“Mum, stop lecturing me. Mark and I planned to have a baby in, like, three years… At least three! We’ve got so much on right now—projects, plans, a trip to Spain, for heaven’s sake. A baby? Seriously, Mum?!” The irritation in her daughter’s voice was so sharp that Katherine quickly dropped the subject.
Young, beautiful, ambitious, with dreams of conquering the world—until an unplanned pregnancy threw everything off course.
“Sweetheart, just… promise me you won’t do anything drastic till we’ve been to Willowbrook,” her mum murmured, her voice barely steady.
***
As long as Diana could remember, they’d always celebrated her mum’s birthday in Willowbrook, though she’d never quite understood the fuss—just a quiet family dinner by candlelight, followed by a visit to the chapel at dawn.
“Dad, why do we always go to that village for Mum’s birthday? It’s so boring!”
“Without Willowbrook, there’d be no you, no your mum… maybe even no me. Got it?”
“Got it,” Diana huffed, though she didn’t get it at all.
Then, this year, her dad was gone—a heart attack. Watching her mum cry herself to sleep every night, Diana was the one who suggested the trip.
“Sweetheart, I thought you hated Willowbrook.”
“I love you, Mum… Just us this time. Mark can’t get off work.”
***
The suffocating heat had lifted, and something magical hung in the air. Katherine stepped onto the porch, breathing in the dizzying scent of freshly cut grass and wild strawberries.
“Wish William could see this…”
“Mum, remember that time Dad and I tried baking your birthday cake? Flour everywhere—the kitchen, the porch, the garden, even the shed! And you just laughed and said it looked like a winter wonderland.” Diana smiled, draping a blanket over her mum’s shoulders.
“Darling, I need to talk to you about the baby.”
Diana sighed, rolling her eyes. “*Ugh*, Mum, not this again. Mark and I’ve made up our minds. Our choice, our freedom!”
“Hear me out, love,” Katherine whispered, her throat tightening. “You know you were a late baby. The doctors said I couldn’t survive childbirth. They gave me no chance.”
“Mum…” Diana pulled her close, feeling her tremble.
“When William found out I was pregnant, he was beside himself—even took up smoking again. He wanted children so badly, but he loved me more than life. Said he couldn’t live without me. Then my friend Eleanor invited us to Willowbrook. I went to say goodbye, really. To prepare him. I’d already decided—you’d live instead of me.”
“You’d have…?” Diana’s breath hitched.
“I’d made up my mind, but telling William? I didn’t know how. Started going to chapel, praying to St. Brigid for guidance. One evening, walking back, I saw the Jones’ barn on fire. A dog ran inside, came out with a puppy, dropped it, and dashed back in. The roof caved. She emerged again, fur singed, eyes blistered, nudging her pups to check they were alive. Realised one was missing—back into the flames she went. Five minutes later, she dragged out the last one, laid it at my feet, licked the tears off my cheek… and went still.”
“William found me sobbing, clutching those pups. He never asked again. Just… his eyes were red every day till you were born. You came right on time, perfectly healthy. The doctors said miracles still happen.” Katherine’s face softened, her worry melting away.
“Mum, why’ve you never told me this?”
“Don’t know… Suppose it wasn’t time.”
***
A year later, Diana and Mark bought Katherine a little cottage in Willowbrook. Sitting on the porch, cradling her tiny son, Diana whispered,
“Mum, this is our best project yet. Our happiness. I can’t believe I almost threw it away for some… stupid idea of freedom.”
Katherine smiled softly, her eyes drifting somewhere distant.
“We didn’t live this life for nothing…”
