Listen, Alice! You no longer have a mother or a father. You dont even have a home,” her mother replied.
Late that evening, the silence was broken by the telephone. Pauline picked it up from the table and heard her daughters voice.
“Mum, its Alice. Im in trouble My husband has thrown me out. Ill come to you and Dad first thing in the morning and stay with you.”
“Listen, Alice, you no longer have a mother or a father, nor do you have a home to return to.”
“What?” shrieked the daughter, as though she hadnt heard. “What do you meanno home? Im your daughter, your only one! I have every right to live in that flat!” Alice screamed hysterically.
“Thats just it, my dear,” Pauline answered calmly. “You no longer have any claim to the flat. Weve transferred it to little Lucyshes the owner now. As for you, your father and I want nothing more to do with you. You are no longer our daughter.”
The call dragged onarguments, accusations, demands.
“Dont call here again! Youve lost everything!” Pauline ended the conversation sharply. She believed, after all Alice had done, she had every right to say those words.
Standing by the window, Pauline couldnt help but recall how another story had begun with a phone call.
A call that would change everything shattered the quiet of an early morning. Pauline bolted upright in bed and hurried to the telephone.
“Yes, hello?”
A muffled sob came through the line.
“Hello, whos there?”
“Its Christine.”
“Christine, whats happened? Why are you calling at this hour? Do you know what time it is?”
“I know. Today theyre taking me to hospital for an operation. Im terrified for little Sophie. Please, dont leave her aloneshes just a child. Dont send her to an orphanage.”
Paulines sister had always been unpredictable, full of wild ideas and eccentric decisions. But this time, she had outdone herself. Or had something truly dreadful happened?
Pauline clutched the phone in damp hands, sensing something terrible, though she couldnt yet grasp it.
“Christine, why didnt you say anything sooner? Why now? Whats wrong with you? Which hospital are they taking you to?”
Christine had long been battling an illness shed neglected. The last month had been unbearableshed grown thin, her face changed. The doctors verdict was grim: immediate surgery. Shed hesitated, unsure how to tell her sister, who had always supported her, both financially and emotionally, practically acting as her mother. Now she was asking her to take in her child as well.
“Pauline, the doctors arent making any promises. They say we can only hope for a miracle. Im begging youlook after Sophie.”
Within the hour, Pauline and her husband arrived at the hospital where Christine had been admitted. The operation hadnt yet begun, but they werent allowed to see her. In the corridor, tucked into a corner, sat little Sophie. Pauline bent down and hugged the girl.
“Will Mummy be all right?” the child asked with a sniffle.
“Yes, darling. Shell fall asleep and feel nothing. When she wakes, youll see her healthy and smiling again.”
But four hours later, the surgeon emerged with tragic news: Christine hadnt survived.
Pauline took Sophie home. She led her into her daughters room to announce that Sophie no longer had a mother, and Alice no longer had an aunt. The girls would live together now. Alice glowered but said nothing.
A week passed, and Sophies belongings were piled outside the door. Alice refused outright to share her space.
“Mum, this is my room! Why should I give her my wardrobe and my bed?”
To avoid further rows, Pauline and her husband gave Sophie their own bedroom and moved into the parlour. Sophie grew even quietershe had never known her father, and Christine had never revealed his name. Now her life depended entirely on Pauline and her husband, who tried to divide their attention equally between their own daughter and their niece.
Years passed. Alice finished university and married a wealthy older man. It didnt trouble her. She packed her things swiftly and moved in with Edward. A month later, she announced the wedding.
“Mum, Ill ask just one thing: dont bring your niece to my wedding. I dont want to see her there.”
“Alice, thats unkind. Shes practically your sister nowthe only one left. If we dont invite her, itll offend us all.”
“I dont want her there!” Alice shouted. “Mum, Ive warned you!”
“In that case, your father and I wont attend either.”
“Fine. Dont!” Alice snapped.
Pauline fought back tears but, steeling herself, decided to take a holiday in Cornwall instead.
“What about Alices wedding?” her husband asked, surprised.
“Were not wanted. Sophie, help me find a hotelyoure better at these things.”
“So were going on holiday?” Sophie asked.
“Yes, dear. We can afford it.”
“Oh, thats wonderful!” the girl beamed.
More years slipped by. Sophie finished school, excelled at university, just as her mother had. On her eighteenth birthday, Paulines husband suddenly fell ill. He was rushed to hospital.
The doctors explained: only an expensive drug could save him. Desperate, Pauline called Alice, knowing her husbands wealth.
“Alice, darling, your father is dying. We need a rare medicinethe cost is dreadful. Can you lend us the money?”
A long pause.
“All right, Ill speak to Edward and call you back.”
Time passed. Finally, the phone rang.
“Mum, heres the thing: Edward has long promised me a car, and nows the time. Either he buys it, or we give the money to you.”
“Alice, forget the car! Your father needs this medicine, or hell die!”
“How will you ever repay it? Youd be scraping pennies for years. Id never get that car.”
“Do you hear yourself? This is your fathers life!”
“Take out a loan. I cant help.”
Pauline nearly fainted. Sophie rushed to her, holding her tight.
“Auntie, we can sell Mums flat. I cant live thereits too painful. The money could save Uncle.”
“Darling, we cant. Its your inheritance.”
“All that matters now is his life!” Sophie cried.
Touched, Pauline agreed. The flat sold quickly, and the money covered the medicine. The drug arrived in timeit worked. Her husband recovered.
In gratitude, the couple transferred the deed of their own flat to Sophie. They lived together, cherishing each day.
Then, one evening, the telephone rang again. It was Alice. Her husband had thrown her out, having found another woman. She begged to come home.
“We have only one daughter nowSophie,” Pauline said firmly.
Later, Sophie married Alex, a prosperous farmer with a spacious house. The young couple invited her parents to live with them, but Pauline and her husband visited only as guests. A cosy room was always ready for them. Alex and his father-in-law bonded over their shared love of fishing.
Alice was mentioned only on her birthday. Pauline often wondered: how had her own daughter grown so selfish, valuing possessions over her familys lives? Yet Sophie, left an orphan, had given everything she had to save them.
