“Go to the council office and ask,” Aunt Tess shrugged. “Actually I just realised I own a share of the house too.” She turned to Emily, “Lets go together! My husband will kick me out of our flat anyway!”
So they ended up with a tiny onebedroom flat on the edge of town, the window looking out onto an old forest. At least it was a roof over their heads.
“Tell your husband to drive me to the clinic!” Aunt Tess slammed her fist on the kitchen table.
“His work schedule is packed,” Emily whispered.
“Make him take a halfday off! Isnt that clear?” Tess snapped.
“Can I pay for a cab?” Emily offered.
“Got rich now, have you?” Tess sneered, “Or just got money to waste?”
“You know Aunt Tess never runs short of cash,” Emily muttered, trying not to laugh.
“Just tell me how much and Ill pay, even for the cab,” Emily pleaded.
“The cab driver will get me to the doctors office? Will my coat make it into the cloakroom? Will he wait for me?” Tess huffed.
“You only asked him to give me a lift,” Emily stammered.
“And your husband, is he completely clueless about a womans needs?” Tess went on. “He should know a lady needs help.”
“James is a decent bloke,” Emily defended. “Ill talk to him, but his job he cant just drop everything.”
“Im not going dancing tonight! I told him plainly I need to see a doctor, a plastic surgeon! How am I supposed to get there alone?” Tess ranted.
“Isnt it just a cosmetic clinic, not a medical emergency?” Emily tried to reason.
“Exactly! But for me its a matter of living a normal life!” Tess snapped. “If I dont get a nose job, my life will stay a nightmare, worse than any illness. I hate looking at myself in the mirror.”
Emilys shoulders drooped.
“And what if the surgeon says Im not a candidate? I cant go in without someone beside me! I need support, its exhausting to go to places like that alone!”
“Let me go with you, and Ill pay for both ways,” Emily offered.
“Fine, then bring James along. Let everyone think Ive got a young lover waiting for me!” Tess said with a smirk.
“He’s my husband,” Emily protested.
“Does it matter? I just want everyone to think Im trying to look better for my young man!” Tess retorted. “Is that such a sin?”
Emily shrugged, halfamused.
“And tell him to hand me a pen, look at me with those dear eyes,” Tess added.
“He probably wont agree,” Emily guessed.
“Enough! I dont care about his opinion or yours! Im telling you how it should be, so stop arguing!”
“I’m not arguing,” Emily said softly.
“Remember whos kept you alive. If it werent for me youd have nothing!” Tess threatened, pointing a finger. “I need three hours to get to the clinic, so convince James.”
“How am I supposed to persuade him?” Emily asked, tears welling.
“Its not my problem! I rescued you from a terrible fate, raised you it wasnt easy!” Tess reminded. “Now stop making me doubt that I made the right choice!”
Emily knew that voice. Shed heard it for years while Tess raised her.
Shed never seen Aunt Tess smile, laugh, or look genuinely happy. The womans permanent scowl was the only expression she ever knew. It was normal to her, as if you grew up with it, you just accept it.
Aunt Tess wasnt kind, but the fact shed raised Emily alone meant something wasnt completely lost. Shed often say, “Remember my kindness, nobody else would have taken you in. I couldve sent you to a childrens home, but I didnt.”
Emily tried to be grateful; she had no real choice.
Tess and her sister Sarah had lost their parents when Tess was already out on her own and Sarah was about to move into a student hall. Their parents led a chaotic life but werent stripped of parental rights.
Tess married at eighteen; Sarah was still a child. Then a fire broke out at the family house, killing the parents and five other relatives. The only thing left was a burntout house and the two sisters, now orphans.
“Were getting a divorce,” Tess said. “I cant stay here.”
“Where will I go?” Sarah asked, having survived by hiding in a shed.
“Go to the council office,” Tess said, shrugging. “Actually I own a share of the property too.”
“Lets go together,” Tess added. “My husband will kick me out anyway.”
They managed to get a onebedroom flat on the outskirts, looking out over an ancient woodland. At least it was a roof.
Tess worked, Sarah studied. Things could have been okay, but then Sarah wanted to marry Oliver.
“Youve lost it! Oliver has nothing, no money for rent! Youre thinking of bringing him here?” Tess shouted.
“Well take a loan, earn a bit more,” Sarah promised.
Six months later, Tess was furious. “What child? Where?”
“Theyll have kids,” Sarah tried to justify.
“Well make it work,” Oliver claimed.
“God, one of them is brainless, the other found the same,” Tess muttered, “How will we all fit in this tiny flat?”
When Emily was born, the chaos became unbearable.
“Enough, relatives!” Tess cried. “Im losing my mind with her screaming! I still need to work!”
“What now?” Oliver asked.
“Whos the man here? Did you even have a child? Get a job and support us!” Tess snapped.
Oliver stammered, “Id love to, but they dont pay much”
“Stop lounging on the sofa!” Tess yelled. “In London theres always work for willing hands!”
Oliver left and sent money for a year and a half, then a letter arrived.
“Youve chosen a splendid husband!” Tess gloatingly said. “Hell be on the states payroll for ten years. What do we do?”
Sarah replied, “Ill wait.”
“Tess, youve already done enough. Ten years is a long time,” she warned.
Divorce was almost a formality. Sarah and the kids scraped by for another six months, money scarce.
“Tess, what will we feed the child with?” Sarah pleaded. “We could starve ourselves.”
“Tess, I dont know,” Sarah answered. “If we both work we might manage, but we have no money for Emily. We could hand her over to the state until we get back on our feet.”
“No!” Sarah shouted. “Never!”
“What then?” Tess asked. “Everyone can shout No, you need to make the money appear!”
Sarah asked, “What can I do?”
“Tess told her to think, that the only thing she could do was stay with Emily while Sarah did shift work.”
“Where?”
“Anywhere! I heard a friends mate gets seasonal work at a fish plant in the north, its hard but pays well.”
“Thats far”
“Or send Emily to a childrens home”
Sarah chose the northern coast, hoping to earn enough for her sister and daughter.
When Emily turned nine, Aunt Tess told her, “Your mother vanished, now its just us. Im your aunt, not your mother, and well survive together. You have no one else.”
Emily never remembered her father; her mother was a vague memory. She was three when her mother left for work. Aunt Tess was always there. If Tess had wanted, she could have pretended Emily wasnt her niece, but she kept insisting, Im your aunt, not your mum! She drilled into Emily that she owed everything to Tess, that she never threw her out or sent her to a home.
So Emily learned to be grateful for not going hungry or walking barefoot. She grew up early, learning to serve her aunt, almost like a servant. She never dared to step out of the line Tess set.
Tess decided where Emily should study after school and where to work. Emily became a shop assistant. Yet a spark of rebellion lingered, driven by love.
One day Emily announced, Im moving in with my husband.
Enough, you little! Tess roared, shouting for a long time, but eventually gave in because Emily finally didnt obey her. She packed her things.
When Tess discovered that James, Emilys husband, was a programmer earning a decent salary, she softened a bit. She reminded Emily that she still owed her aunt, because without Tess she wouldnt be alive.
Tess kept calling Emily over to clean and cook, but Emilys rebellion had faded. She now agreed to everything, even persuading James to accompany Tess to the clinic on her terms.
A few minutes after James and Aunt Tess left, a knock sounded. Emily opened the door to two strangers: a bald man and an older woman, both looking about forty.
“Were your parents,” the woman said.
“Tess said you were gone,” Emily whispered.
“The woman cant even say that straight,” the man replied. “Were just waiting for you to leave.”
The woman reached out, then pulled back, her hands stiff. She started to cry, the man wiping her tears with a handkerchief.
“Girl, sorry,” the man stammered. “We need to talk. Itll be a long one” He handed over a photo. It showed a baby carriage that Aunt Tess had sold years ago, with a younger version of the man and woman standing beside it.
“But Tess” Emily began, dazed.
“Well sort it out,” the man said, his voice threatening.
“Come in” Emily let them inside.
