“No. Weve decided its best you dont bring your wife and baby to this flat. We wont put up with the inconvenience for long, and in the end, well have to ask you to leave. Then your wife will go around telling everyone we kicked you out onto the street with a newborn.”
“Daisy, you look awful. Whats happened?” asked the neighbour.
“Nathan said the landlady told us to move out. Immediately. Apparently, she rented the flat to a couple without children, and now youre about to bring a baby in. Hell cry at night, the neighbours will complain, and she doesnt want the trouble.”
“So, have you nowhere else to go?”
“Nathans parents have a three-bedroom house, but his younger sister still lives there. And my parents are in a villagetwenty miles from town,” Daisy replied.
“Well, stay with your in-laws for a week or two while you find somewhere new,” the woman suggested.
“Nathans already looked. But the moment landlords hear about a baby, they refuse.”
“Thats a problem. Still, youve got two days leftyour husband will think of something.”
But Nathan didnt. After calling a few listings and getting rejected, he simply moved their things from the rented flat to his parents house.
His parents and younger sister, however, werent thrilled about his family moving in, especially with a noisy addition.
“Son, remember, we agreed before your wedding that you and your wife wouldnt live here,” his mother said. “Youre welcome to stay in your old room, but we dont want outsiders in our home.”
“And Daisys an outsider. Shes your wife, but to us, shes a stranger. You chose herwe didnt.”
“Mum, its just temporary, until we find somewhere proper,” Nathan tried to reason.
“You know theres nothing more permanent than a temporary arrangement. First, its a week, then a month, then it never ends.”
“No. Besides, your father and I work, and your sister studies. We all need proper rest. With a baby in the house, thats impossibleno loud talking, no telly, and waking up at all hours to crying.”
“Well find something as soon as we can,” Nathan promised.
“No. Weve decided its better if you dont bring your wife and child here. We wont tolerate the disruption, and eventually, well have to ask you to leave.”
“And then your wife will tell everyone we threw you out with a baby. Thatll ruin our reputation, and I wont have people gossiping about us. So dont even think of bringing Daisy and the child here. Sort it out some other way.”
With this news, Nathan went to the hospital.
“Listen, Daisy, maybe you and the baby could stay with your parents for now?” he asked.
“Doesnt your mum even want to see her grandson?” Daisy said, surprised.
“I dont know. She said not to come,” Nathan replied.
“Brilliant. Other women get flowers, gifts, and celebrations when they bring a baby home. But us? Were like straysunwanted even by family,” Daisy snapped.
That evening, she called her parents, and when she and the baby were discharged, her father came to pick them up, along with Nathan.
“Pack up, love. Were taking the little one home,” her father said. “And you,” he turned to Nathan, “bring Daisys things and whatever youve bought for the baby.”
The drive to the village took barely half an hour. Everything was readya cot with teddy bear sheets, a dresser for baby clothes, and a rocking chair in the small room.
In the sitting room, a celebratory lunch was laid out. Only family was thereDaisys parents, her grandmother, and her younger sister, Iris.
No one mentioned Nathans side over the meal, though they eagerly discussed what to name the boy. They settled on Oliver.
Nathan left for the city straight after lunch, promising to bring Daisys things the next day.
When he returned, there was good news.
“Daisy, Nathan,” her father said as the family gathered. “Your mother and I talked. Well sell Grannys house and give you the money.”
“Well make it a gift from our family to Daisy. But theres one conditionthis house will go to Iris in the will. Daisy, are you fine with that?”
“Of course.”
“Then Ill list it tomorrow,” her father said.
The house sold in three months. All that time, Daisy and Oliver stayed in the village, while Nathan lived in his parents flat, visiting on weekends.
Another six weeks passed while they found a flat, sorted the mortgage, and did the renovations.
Finally, the day cameDaisy, Nathan, and little Oliver moved into their own home. A month later, once everything was in place, they held a housewarming.
They invited Daisys parents, her friends, and Nathans mates. His parents werent there. They only found out by chance that hed bought a place.
When he collected his things, his mother assumed it was just another rental.
“So, you invite your wifes country family but dont even tell us youve got your own flat? You couldve at least asked us round!”
“Not to mention we still havent met our grandson. This isnt how family behaves,” his mother scolded over the phone.
“And turning away my wife and newbornthats family-like?” Nathan shot back.
“I explainedwere getting on, we need peace. But now we can visit, cant we?”
“Why?”
“What do you mean, why? Olivers our grandson!”
“Mum, hes nearly six months old. Funny how youre only interested now.”
“Nothing funny about it. Newborns all look the samethere was nothing to see before.”
“I think the real reason is you were afraid wed move in. You guarded your walls like a fortress.”
“And while Daisy and Oliver were at her parents, you didnt rush to meet him. But now weve got our own place, suddenly you want to visit. Sorry, but were not ready to see you.”
“So youre holding a grudge?” his mother said. “I was going to invite your wife and son to stay at our cottage all summer.”
“Why the sudden change?”
“The baby needs fresh air. Its already sweltering in May, and summer will be worse. Daisy can stay there, undisturbed. Well only visit on weekends.”
“My holidays in October, your dads in November. We wont charge youjust have Daisy water the plants and pick the veg before it overgrows.”
“I see. You want a summer housekeeper. No, manage on your own. If we want Oliver to have fresh air, Daisy can take him to her parents.”
Nathans mother and sister first saw Oliver at two and a half, by chance in a shopping centre. They watched from a distance but didnt approach.
Some “grandmothers” and “mothers” they turned out to be.
