All my adult life, I lived with my grandmother. Shed been raising me since I was four, after my mother lost custody, and my father couldnt be bothered to care about me. He dropped me off at my nans cottage in a small Yorkshire village, persuading her to take me in. He hardly ever visited.
When I was in Year Five, he turned up one day with some stranger in tow. Nan told me to go out for a walk so I wouldnt overhear their conversation. When I returned, they were both gone, and Nan was weeping quietly by the window. I asked what had happened and she managed, through her tears, to tell me Id never see my father again.
It hardly mattered to me Nan was both father and mother to me, the only steady hand Id known. At secondary school, I discovered a real talent and passion for sewing. The best tailor in the village encouraged me to go to university in London and study dressmaking professionally. I took his advice and applied to a college in the cityinterestingly, it was the same city where my father lived. Through all those years, I never saw him, nor did I care to look for him.
It was in London that I met my great loveFrank. Nan took to him immediately and gave us her blessing. After we got married, I visited Nan as often as I could, and during my last visit, I was finally able to make her happy with the news that shed soon be a great-grandmother. Sadly, she didnt live long enough to meet her great-grandson.
After Nan passed, the solicitors read out her will and, just as I expected, she left me everything she owned. Six months after the funeral, my father suddenly resurfaced. I barely recognised him. He didnt bother to explain his absence or ask about my lifehe simply demanded his share of Nans inheritance. That was when I found my nerve. I told him straight that he had no right to it, not after failing to even attend her funeral. He didnt argue, but instead decided to take it to court. Of course, the judge ruled in my favour, and he left empty-handed.
With Nans legacy, Frank and I opened our own tailors shop. My aim was to honour her memory with my work, and soon our label became known throughout the city for its quality and style. I am endlessly grateful to my Nan for everything she gave meher care, her love; her faith in me has shaped my life, even after shes gone.
