You wont get a single penny from me! Youve dug yourselves into a holepay it off yourselves! Emily shouted, slamming the door of her parents flat.
The commuter train was rolling into the familiar platform, and Emily pressed her forehead to the cold window. She hadnt set foot in this town for five years. Five years of climbing the corporate ladder in London, pulling twelvehour shifts, skimping on everythingeven the instant coffee from the office kettle. Every penny went into her dream fund: a proper flat of her own. She was so closejust six more months and the deposit would be there.
Then the call came in the middle of a hectic day: her mother sobbing, babbling about debt collectors, threats, and a mounting bill she could not settle. Emily took an unscheduled day off and hopped on the first commuter to Sheffield.
The house she grew up in greeted her with the smell of cabbage soup and worried faces. Her mother, who seemed to have aged a decade, flitted about the kitchen, constantly wiping her hands on the apron. Her father sat at the table staring at a blank wall. On the sofa, as serene as ever, lay her younger sister Daisy, thumbing through a bridal magazine.
Emily, love, her mother rushed over, thank heavens youre here. Were completely knotted up in these debts
What debts? Emily sat opposite her father. Tell me whats happened.
Her father let out a heavy sigh and hauled a thick folder of papers from a drawer.
It started three years ago. Daisy got a job at a hairdresser. The pay was tiny, but she said it was only until she found a suitable husband.
Dad, not the husband thing again! Daisy protested without looking up. I just want to live nicely, not like youscrimping on everything your whole lives.
Go on, Emily prompted her father.
Daisy got a credit card. Then another. She said the minimum payments were peanutsjust a few pounds a month. At first we didnt worry. Then she started asking us to chip in. A tenner here, a twenty there. We thoughtshes young, shell need help.
And you started taking out loans?
First a consumer loan, her mother interrupted. A small one, to clear Daisys cards. And then She waved helplessly.
Daisy finally set the magazine aside and sat up.
Listen, Emily, dont make a mountain out of a molehill. Its not that much. Youve got savingsyou always brag about how thrifty you are.
How much? Emily asked quietly.
Her father slid a list across the table. Emily skimmed the figures, and the colour drained from her face. The total debt was even bigger than the amount she had saved for her flat.
Have you lost your minds? she blurted.
It all piled up gradually, her father defended. We covered one loan with another, the interest just kept climbing
And what was Daisy doing all this timewasnt she working?
I was working, Daisy interjected. But you know how salaries are here. At the salon I earned thirty pounds a week. Try surviving on that! Then I got a job in a charity shopforty a week, but the shift pattern was horrendous, I quit after a month. Then a café
How many jobs have you hopped through in three years?
I cant countmaybe ten. I cant stay where Im miserable!
Emily felt a hot knot form in her stomach.
And what did you survive on? Dads pension and Mums parttime wages?
Daisy kept saying shed be married soon, her mother said timidly. She has plenty of admirers
Admirers! Emily exploded. In three years not a single decent bloke! Yet a mountain of debt!
Why are you being so harsh? Daisy pouted. Are you jealous that I have a social life and you only have work?
Emily inhaled deeply, trying to steady herself.
Fine. Tell me exactly whats happening now. What threats, what deadlines?
For the next hour she pored over the documents, called the banks, and chased down details. The picture was bleak. Her parents had truly driven themselves into a debt pit they could no longer climb out of alone. Collectors called daily, threatening to seize assets.
What exactly did you buy with this money? Emily asked after the last call.
Daisy needed a car, her father began. Not newusedbut on credit
Why does she need a car?!
She wanted to be like everyone else, her mother defended. Everyone has one, and she was walking everywhere!
The car needed repairs. We bought it with mileage, her father continued. A new phone, furniture for her room
With that kind of money?!
Emily, look how lovely it turned out! Daisy exclaimed, tugging her sister toward her bedroom.
Emily stared, dazed, at Daisys bedroom. A massive canopy bed, a vanity that looked straight out of a Hollywood set, a floortoceiling wardrobe, a flatscreen TV, a portable airconditionereverything in soft rosegold tones.
Its like a palace! Daisy beamed. And I needed decent clothes, too. I had nothing to wear for a proper date. Mum also bought herself a fur coat
A fur coat? Emily asked.
A real mink one, her mother whispered. Daisy said it was shameful to go around in an old coat
And we bought Dad a suit, me some jewellery, new crockery, a fridge, and a washing machine
Emily sank into a kitchen chair. Everything around her had been bought on credit: expensive appliances, furnitureeven the curtains looked pricey.
So youve been living on borrowed money, she said.
We thought Daisy would get married, her father said quietly. She had several serious suitors
Yes, she did! Daisy confirmed. There was Andrew, a director. Turns out hes married. And Simonhe runs a business, but he moved to Manchester. And Michael
What about Michael?
He was decent, but he lived in a onebedroom flat. I cant live in a onebedroom flat! And then it turned out his place was also mortgaged.
Emily closed her eyes. She herself was renting a onebedroom flat and dreamed of owning a placeeven if it meant a mortgage.
Daisy, youre twentyfive. Its time you earned your own keep.
Why? Daisy asked, genuinely surprised. Im going to get married. Normal men provide for their wives.
And if you dont?
I will. Im pretty and young. And look at youalways working, a grey mouse. Thats why youre alone.
Emily felt her fists clench.
So what do you plan to do about the debts?
We were thinking her mother stammered, maybe you could help? You have the money, youve been saving for years
Emily, Daisy cut in, what does it cost you? You live alone anyway, no kids. Why do you need a flat? I, on the other hand, need to start a family.
So you want me to hand over all my savings?
Not hand over help the family, her father corrected. Were not strangers.
Emily stood and paced the kitchen. The numbers swirled. Her savings were almost the whole amount of the debt. Shed be left with barely a few thousand. Everything shed earned over five years would vanish into Daisys whims.
What about my flat?
Youll save again, Daisy said breezily. Youre good with money. And I dont have time, I need to get married.
No time? No time for what?
I cant work until Im forty! I need to marry while Im still young and pretty. After thirty itll be too late.
So Im supposed to work till Im old to pay for your entertainments?
What entertainments? Daisy snapped. These are necessities! How can I be without a car? Without nice clothes? You understand yourself
I understand that youre used to living at someone elses expense!
Kids, dont fight, their mother intervened weakly. Were a family. Emily, love, we know were asking a lot, but we have no way out. The collectors are threatening
And what, did you think loans dont have to be repaid?
We thought somehow her father said, flustered. Daisy promised shed get married
Emily sat back down and pulled out her phone.
All right. Let me call the banks and see what can be done.
She spent the next two hours negotiating. It turned out they could restructure the debt, spreading payments over a longer term, but the monthly instalment would still be about £500. With a combined family income of £800, that meant nearstarvation.
Theres another option, she said after the final call. We need to sell everything bought on creditthe car, the furniture, the appliances. That will cover about half the debt. The rest we can stretch over five years in small payments.
What do you mean, sell? Daisy was horrified. My car? My furniture? Well lose so much!
And what do you propose?
You should give us the money! Daisy snapped. Were family! Or are you too stingy for your own?
I dont owe anyone anything, Emily replied coolly.
You do! her father blurted. We raised you, fed you, clothed you, sent you to university! And now, when we need help, you turn your back!
Emily looked at her parentspeople who had let their younger daughter live off them, who had plunged into debt for her whims, and now demanded that their eldest foot the bill.
Im your daughterthat was your duty. I got an education and a job, I support myself. And she Emily gestured at Daisy, what has she been doing all these years?
She was hunting for a husband! her mother exclaimed. Thats not easy either!
Does husbandhunting cost this much money?
Emily, enough! Daisy exploded. Do you think youre the only clever one? I have a right to be happy too! If I need money for a beautiful life, why shouldnt the family help?
Because it isnt your money!
Whose, then? Yours? You earned it by working like a horse and forgetting your personal life. And what good did that do? Youre alone and miserable, but rich. Ill be happy in marriage, and the money will come.
Come from where?
My husband will earn it! Normal men provide for the family!
And while theres no husbandIm supposed to provide for you?
Who else? her father interjected. Weve got no one but you! Cant you seewere desperate! Theyre threatening us!
Emily felt a boil rise inside her. This was no request; it was a demandher money, her dream, her future.
You know what, she said, standing, Ill think about it.
Theres nothing to think about! Daisy snapped. Either you help the family, or youre not our sister!
Or our daughter, her father added.
Emily slipped into her old bedroom, unchanged since shed leftsimple desk, narrow bed, shelves stacked with textbooks. Modest and plain.
She lay down and closed her eyes. Five years of austerity. Five years of denying herself every small joy. Five years of dreaming about a place of her own. All for Daisys outfits and amusements?
Maybe she should help? After all, they were family. And if the collectors took it to court, her parents could end up on the streets.
But then her flat would be postponed another five years, perhaps moreif they kept racking up new debts the moment they saw their eldest was willing to pay.
Emily got up, went to the window, and watched children playing in the courtyard. Somewhere in London, her future flat waited: a modest onebedroom on the outskirts, but hers. She was ready to work another five years for it.
She returned to the kitchen. The family sat, waiting for her decision.
Well? Daisy asked impatiently.
I will not pay your debts, Emily said firmly.
What do you mean you wont? her mother gasped.
Exactly that. Youre adults. You got yourselves into thisget yourselves out.
But how will we manage without you? her father clutched his chest.
Sell everything you bought on credit. Let Daisy find a proper jobnot peanuts at a salon, but something decent. She could be a courier with the car, or sell the car and take an office role.
Im not becoming a courier! Daisy protested. And Im not selling the car!
Then youll stay in debt.
Emily, were perishing here! Dont you feel sorry for your parents?
I do, but not enough to surrender my whole life for Daisys whims.
So youre an egoist! Daisy shouted. You dont care about family!
Youre the egoist, Emily replied calmly. You lived off others for five years, racked up debts, dragged our parents into them, and now expect me to pay for everything.
Who else then? You have money!
I have money I earned for my own goals.
What goals? A flat? Daisy sneered. Youre thirty, living alone like a spinster! What do you need a flat forto sit in it by yourself?
Daisy! their mother scolded.
What, Daisy? Let her hear the truth! She thinks buying a flat will make happiness fall from the sky? Who would want a grey mouse like her?
Emily felt a cold, icy contempt risenot anger, but something sharper.
And youre the beauty and the brains, I suppose? she asked quietly. In five years you havent found a decent man, havent stuck to a job, dragged our parents into debtand thats success?
Ill find someone, Daisy snapped.
You will. Just not someone wholl pay your debts. Any decent bloke would run from a wife like that in a month.
Hed run from you! Im the pretty one!
Beauty without brains or conscience is cheap merchandise.
Daisy leapt to her feet.
How dare you! Mum, do you hear what shes saying?
Children, calm down, their mother said weakly. Emily, maybe not all the money, but at least some?
Not a penny, Emily cut off.
Then were finished, her father whispered.
Nothing of the sort. Youll sell your things, restructure the remaining debt, Daisy will get a joband in a few years youll pay it off.
And if we dont?
Thats your problem.
But you could help! her mother persisted. Dont you really pity us?
Emily looked at the woman who had sent her off to London in tears five years ago, and now demanded she hand over all her savings.
Im sorry you let Daisy become an egotist and a freeloader. Im sorry you went into debt for her whims. But I will not pay for your mistakes.
Mistakes? Daisy flared. Whats wrong with wanting to live beautifully?
Whats wrong is living at someone elses expense, not working, and demanding others solve your problems.
I did work!
You worked for months and spent for years.
So what? Money isnt the most important thing in life!
Then why are you demanding mine?
Daisy fell silent, thrown off balance.
Emily, her father said quietly, we thought you would help. Youre our daughter.
I am your daughter. But I am not obligated to pay for your foolishness.
And if we have nowhere to go?
Youll sell the flat and buy a smaller one. Daisy will get a job. Mum, Dad, youre not that oldyou can pick up extra work.
Sell the flat? her mother gasped. But this is our home!
And the debts are your debts.
So youre abandoning us! Daisy cried. Some daughter you are!
Emily stood, grabbed her bag.
Where are you going? her mother asked, frightened.
To the station. Im leaving early tomorrow morning.
Wait! her parents rushed toward her. Lets talk again!
Theres nothing to discuss. My decision is final.
Emily, at least half! her mother begged.
You wont get a single penny from me! Emily said sharply, turning to them. You got yourselves into debtyoull pay it back yourselves! I am not going to support you!
She slammed the door so hard the windows rattled.
On the stairwell, Emily stopped and leaned against the wall. Her hands trembled, her heart pounded. For the first time in her life she had spoken to her own family this harshly.
And for the first time she felt truly free.
The commuter train carried her back to Londonto her job, to her rented onebedroom flat, to her dream of a home of her own. Five years ago shed left this place a frightened girl, afraid of living on her own. Now she returned as a grown woman who knew how to defend her interests and her dreams.
In six months she would submit a mortgage application. Then she would move into her own flat. No onenot her parents, not her sister, not anyonecould take away her right to her own life.
As for what will happen to her familythats their choice now. Adults must answer for the decisions they make.
