Emily and David divorced when their daughter Sophie turned two. David simply couldnt live with his wife anymore. She was always discontent, always cross. One day shed complain he wasnt earning enough, the next that he was never home and didnt lift a finger to help with the baby.
David tried his best to please her. But nothing worked. Plenty of their mates said Emily had postnatal depression. Maybe she ought to see a doctor, take some pills.
But David had his doubts. Shed never been an angel even before the baby came along, and now it was as if shed lost the plot entirely.
He couldnt recall the last time hed seen Emily smile. Even with Sophie, her face was always pinched with irritation, making him want to whisk the little girl away to somewhere safe.
Still, he suggested therapy once. The backlash was instant.
So now Im mad, am I? You think Im some hysterical mess? With you moping about, no wonder Ive lost it!
After that, David had enough. He said hed file for divorce. In a fit of spite, Emily took Sophie and moved to another town. No child support requests, no forwarding address.
David searched for a while, then gave up. He loved Sophie and wouldve happily stayed her dad. But the thought of facing his ex-wife again, the endless rows, made him accept the situation.
Emily, meanwhile, simmered with rage. It never faded. She blamed David for everything, convinced hed left her for someone else. That it had nothing to do with her.
That bitterness soon spilled onto Sophie.
She never hit the girl, never outright abused her, but Sophie grew up steeped in a misery most people couldnt fathom.
There were no celebrations in their house. Sophie only learned birthdays existed when she started nursery.
Mum, guess what? Tommy had a birthday today! Everyone sang for him, and he got presents! Will I get that too?
No. Silly waste of money. Im the one who did all the work bringing you into this worldif anyone deserves a party, its me. Dont ask again.
They didnt do Christmas, either. Thankfully, Father Christmas visited the nursery, so that was Sophies one bit of cheer. On the day itself, she and her mother ate plain toast and went to bed early.
Emily couldnt stand laughter. Probably because shed forgotten how to do it herself. When Sophie giggled at cartoons, shed snap,
Stop cackling like a goose! Nothings that funny.
So Sophie learned smiles were wrong. Laughter was wrong. Better to be stern and glum, like Mum.
Whether Emily had mental health issues, no one knew. She refused to see a therapist, calling it a scam. Life wasnt about fun, she said. Only fools went around grinning all day.
Sophie tasted her first sweet at nursery, when another child shared birthday treats. It was heavenly.
That night, she dreamed of growing up and buying a whole bag of chocolates. The thought made her heart glowand, for once, she let herself smile.
Who knows how Sophie mightve turned out if shed stayed with her mother? Every year, Emily grew more bitter. Even the neighbours avoided her, old ladies muttering prayers as she passed. They swore she had the devil in herno one could be that cruel without help.
In the end, all that anger took its toll. Emily was diagnosed with cancer. Distrusting doctors, she only went to hospital when it was too late.
A neighbour took Sophie in when the ambulance came. Before leaving, Emily gave the woman Davids name and where he lived. Somewhere, she mustve cared.
Emily never came home. Sophie wasnt told right away, but she knew something was wrong. The girl was too scared to ask.
Social services tracked David down. By then, hed been remarried six months. When they called, he told his wife, Claire, he wouldnt abandon his daughter. Hed been looking for her all this time.
Claire, kind-hearted, urged him to bring Sophie home.
Sophie, of course, didnt remember her father. She braced for life to get worse.
David arrived with a giant plush rabbit and a box of chocolates. Sophies eyes darted to the sweets first.
Anyone who brought chocolates couldnt be all bad, she thought. Father Christmas gave sweetsand he was lovely.
While she hugged the rabbit, the neighbour filled David in.
God rest her soul, but your ex was a piece of work. Never a kind word, never a smile. Poor Sophie was like a scared little mouse around her.
Davids chest ached. He shouldve fought harder, searched longer. But fear of facing Emily had stopped himand his daughter paid the price.
Once the paperwork and funeral were done, Sophie went home with her dad.
Your birthdays coming up, he said gently. What would you like?
Sophie blinked, confused.
I dont know. Mum never did birthdays. She said they were stupid.
David froze. What?
She said I didnt deserve them.
Thatsthats not true. Birthdays are special, he managed, voice thick.
Can I just have a box of chocolates, then? Sophie asked. I really like them.
David could only nod.
Later, after Claire tucked Sophie in, he poured a whiskey and downed it.
No birthdays, he choked out when Claire joined him. She asked for sweets. Just sweets.
Claire hugged him. Well throw her the best birthday party. For all the ones she missed.
The party was a week away. In that time, Sophie adjusted to her new life.
The strangest thing? Dad and Claire smiled so much. Laughed, even! Sophie had thought grown-ups forgot how.
Breakfast wasnt just bland porridge, either. Claire made pancakes, fruit with yogurtso many things Sophie had never tried.
But the biggest shock? The tin of chocolates on the counter. Dad said she could take one whenever she likedjust not too many.
On her birthday, Sophie woke to balloons and streamers. For breakfastcake! With candles to blow out!
Then, the fairground. Seven presentsone for each missed year.
Children adapt fast, especially to kindness. Within a month, Sophie laughed freely, hugged without hesitation. Mum had hated cuddles.
School came, life settled. Some memories blurredhad that really happened, or had she dreamed it? But one thing was clear: shed landed on her feet.
A year later, she called Claire Mum for the first time. Because, hard as it was to admit, shed been more of a mother than Emily ever was.
