Hey love, so heres the whole drama about Emily and her mum, just so youre up to speed.
Emily, I honestly cant stand your Tom, Margaret blurted after meeting the bloke for the first time. Listen to me, love ask yourself why she doesnt like him. Sometimes its just a gut feeling, other times theres something off that a lovestruck girl might miss.
Emily just waved her off, tossing back what sounded like a fairenough argument.
Yeah, you never like anyone, thats why youre always alone. I could have married you myself, you know, Margaret retorted.
You think I dont get it? Emily shot back. Just because Im younger?
Dont pretend you havent had plenty of attention, Margaret said, raising an eyebrow. Youve turned away every decent lad who came along.
Enough, lets drop it, she added, cutting the fight short. Ive given you my opinion, now you decide whether to listen to Tom or choose whos right for you.
Emily sighed, Mum, Im already late to decide. Im pregnant with Toms baby. The kid wont grow up fatherless.
Part of Emilys anger at her mum stemmed from never having a dad around. In school she was the only girl whose father was never mentioned not even a hes passed away excuse. Two of her classmates had lost dads, but thats different to never having one at all.
Emilys own dad had been around until she was almost three, then her parents split and he basically disappeared. He even joked that if Emily had given him a son, they could’ve talked about coparenting but the girl was already being raised by mum, so she didnt feel obliged to hang any of his responsibilities on him. He paid child support like clockwork, but never showed up in her life or cared about her future.
Emily blamed herself a bit, thinking Mum shouldve brought a stepdad into the house. Maybe theyd have been happy, even if that man wasnt as doting as the dads some of the other girls had. Still, she decided the babys father would be there regardless. Tom wasnt perfect, but he loved Emily and would love the child.
When the paternity test came back positive, Tom was over the moon. He immediately proposed, talking about turning the spare bedroom in his flat into a nursery. Emily melted at his sweet talk, and mums vague complaints about Tom meant nothing to her.
Fast forward a year, and things started to crumble. Tom kept a steady job, but when it came to helping with little Lucy, he was nowhere to be seen. His mum, Helen, kept fanning the flames, bragging about how she juggled two kids, a spotless house, and went back to work right after giving birth. She never mentioned the modern gadgets Emilys flat was packed with, and she totally ignored the fact that both her children went straight into a nursery for a few weeks after birth, then on to a playgroup with extended care.
Helens idea of helping boiled down to making breakfast and doing a load of laundry on their old washing machine. She held up that lifestyle as the gold standard, even though in Emilys town there were no nurseries at all mums had to stay home with toddlers 24/7. Some got help from husbands or family, but Margaret was living in another city and wasnt retired yet, so Emily had to soldier on solo.
She still believed Tom loved them and that the family was decent right up until that night when she was in the shower and the fire alarm went off. It had gone off twice that year, both false alarms, and Tom didnt react, so Emily shrugged it off, wrapped a towel around herself, and went to see what was happening.
She found the front door wide open, smoke pouring in from the stairwell, and Tom nowhere in sight. She grabbed Lucy, swaddled her in a blanket, and bolted for the bedroom. She managed to scramble up to the loft and out onto the fireescape, then down to the street where she saw Tom, looking like a deer in headlights, clutching his brandnew gaming PC, a professional video camera hanging around his neck, a tablet and his phone poking out of his jacket pocket.
Honestly, Tom, she thought, if you werent holding a child, I might have knocked you out. Instead she just gave him a swift kick and shouted at him like a dock worker. What really set her off was that instead of apologising or trying to explain, he started blaming her for going mad. He claimed hed just forgotten about his wife and child who doesnt lose track once in a while? and then darted off to save his precious gadgets.
Emily split with Tom right then and there. The next six months were a nightmare of Helen trying to force them back together, insisting they shouldnt break the family. Luckily Margaret took Emily and Lucy back in.
Mate, you were right, Emily told her mum. I shouldnt have gotten involved with Tom. I only realized hed ditch me when I needed him most.
Margaret laughed, Remember when we met at the block and the neighbours terrier, Archie, lunged at us?
Archie? Yeah, he barks at everyone. His owner, Tony, never lets him off the leash, even though the little dogs harmless just gets scared sometimes.
Exactly. When Archie got spooked and bolted, Tom bolted with him, didnt even try to pull you out of danger. You were already carrying Lucy, and he just ran off.
Emily realised that loving husbands and dads dont act like that. She used to joke, You really know a lot about loving dads, dont you? but now, after living through it herself, she kept quiet. She finally understood that having a dad or husband in the house isnt always the answer. Sometimes its better to raise a child on your own than to stay with anyone just for the sake of a pictureperfect family.
Shes sworn she wont go down that road again. And if Lucy ever starts asking why she grew up without a dad, Emily will just tell her the plain truth: Your dad ran off to save his laptop, phone, tablet, and camera, not his baby.
I guess the big question is whether that dad will ever grow up and need a bit of tech support himself, or if hell ever knock on the door asking for help. Honestly, I doubt Lucy will ever forgive him, and neither would I.
Hope that gave you the full scoop cant wait to catch up later!
