I only asked for her pencils and she pushed me away. But Im alright now, Ill get up! Ow! It hurts!”
Margaret would fuss over her little one, while Millie would stick out her tongue at Kate behind their mothers back. Just you wait! The pranks only got more creative. Until, one day, Alan caught her red-handed as she tore pages from her own exercise book. By then Millie was in Year Two, and Margaret struggled to manage her younger, more willful daughter.
“Kate was a dream by comparison!” Margaret would sigh, staring at Millies scrawls. “I never felt embarrassed. With Millie, I dread parents evenings. Even the boys do better!”
Millie would sulk, pout, and curl her hair around her finger. When the moment was right, shed sob and turn away. “You dont have to love me, since Im so awful!” shed whimper, just loud enough for Margaret to hear.
Nagging would stop, of course. What Millie couldnt stand was comparison with her elder sister. So, mischief became her norm, especially since the parents always took it out on Kate.
“Youre the eldest, youre responsible!”
Alan, seeing Millie put down another torn exercise book, stopped Kate from interrupting, and led her quietly to the sitting room.
“Listen carefully. Im going to tell you off, really tell you off. Dont take it to heartits important. We let Millie have her way too much. If this doesnt work, nothing will.”
Kate, speechless with shock, sat on the sofa and, finally relieved, burst into tears.
“Kate, not yet! I need your help!”
Seeing his daughter wiping her eyes, Alan berated himself. Poor child!
“Right then, ready for a turn to put on a show for your sister? Shes not the only one who can play to an audience”
Kate only nodded.
“Off you go to your room, then. And remember, Ill be shouting a lotits all for effect.”
Sure enough, Millies shrieking began as soon as Kate stepped into their room.
“Oh, Kate! Why? What did I ever do to you? My homework was all done and now look! Ill have to redo everything! Why?”
Margaret, knife in hand, dashed in to find the usual sceneher wide-eyed, weeping youngest in meltdown, and her eldest silently watching.
“What now, Millie?”
“Mum, I dont get it! Why does Kate treat me that way?” Millie clutched the ruined books.
Alan winked at Kate as he entered then unleashed a tirade.
“If Kate cant behave in this family, perhaps she should leave. No point sending her to the grandmotherstheyre past caring for herso theres just one thing for it!”
“What?” Millies tears suddenly stopped as curiosity took over.
“Boarding school!”
“Whats that?”
“Somewhere children live and learn, only going home on weekends and holidaysif they behave themselves.”
Kate stared, appalled. And she caught the first glimmer of guilt on her sisters face.
“Done deal! Kate, pack up. Ill take you myself.”
“Dad” Kates voice was uncertain as she looked between Mum and Dad. “Is this true? Will you really send me away?”
Millie sank onto a chair, staring at Kate. She couldnt admit shed lied, but she suddenly felt a twinge of pity. Millie had a vivid imagination and now pictured what it would be like to be away from home.
Alan watched his younger daughter. At last, Millie burst into real tears and buried her face in Margarets lap.
“Dont! Please dont send Kate away!”
“Why not?” Alan looked stern and signalled Margaret to keep quiet.
“It wasnt her! It was me! I did everything!”
“I know.” Alan smiled, hugging Kate, who immediately buried her face in his chest in relief. “I know you tore those books up yourself and blamed Kate for it. I should have noticed before.”
Margaret opened her mouth to defend her favourite, then changed her mind. How had she missed so much? She took Millie by the shoulders, faced her, and said seriously:
“Im ashamed, just like your father. And I no longer believe you, Millie. Youll have to work hard to earn my trust again.”
She stood and went over to Kate, pulling her into a hug.
“Forgive me, Kate. Im so sorry!”
The result of that day was clear. Millie grew quiet and thoughtful. The parents no longer believed her fibs, and Kate stopped talking to her for fear of more trouble. Overnight the familys little favourite was just another child. They talked to her, they gave her nothing extra, and she lost her little “crown”. Millie took a long, hard look at herself. It took her more than three years to win Kates forgiveness. Every day she had to prove shed changed. Kate watched her, ever wary, but slowly she began to trust her again.
“Millies as stubborn as you!” Alan would tease Margaret, who was determined not to give her youngest any more chances to think she was special. She never forgave herself for ignoring so much as her child was growing up. Margaret tried to give Kate more attention, but soon saw her daughter didnt need it as much now.
“Ive missed the boat, Al! And now its painfully awkward with Kate.”
“Stop beating yourself up. If old bonds cant be mended, build new ones. Kate isnt a child anymore; maybe what she needs is something else now, not all your old coddling.”
Margaret listened. It took time, but she and Kate came to a calm, gentle relationshipno resentments, no drama.
It was Kate who stood by her mother when Alan died. That high-power job and all the stress had taken their toll. A second heart attack, and he was gone, leaving the family rudderless.
Margaret lost her footing after that. She shut down, until her first granddaughter, Lisa, arrived just two months later. Pregnant, Kate had moved in with Mum for a while, knowing only new life could rescue her mother from grief. Kate handed little Lisa to Margaret and said:
“We need you, Mum, like airme and Lisa. Dont let us down.”
She didnt. First Lisa, then little George, became Margarets new purpose. When Lisa turned one, Kate and her husband moved back to their flat, and Margaret divided her time between her daughters.
Millie would huff any time Mum left to help Kate with the kids, but by the end of school she was grateful for her own freedom at home. House is free! shed text her friendsmagic words for any sixth former.
Millie kept herself in check, knowing scandal would ruin her new status. She had no steady boyfriend but was friendly with all. Mike, her first husband, appeared in her life at university.
A wedding, a degree, a daughterMillie was swept into family life, soon falling back into old competition with Kate. She insisted her children be better educated and raised than Kates. Margarets occasional indulgences (like sneaking the grandchildren ice creams) were carefully policed by Millie, who felt only a packed schedule of clubs and lessons would guarantee her childrens futures.
“Nowadays, you have to start them young, Mum! Only way to get ahead!”
Kate would chuckle at Millies lectures on proper pursuits for boys and girls.
“Youve got it all topsy turvy, Kate! Lisa does karate, George paints! What is this nonsense?”
“It works for us. Anyone with other ideasno ones stopping them raising their kids ‘properly’, eh Millie?”
Millie would grumble but let it lie, saving her words for Margaret, who would nod and do things her way regardless, quietly indulging the grandchildren with treats in between activities.
So, as soon as Margarets life showed signs of change, Millie was thrown. What about her careful plans? Her precious schedule? And ‘love’ at Mums agereally! Dad and Mum had love, not this! Where did Mum find this retired colonel, anyway?
Had Millie asked, she might have been surprised by the answer. Margaret hadnt gone looking for romance. She met Christopher Baxter quite by chance, waiting to collect her granddaughter from ballet. Tall, silver-hairedthere was something familiar about him. Only later did Margaret realise, he reminded her so much of Alan. Perhaps thats just how Alan would have been, had he lived to see his hair turn silver. For a week they exchanged nods, then hellos, began chatting, and so began the romance. Margaret was secretly tickledimagine! A romance at her age! But Christopher treated it as the most natural thing in the world. After all, they werent old fogies.
She soon learned Christopher was a widower, retired, and raising his granddaughter Katie, who danced in the same class as little Olivia.
“My pride and joy,” hed say, carefully wrapping Katie in her scarf.
Margaret watched, and realised more than anything, she longed for those hands to tuck a scarf round her as tenderly. Shed cared for everyone else; now, perhaps, it was her turn. The girls were busy with their own families, their time scarce. And sometimes you just need someone to sit with on a long evening and chat about anything at allstrawberry prices, the moon, or whose poetry is better.
Christopher was straightforward in his intentions.
“Were not exactly young, Margaret, so why wait? Id like you to make my house a home. Ill be your companion and helpmate if youll have me. What do you say? Nothing to lose and everything to gain.”
Margaret needed time to considerbut then came Millies scene. Mortified, Margaret apologised to Christopher.
“No need, Margaret! Perfectly understandable. And I hardly introduced myself; your daughters right to be wary. So! Why dont we all meet at my place on Sunday? Well get the families together and break the news. No need for permission, but we owe them the courtesy.”
“Perhaps youre right…” Margaret brushed away a tear, ashamed of Millies behaviour.
“Come now, dont work yourself up!” Christopher squeezed her hand. “Itll all settle, youll see!”
On Sunday, both families gathered at Christophers country house. Kate and Millie, along with Christophers daughter-in-law, Emma, busied themselves in the kitchen while the men struck up a quick camaraderie over the barbecue.
Millie looked around at the spacious house, turning to Kate in surprise.
“Did you know?”
“Know what? That hes got money? Millie, youre unbelievable! If hed been penniless, would you still refuse him respect? Dont answer thathis daughter-in-laws coming.”
Emma smiled and asked, “Does your mum like wild strawberries?”
Kate and Millie looked at each other.
“Honestly, not sure, Emma. She does love strawberries, though.”
“Then shell love these. Theres a patch on the property. My father-in-law planted them for Katie. We can show the children, let them pick some for the table.”
Sitting at the table, Millie quietly observed all around.
Olivia and Katie dashed by laughing and shrieking, Christopher swooped them up, spun them around and set them down, telling them to help Grandma with the dishes. Kate, listening to Emma, laughed and glanced back at Millie. Margaret set down a stack of clean plates and smiled at Christopher, who slipped an arm around her waist and whispered something that made her eyes shine. Millie suddenly remembered that distant scene over the exercise books. Would she tread the same path againput herself and her ambitions before those she loved? This was her own mother, after allthe closest she had.
She stood, and moved quietly over.
“Mum…”
“Yes?” Margaret turned, and for the first time, Millie saw her not as the worn, careworn woman of late, but looking, somehow, young again. The years melted away in the dusk.
“Im sorry, Mum! Im such a fool! I wantyou know, really wantyou to be happy. If you believe Christopher can make you happy, then Im all for it.”
“Oh Millie!” Margaret hugged her daughter, who for a moment seemed suddenly a child again.
“Im a bit slow on the uptake!” Millie laughed, wiping her eyes.
“As long as you get there!” Kate joined them, wrapping her arm round Margarets shoulders. “Im so glad for you, Mum. Be happythats what matters, right, Millie?”
Millie nodded, holding her mother tight.
Margaret, surrounded by her childrens arms, closed her eyes. This was happinesswhen all is calm, and nothing chafes at your heart. Tomorrow could bring new troubles, but for now, theres this moment, when everyones alright. Let it last. The rest… can wait.
“Gran!” Olivia raced up the steps and flung her arms round them all. “And George is getting the cake out of the fridge!”
“Good on him!” Margaret ruffled her granddaughters hairjust as fair as her own. “Tell him to count how many we are and cut the cake so everyone gets a slice. Then well have tea!”
“Can I have two pieces?”
“You can have three, if George works it out right.”
“Ill do it myself, just to make sure!”
