Dad Brought Home a New Wife
So, how are we going to sort this out, Rob? asked Daniel, who was the first to arrive at our parents house. Yesterday Dad came out with, Im worn out. Worn out, my foot! Mum cleaned up after him for thirty odd years, kept him fed and dressedshe nearly spoon-fed him, for heavens sake. And as soon as she took a turn, two months later hes suddenly worn out.
Daniel never shied from saying what he thought. Hed been at odds with Dad since we were kidsno surprise he was the one who got the belt most often.
I was sat on a wooden stool in Mums big old kitchen, looking round. Everything was exactly as it had been before Mum got ill. Wed spent so many evenings here, talked for hours, celebrated every birthday, every Christmas
Rob? Rob? Admit it, Dads taking liberties. He says hes tired!
I snapped back to reality. Yeah, I know, I mumbled. What else does he want? We go round, we help out. Weve got a rota going. But I suppose he thinks our being there isnt enough. He reckons he wants a professional. Finelets get one in.
Wed made sure Dad wasnt lumbered with all the care for Mum. We all chipped in. The week was planned so tightly Dad was rarely left alone in charge.
He wants a carer.
And how much do you reckon this professional will set us back? Daniel turned and caught my eye. This isnt a cuppa at the café. Probably cost more than petrol these days.
Thats what I thought, I agreed. We should split it evenly. Maybe Ill chip in a bit more, since
I had the best job.
Aha, a bit more Daniel shot back. No, well pay equally. Were both working, both earning. Lets be fair about it. I dont want to feel like I owe anyone. If I cant manage, you lend me the difference, being the big brother and all that. He grinned at me. But Ill pay you back. You would lend me, wouldnt you?
Of course, Id shoulder the bulk if neededsame as I do at work.
Id lend you, dont worry. So what now? Are we decided? Well wait for Ellie
Where is she, anyway? Daniel asked.
With Mum. Telling her the latest gossip.
Mum couldnt respond anymore, but Ellie always made sure to tell her everything that was happening.
CRASH.
Something fell out in the hall.
Thatll be Ellie in a rush, Daniel said.
Ellie was always knocking things over. She tore into the kitchen, hair as curly and wild as ever, looking like a dandelion clock. Despite everything, Ellies optimism never faded. She managed to believe Mum would get back to her old self, one day.
What are you two whispering about? she demanded. Its about getting a carer in for Mum, right? I overheard Dad mentioning it. He hasnt called metypicalbut I know whats going on. So, how much are we each putting in?
Daniel and I eyed her.
What do you mean? I asked.
Oh, Ellie the flower! Daniel drawled. Whats it to you, miss just-finished-uni? Youre not in on the money talk. We wont take any cash from you.
Ellie frowned. Why not? Im not a child. I want to help. Were a family, arent we? We should all pay our bit.
You help enough, I told her. Go buy yourself a bar of chocolate, Miss Financially Independent. Weve got grown-up decisions to make.
Ellie just shrugged, used to our teasing, and left with a wave, leaving Daniel and me to our serious grown-up business.
All right, Daniel slapped the table. So its just the two of us. We split it. But properly. How much each? And lets pick someone.
Agreed, I said. Lets make sure we find someone decent. Not just any old crook.
We spent an hour going through adverts, ringing agencies, till we found herSonia. Thirty-five, pleasant looking, good referencesthe lot. Most importantly, she had experience.
Sonia fit in right away. Kind, cheerful, a good listener. She knew when to chat and when to just be present. She had a knack for putting Mum at ease, making her comfortable.
Ellie, who we absolutely refused to take money fromyoure our flower girldid her bit by coming over all the time to see Mum. It was her way of contributing. She missed the old Mum more than either of us, really. We were older, both about to settle down, but Ellie still had a childs hope. So she came to sit, to talk, just to spend time.
***
Over a year passed. That year took our Mum from us.
Its strange how one person could hold a family together. With Mum gone, it was as though the family fell apart too. We still saw each other, just less often, and Dad never invited us over or seemed eager to talk.
But last week, out of the blue, he called. Keep Saturday free, hed said.
So here we were. Ellie, Daniel, and me. A few days before had been Mums remembranceforty days since. Wed marked it without Dad, whod outright refused to come. Ellie persuaded us to be gentle with him, guessing his grief was so heavy he couldnt even bear to talk about Mum.
Dads voice was husky. Im glad youre all here today. Theres something I need to tell youall of you.
Daniel and I exchanged glancesthis couldnt be good.
Dad, you only needed to askwed come anytime! chirped Ellie, ever the gentle one.
Thank you, thank you, he mumbled. But theres a reason for this. I want you to meet my fiancée.
For a moment, it seemed more believable that hed lost his mind than that he was remarrying. A fiancée? Now? Only forty days?
Whose fiancée? Daniel whispered.
Are you serious, Dad? I stared, unable to process how anyone could joke about this.
Worse, there was no joke.
Dad beckoned.
Sonia! Come on in!
In walked Soniayes, the very same Sonia wed hired as Mums carer. Gone was her quiet, homely air. She looked like she owned the place.
Sonia? Ellie repeated, stunned. This cant be
Yes, Sonia, Dad beamed. Weve decided to move in together. I know its come as a shock, but Sonias moving her things here.
He might as well have spat in our faces. The effect wouldve been the same. As the eldest, always the one to step in, I rounded on Dad straight away.
Are you joking? I stepped over Daniels legs, whod frozen, half-sitting, half-lying. When did this start? How many months ago? When Mum was still alive and bedridden, you were alreadywhat, carrying on with her carer? Right under her nose? And only now do you tell us? Have you lost your mind?
Daniel quickly grabbed me by the arm.
Rob, leave it, Ellie stepped between us. If Dad wasnt careful, hed be out the front door on his ears. I usually keep my emotions in check, but I was close to boiling over.
Leave it? Let me go! I want to make our so-called father understand exactly how wrong this is!
YupI wouldve given him a piece of my mind, twice.
Rob, calm down, Daniel tried to hold me back.
Robbie, dont hit him, pleaded Ellie, dont! Maybe Dad didnt mean Dad, youre not actually going to live with her, are you?
But Dads eyes were only for Sonia. Never in his youth did women like her look his way, and after fifty hed pretty much given up hope, but nownow his dream of marrying for love had finally come true.
You lot dont get it, he muttered. Maybe Ive waited my whole life for this
I shoved Daniel aside, skirted round Ellie, and grabbed Dad by the neck of his jumper.
Youre waitingfor what? For Mum to die?
For love! To find someone I actually love!
Love? And you never had that with Mum? I demanded, practically lifting Dad from the floor.
No! She was expecting a childyou. Thats the only reason I married her, end of. Let me be happy at last, wont you?
I let him go.
Daniel butted in, voice cold.
What dont we get, Dad? Need another woman, is that it? Did you think of Mum at all, back when this started?
What, am I meant to spend the rest of my days a widower?
No! Daniel barked, and I leaned against the wall, head bowed, feeling sick. But Dad, its not even been two months. She was right here. Right here! I can barely say it out loud.
Of course, none of this could stop Dad. While we argued, Sonia stood to the side, smiling sweetly at him. He had his lovenothing else seemed to matter.
Eventually, Daniel and I couldnt stand it any longer.
Were leaving, I spat, giving Dad a look full of contempt.
Ellie, come on, Daniel said, taking her by the hand.
Outside, Ellies voice was soft. Guysmaybe dont be so harsh? Maybe this really is his love. I know Mum died just now, but maybe for Dad, Sonia is the only thing keeping him going.
Her words left us unmoved.
Love? Daniel laughed bitterly. Call it what it is, Ellie. Youre not a child. He hasnt suddenly discovered romance at his age.
But hes still our dad.
A dad who carried on with someone else while Mum was alive. Whos betrayed her memory. Not much of a dad. Couldnt he have hidden Sonia away for at least six months?
Elliethe sweet one, as people always saidcouldnt bear to abandon Dad, despite loving Mum dearly. At our insistence, she avoided him for a while, but it hurt her deeply.
As for Dadhe didnt seem troubled at all.
We eventually started answering his calls again, but only for requestswhich felt more like commands. This needed fixing, that needed sorting. We didnt speak, but we did the work.
One day, Daniel and I went round to help him put up a new wardrobe. Halfway through, Dad muttered, Pity I didnt meet Sonia sooner. You could have had a better mother.
Daniel had a bag of screws in his hands. He chucked it at Dads glass coffee table with such force it shattered, scattering screws everywhere.
Thats it! I slammed down my screwdriver. Enough, Dad. Get a grip! That was our Mum youre talking about!
Dont take that tone with me, Dad blustered. Or Ill cut you out of my will in a heartbeat!
He was the last one who should bring up the will.
You sure about that? I sneered. The flat was Mumsisnt it split between the four of us? You should worry more about us turfing you out than the other way round. Good of you to remind us, though.
Dad shut up immediately. We left the tools by the half-made wardrobe and left.
We never went back. But Daniel and I had a new thoughthow to sell our shares. If Dad could treat us like strangers, we could treat him the same way.
Ellie, as always, steered clear of conflict but stuck to her own principles.
Listen, guys, she said. We can cut off contact from Dad. But what, leave him to rot in a bedsit?
Ellie, ever hopeful, believed people could make up. She went to see Dad to persuade him to apologise to us. She didnt have much hope, but she had to try.
When she got there, chaos had taken over.
Sonia, wearing Mums old earrings, was stuffing Mums belongings into bin bagsphotos, dresses, little toys Mum had made for us. Everything was being tossed out.
Soniawhat are you? Ellie gasped.
Getting rid of old rubbish, Sonia sniffed. Colins been waiting for you. Why are you late?
Ellie was numb. If shed known Mums things would be thrown out, shed have taken them herself
What are you doing? Ellie grabbed Sonias wristthe bin bag hit the floor. Those are my Mums things!
Its all old tat! Whered we put it all?
Ellie clung on.
Yes, Ellie, its your mums stuff, but shes gone now, Dad said, coming in. No need to keep it all for the next thirty years
Ellie hauled away what she could.
I want nothing to do with you, she told Dad, and the look she gave made even him recoil.
Soon enough, Ellie, Daniel, and I sold our shares of the housetwo rooms out of three. Dad was now stuck in one, with new neighbours hed never met. Judging by their first impression, good times werent ahead.
We went easy on you, I told him. Left you one room. You brought this on yourself.But as Daniel and I walked away from Dads old flat for the last time, with Ellies head pressed to my shoulder and the sun setting behind the rows of houses wed known since we were kids, I looked back onceout of old habit. Sonias silhouette passed behind the net curtains, her new earrings flashing as she darted between rooms, and I realized two things: first, that some people could never learn the weight of what theyd lost; and second, that the three of us, despite everything, were still together, still a family.
Later, as we sat in Ellies flat, picking over the remnants wed rescued from Mums lifea box of battered recipe cards, a faded birthday banner, the porcelain cat Mum always said brought luckDaniel poured us each a whisky.
To Mum, he said, holding up his glass, and for once, his voice cracked.
We drank, the silence comfortable for the first time in months.
Ellie set the cat in the middle of the table. She used to tell me, she said, quietly, that families arent made by blood, but by kindness. That even when you lose someone, you can still hold on to each other.
Daniel put an arm around her, and I took her hand, and we sat there, the three of us, with Mums memory between usgentle, stubborn, unbreakable, as if she were still at the table with us.
Outside, the world felt newer, or perhaps just emptier. Dad had made his choicelove or loneliness, comfort or consequence. Wed made ours: to remember Mum, and to hold close whatever shed given us that couldnt be thrown away. Whatever shape our family took from here on, it would be one wed made for ourselves.
And in that small, crowded room, as laughter bubbled up between the sorrow, and Daniel clumsily tried to juggle Mums porcelain animals while Ellie shrieked with laughter, and I caught the last light glinting on the old cats chipped ear, I knew wed be all right. Not how we were before, maybe, but something new, and strong.
It wasnt the ending wed expected. But it was ours.
