“Listen, Alice! You no longer have a mother or a father. And you dont have a home either,” her mother replied.
Late that evening, the silence was broken by the phone ringing. Pauline picked it up and heard her daughter’s voice.
“Mum, it’s Alice. Ive got a problem My husbands thrown me out. Ill come to you and Dad first thing tomorrowIll live with you now.”
“Listen, Alice, you no longer have a mother, a father, or a home.”
“What?” her daughter shrieked, as if 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 how it is, love,” Pauline answered calmly. “You dont own that flat anymore. We transferred it to Lucyshes the owner now. And as for you, your father and I want nothing to do with you. Youre 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 what Alice had done, she had every right to say it.
Standing by the window, Pauline couldnt help but remember 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 grabbed the phone.
“Yes, hello?”
A choked sob echoed down the line.
“Hello? Whos there?”
“Its Christine.”
“Christine, whats wrong? Why are you calling at this hour? Do you know what time it is?”
“I know. Today, Im being admitted for surgery. Im terrified for Lily. Please, dont leave her aloneshes just a child. Dont send her to a home.”
Paulines sister had always been unpredictable, with wild ideas and impulsive decisions. But this time, shed outdone herselfor was something truly wrong?
Pauline clutched the phone, her hands damp, sensing something dreadful but unable to grasp it yet.
“Christine, why didnt you say anything sooner? Why now? Whats wrong? Which hospital are they taking you to?”
Christine had been quietly battling an illness shed long ignored. The last month had been unbearableshed lost weight, her face hollowed. The doctors verdict was grim: emergency surgery. Shed agonised over telling Pauline, whod already supported her financially and emotionally, acting as a mother to her. Now, she had to ask her to take in her child.
“Pauline, the doctors arent making promises. They say we can only hope for a miracle. Im begging youlook after Lily.”
Within the hour, Pauline and her husband arrived at the clinic where Christine had been admitted. The surgery hadnt yet begun, but visiting hours were over. In the corridor, curled in a corner, sat little Lily. Pauline knelt and embraced the girl.
“Will Mummy be alright?” the child whispered between sobs.
“Yes, darling. Shell fall asleep, feel nothing, and when she wakes, youll see her healthy and smiling.”
But four hours later, a doctor emerged with the worst news: Christine hadnt survived.
Pauline took Lily home. She led her into her daughters room to announce that Lily no longer had a motherand Alice no longer had an aunt. The girls would live together now. Alice shot a furious glare but said nothing.
A week later, Lilys belongings were dumped outside her door. Alice refused outright to share.
“Mum, this is my space! Why should I give her my wardrobe and my room?”
To avoid a scene, Pauline and her husband gave Lily their own bedroom and moved into the living room. Lily withdrew furthershed 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 daughter and niece.
Years passed. Alice graduated university and married a wealthy older man. She wasted no time packing her things and moving in with Daniel. A month later, she announced the wedding.
“Mum, just one thingI dont want your niece there. I dont want to see her.”
“Alice, thats cruel. Shes practically your sister now, the only one left. Not inviting her would insult us too.”
“I dont care! I warned you!” Alice snapped.
“Then your father and I wont be coming either.”
“Fine! Dont!”
Pauline fought back tears but steeled herself and booked a holiday to Cornwall.
“What about Alices wedding?” her husband asked, baffled.
“Were not welcome. Lily, help me pick a hotelyoure better at this.”
“Wait were really going?” Lily asked.
“Yes, love. We deserve it.”
“Oh, thats wonderful!”
Years rolled by. Lily finished school, excelled at universityjust like her mother. On her eighteenth birthday, Paulines husband collapsed. He was rushed to hospital.
The doctors explained: only an expensive drug could save him. Desperate, Pauline called Alice, knowing her husbands wealth.
“Alice, your fathers dying. We need this medicineits extortionate. Can you lend us the money?”
A long pause.
“Alright, Ill talk to Daniel and call back.”
Time crawled. Finally, the phone rang.
“Mum, heres the thingDaniels promised me a car for ages, and nows the time. Either he buys it, or we give the money to you.”
“Alice, forget the car! Your father needs thishell die without it!”
“And how will you pay us back? 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 collapsed. Lily rushed to her, holding her tight.
“Auntie, sell Mums flat. I cant live thereits too painful. The money will save Uncle.”
“Darling, we cant. Its your inheritance.”
“All that matters is his life!” Lily cried.
Touched, Pauline agreed. The flat sold quickly, and the funds covered the treatment. The drug arrived in timeit worked. He recovered.
Grateful, the couple transferred their flat to Lilys name. They lived together, cherishing each day.
Then, one evening, the phone rang again. It was Alice. Her husband had left her for another woman. She begged to come home.
“Our only daughter is Lily,” Pauline said firmly.
Later, Lily married Alex, a prosperous farmer with a spacious home. The couple always kept a guest room for Pauline and her husband, who visited often. Alex and his father-in-law bonded over fishing.
Alice was mentioned only on her birthday. Pauline often wondered: how had her own daughter grown so selfish, valuing possessions over people? Meanwhile, orphaned Lily had given everything she had to save her family.
**Sometimes, family isnt about bloodits about who stands by you when you need them most.**
