My daughter-in-law dropped my granddaughter off again for the weekend, my neighbour, Margaret, complains as we bump into each other on the landing. I simply cant get the child to eat properly! She tells me, Mummy says princesses dont eat much! Shes had two spoonfuls and thats it! Shes practically see-through with hunger!
Margaret took an instant dislike to her son Davids wifeEmilythe very first time she met her. The fact that Emily was a whole seven years older than David didnt sit well with her. Her son was barely more than a boyfresh out of school.
Hed never even known a woman before her! Margaret scoffs. No wonder he was mesmerised! She lured him in with her experience, plain and simple!
But Emily was striking. She kept herself fit, dressed with style, and had a blossoming career. I never saw any magic to their attraction; men are drawn by appearances, and Emily was certainly eye-catching.
She stuck to a healthy diet and encouraged her daughter to follow suit: eat sensibly, dont overindulge, look after your health and figure.
It wasnt long before Emily became pregnant. Maybe she did it to spite her future mother-in-law, who did everything she could to drive a wedge between them, or maybe she simply longed to get married. Or perhaps it was just chancebut none of that really mattered. David had made up his mind to marry Emily, even though hed only just turned 18. Emily was 25 at the time.
After finishing school, David started college and juggled studies with workthey moved into their own little flat, renting at first and, after some years, buying a small bedsit in a shared building.
The young couple was happy, but Margaret wouldnt let up: any excuse would do to have a dig at her daughter-in-lawher cooking was wrong, the shirts werent ironed properly, the child wasnt dressed right. To Margaret, Emily had no redeeming featuresonly faults. She endlessly chipped away, grumbling to David about Emily
Eventually, Emily cut contact with Margaret to the bare minimum. She started taking their daughter to nursery, to gymnastics, to chess club herself. She was forever dashing from work to nursery, to various clubs And she still wanted to get to the gym, have her nails done, visit the hairdresser Home became somewhere she only just managed to squeeze into her packed schedule.
David, meanwhile, often came home to an empty flat: their daughter was at a club, his wife was with her or off running errands.
One evening, the neighbour Sarah38, widowed, raising two teenage childrencame knocking. There was a leak in the communal kitchen and she asked if David could fix it before it flooded downstairs.
David was handy about the house and soon sorted out the problem. While he worked at the sink, Sarah cooked dinnerspaghetti and meatballsand offered David a plate as thanks. He gratefully accepted; Emily rarely made home-cooked meals nowadays, as she simply didnt have the time or energy.
From then on, Sarah often invited David for supper on evenings when his wife and child were out. Theyd spend their evenings together in the communal kitchen, chatting over homemade pies and dumplings. Before they knew it, something sparked between themthey hadnt planned it, but their connection grew deeper with every quiet meal.
Of course, nothing stayed secret for long in such close quarters. Someone soon tipped Emily off that her husbands visits to the neighbour werent just for friendly chats.
The row that followed echoed round the entire buildingEmily, proud as ever, packed Davids things and threw him out.
It was too late to go to his parents, and he had nowhere else to turnso Sarah welcomed him in.
At that time, David and Emilys daughter was six years old. David was 25. Emily, 32. Sarah, 39.
When Margaret heard her son had left his wife, she was overjoyedsuccess, at last! But finding out hed moved in with another woman, one with two children and fourteen years his senior, left her struck dumb.
It surprised meafter years of criticising Emily for being too old for David, she had nothing but quiet acceptance for Sarah. Was this regret for all her meddling?
This all happened around fifteen years ago now. David and Sarah have been together ever since. They never had children together, but their house is filled with warmth and companionship. David, now 40, and Sarah, 54, seem genuinely happyMargaret welcomes them with open arms, all bygones forgotten.
Sometimes I wonder, can happiness really blossom when the woman is older? Looking at David now, the answer seems clear.
