You know, Ive always done my best to raise my son first and foremost to respect women his gran, his mum, his wife one day, maybe even a daughter. For me, thats the mark of a true gentleman: respect for women above all. My husband and I worked hard to give our son a brilliant upbringing, a proper education, and whatever he needed to build a bright future for himself. We always said wed step back once he was grown, but in the end, we couldnt help but buy him a two-bedroom flat. He had a job and was making his own way, but a place of his own was just a bit out of reach financially.
We didnt hand the keys over straight away or even mention it to him, actually. Odd, maybe, but there was a reason our son was living with his girlfriend. He and Emily had been together for about a year, but wed never met her parents, and something about that struck me as a bit strange.
Later on, I found out through a friend that Emilys mum was once a neighbour of hers. And what I heard really unsettled me. Turns out, Emilys mum threw her husband out when he hit a rough patch and his income dropped. But that wasnt the half of it. She soon started seeing a well-off, married man who started acting like a father figure for Emily. As for Emilys real dad well, her gran wasnt much better. She had her own thing going on with a married bloke, too! On top of that, shed make her daughter and granddaughter spend their weekends at her cottage out in the countryside, putting them both to work around the house. That led to quite a few arguments between my son and his future mother-in-law.
What worries me most, though, is how Emilys mum and grandmum have been turning her against her own father. You can see shes clearly very attached to her dad, but between those two, her relationship with him is hanging by a thread. And just to top it all off, Emilys decided to drop out of university. Shes got it in her head that its a mans job to provide for the family. I mean, I want my son to be ready for that responsibility, and Ive tried to raise him to step up, but goodness knows life can be tough and unpredictable. What if he ever hits hard times? What is Emily supposed to do then how is she meant to help her husband?
Oh, and let me just mention, I ended up keeping the flat in my own name, just to be on the safe side. I know my boy hes a good lad, a bit of a soft touch if Im honest, and you never know. Legally, anything you own before marriage doesnt get split up in a divorce, but Emily seems clever enough to figure out a way to leave my son without a penny. So, better safe than sorry, as they say!
