“Find Someone for Her”
“I cant take it anymore. I swear, Ill end up an old maid because of her. Listen, Emma, take Mum to live with you, please. Let her fuss over your kids instead of smothering me.”
“Liv… You brought this on yourself. You made your bed, now lie in it,” Emma replied calmly, though with a hint of exhaustion. “No one asked you to throw tantrums back then.”
“Fine, I was wrong, I admit it! I was young and stupid. But does that mean she gets to ruin my life forever?”
“She doesnt have much of a life herself anymore, thanks to you. You wanted her to revolve around youwell, congratulations, mission accomplished.”
“Em-ma, come on, youre the clever one! Think of something! If you took her in, itd be a win for everyone. Shed help with the kids, and Id finally get out of this prison…” Liv sighed dreamily. “Or at least talk some sense into her. She listens to you.”
“Sort it out yourselves,” Emma narrowed her eyes. “All I can do is advise. You wrecked her personal lifenow help her rebuild it. Find her friends, hobbies, suitors. Find her someoneanyone. Buy her a puppy, for heavens sake. Just distract her.”
As usual, Liv wanted others to solve her problems. Emma couldve played alongshe and their mum had a much better relationshipbut she refused. Let the one who threw the boomerang catch it.
Their father left when Emma was eleven. Liv had just turned three. With no one else to help, Emma grew up fast. She picked Liv up from nursery, cooked dinner, cleaned, and did her homework late at night when everyone else was asleep.
Maybe thats why she turned out responsible and mature. Liv, on the other hand, lacked those qualities entirely.
Emma flew the nest relatively early, right after college. The reason was simple: she wanted freedom, tired of being a second mother at home. She also suspected it would be easier for their mum, Valerie.
Emma understood Valerie was still a young woman who deserved a life of her own. The fewer children hanging off her, the better.
Valerie seized the chance and grew close to Ian, a colleague. Liv, then twelve, acted like it was the end of the world. She refused to share their space with an outsider. Worse, she now had choressomething she detested.
“Liv, once you finish eating, wash the dishes, please,” Valerie would ask.
At first, Liv did it grudgingly. Then she dug in her heels.
“No.”
“Why not?” Valerie frowned. “We all pitch in. I cooked dinner, Ian brought the groceries…”
“Im not cleaning up after your Ian!” Liv snapped, even in front of him.
Ian, despite Livs hostility, tried to bond with her. He brought stuffed toys as if she were still a child, asked about her interests, checked if anyone bullied her at school. Patient and politebut it didnt help.
Maybe the problem was their fathers abandonment. Maybe Liv feared Valerie would focus on Ian and leave her alone. Or maybe she just resented an intruder. Either way, she fought to drive the “outsider” away.
Liv provoked Ian, accused Valerie of “trading her for some bloke,” threw fits, neglected school, even staged hunger strikesthough midnight fridge raids betrayed her resolve.
Valerie hoped Liv would outgrow it. She didnt. The breaking point came when Valerie announced her engagement.
“Liv, how would you feel if Ian officially joined our family?” she asked carefully.
All hell broke loose. Liv dug in, accusing Ian of manipulating Valerie and eyeing their flat. When arguments failed:
“If you marry him, Im leaving! You wont need me anyway.”
“Liv! Dont say that. Youll always be my daughterand Ians too.”
“Yeah, right. Not a daughtera glorified errand girl. No thanks. Id rather live with Emma than watch you two play happy families.”
Valerie was torn. She feared losing Livthen Ian, just like her first husband.
Stuck between a rock and a hard place, she vented to Emma, who dismissed Livs dramatics.
“Think Id open the door on those terms?” Emma scoffed. “Shed stand in the hallway five minutes, then slink back. Or betterId give her such a welcome, shed sprint home. Wants to live with me? Fine. But shell pull her weight. Im not her maid.”
Emma was sure Livs threats were empty. Valerie wasnt willing to test that.
“What if she actually leaves? If you turn her away… She might end up on the streets. Something could happen…”
Fear won. Valerie broke up with Ian. They met in cafés at first, then drifted apart.
As Liv wanted, Valerie focused entirely on herjust not how shed imagined. Already prone to smothering, Valerie became a dragon guarding her princess. She escorted Liv to and from school, banned solo outings, panicked if Liv was late.
“Its not safe out there. Someone could drag you into a car! Well go to the cinema together when Im free,” shed say.
Liv assumed Valerie was punishing her. The truth? Valerie had nothing else. Where else would her attention go? And if Liv vanished? Emma had her own family now.
Liv tried to escapeapplied to a university up north. Valerie staged a full-blown meltdown: tears, trembling hands, a blood pressure monitor.
“Youd leave me all alone? Youre all I have.”
“Mum, I need to learn independence.”
“Where would you live? A dorm? Whod protect you? How would we afford it? Were barely scraping by as it is…”
Valerie clung to Liv like a lifeline. Liv stayedwhether from fear or guilt, who knew?
It got worse. When suitors appeared, Valerie became a purity sentry. The calls continued, now with critiques: too bold, a player, suspiciously charming. Relationships crumbled before they began.
Meanwhile, Valerie and Emma got on brilliantlyno smothering, just perfect mother-in-law behaviour: baking pies, never intruding.
No wonder Liv cracked. But Emma wouldnt intervene. She didnt start this mess, and she refused to take the blame if it blew up. Liv could fix her own mistakes.
Oddly enough, she did.
One day, Emma checked Livs socialsher status had changed to “In a relationship.” Stunned, Emma called.
“So, congratulations?” she teased. “Or just a social media stunt?”
“Sort of… Its early days,” Liv said, uncharacteristically calm. “Just hope Mum doesnt wreck it.”
“Why would Mum?”
Then Liv spilled the story. Shed tracked down Ianstill singleand invited him to a café, claiming she wanted to apologise. Then she booked Valerie into the same café without telling either.
Valerie was livid at first.
“You set me up without warning? I wasnt even dressed properly!”
But something rekindled in her that night. For the first time in years, she felt like a woman, not just a mother.
She and Ian reconnectedno grand romance, just quiet companionship. No talk of marriage or moving in, but Valerie finally eased her grip on Liv.
Liv breathed easier. Emma, hearing the tale, mused: full circle. Liv destroyed their mothers love oncenow shed returned it, however imperfectly. No fairy tale, just lifewith its losses, fears, and small victories. Each got what they deserved… and a little hope besides.
