Zhenya and His Wife Ulyana Could Never Find Peace Together… True, They Did Manage to Have a Child. That Was the Easy Part. Of Course, His Wife Was Never His Equal—He Came from an Educated, Refined Family with a University Degree, While She Was Just a Girl Who’d Finished Technical College. But Back Then, in Their Youth, Love—Or Perhaps Just Passion—Bridged All Their Differences. Perhaps That Was a Mistake. Now, Today, They Were Getting Divorced. Zhenya Was the Only One Who Regretted It—Mostly Because Their Son Would Stay with Ulyana, and Judging by Her Mood, She Wasn’t Likely to Let Him See Little Kieran Often. Sure Enough, She Immediately Moved Away to Her Mother’s in Another County and Didn’t Bother Leaving an Address. The Days that Followed Were Drab and Lonely for Zhenya, Who Was Used to Racing Home after Work to Where He Was Needed. Six Months Passed with No Word from His Ex-wife or Son—Until One Night, a Woman from Social Services Telephoned, Calmly Telling Him That Ulyana Had Died Suddenly and He Needed to Come Collect His Son. On Arrival, Zhenya Learned His Son Wasn’t in Foster Care. Ulyana’s Mother Had Died Years Ago, So She’d Left Their Boy with His Elderly Great-grandmother, Having Fallen into a Life of Hard Living, Which Led to Her Death from Alcohol Poisoning. Now It Was up to Zhenya to Raise Kieran—Something That Filled Him with Quiet Joy—but First He’d Have to Take His Son from His Great-grandmother. Though Happy to See His Father, the Boy Clung Desperately to His Frail Elderly Nan, Shouting, “Gran, Don’t Let Them Take Me!” The Scene Broke Zhenya’s Heart. The Old Woman Didn’t Say a Word but Seemed Unwilling to Let Her Great-grandson Go. Unsure, Zhenya Took Time to Think, Smoking Outside While His Thoughts Whirled. Returning, He Saw Little Kieran Asleep with His Head in His Great-grandmother’s Lap, She Gently Stroking His Hair and Humming Softly. He Decided to Wait Until Morning to Make a Decision, Remembering the Old Saying: Morning Is Wiser Than Evening. By Dawn, He Told Gran to Pack Her Things—She and the Boy Would Come Home with Him. Gran Would Stay for a Bit, He Figured, to Help the Boy Adjust—And Eventually, When Kieran Bonded with His Dad, She’d Quietly Slip Away. But Things Didn’t Go as Planned. Zhenya Himself Grew More Attached Than His Son, To Her Kindness, Her Morning Pancakes, Her Fascinating Life Stories, and Her Gentle Hands Tucking Them Both in at Night. He Simply Could Not Let Her Go—It Would Have Been a Crime Against Both His Son and Himself. And So Their Irreplaceable Gran Remained Part of Their Home Until Her Last Day…

You know, James and his wife, Emily, never really had a peaceful married life. But, as it happens, they did end up with a child together. Thats not exactly a tricky business, is it? The truth is, Emily and James just werent particularly well matched. He came from quite a well-educated family, had a degree and all that, while she was more of a practical type, finished with a vocational course straight out of college.

But back then, in their younger years, loveor maybe it was just pure passionseemed to smooth over all their differences. Looking back, maybe that was a mistake.

Anyway, today they were getting divorced. And really, the only one who felt any sort of regret was James, mainly because he knew their son would be living with Emily. Judging by the look on her face, she didnt exactly plan on letting him see little Charlie all that often.

True to form, she packed up and went off to her mothers place up north, leaving behind no address or even a way to contact her. Clearly, she didnt think it was worth informing him.

So, for a while, James went through those dull, grey days. Hed got used to racing home from work, knowing someone was waiting for him, and now there was nothing. Six months slipped past like that. He hadnt heard a word from his ex or about his boy. So, when Jamess phone buzzed with an unfamiliar number late one evening, he was surprised to find a woman on the other end.

It took him a minute to cotton on, but it turned out she was from the social services office. With a disinterested sort of tone, she explained that Emily had passed away unexpectedly, and hed need to come and collect his son.

When James turned up, he found that Charlie wasnt at the social office at all. The thing was, Emilys mum had passed away ages ago, so shed left Charlie with his great-grandmother, an elderly lady, and then gone off the rails completely. It ended with Emily drinking herself to death.

Now, it was down to James to raise Charlie. Honestly, that news gave him a strange, bittersweet happinessbut first, he needed to pick his boy up from his great-grandmother.

Charlie was happy to see his dad, but he clung tightly to the frail old woman, sobbing, Gran, please dont let them take me! The sight broke Jamess heart. As for the old lady, she didnt say anything, but it was obvious she didnt want to let her great-grandson go.

James realised he couldnt just rip Charlie away from her. He stepped outside for a smoke, trying to clear his head and figure out the right thing to do. His mind was messy; nothing seemed to make any sense.

When he finally went back inside, Charlie had worn himself out from crying and fallen asleep with his head in his great-grandmothers lap. She was softly stroking his hair and humming quietly to him. James decided to leave it be for the night and get some resttheres wisdom in sleeping on things, after all.

Come morning, he told the old lady to pack up both her things and Charlies. He figured she could come live with them for a bit. Maybe over time, Charlie would bond with him again, and his great-gran could slowly take a step back, eventually moving on.

But, of course, nothing went exactly to plan. Before he knew it, James was just as attached to that kind-hearted, gentle old woman as Charlie was. To her delicious pancakes in the morning, her funny tales about her youth, and those soft, loving hands that tucked both him and Charlie into bed.

Turns out, James simply couldnt let her go. Hed have felt he was short-changing both his son and himself if he tried. So, the irreplaceable great-grandmother stayed right there in their home, all the way up until her very last day.