«I’ve nowhere else to go!»
«I won’t go back to that mangy dog! Id sooner live in a cellar than under the same roof as him!»
«Mum, well, off to the cellar with you then! Ill be divorcing you myself at this rate!» Alice snapped, stirring her porridge with more force than necessary.
«Youre throwing your own mother out?» Lydia clutched her chest. «Ive given my whole life for you, and this is my thanks! Oh, what a caring daughter Ive raised!»
With a huff, her mother stormed off to their shared bedroombecause, of course, the four of them were crammed into a one-bedroom flat, where privacy had been a distant memory for the past three months.
Alice never imagined shed be caught in such a melodrama. Other peoples parents divorced and remarried, but hers had always been the picture of stability. Just last year, Lydia and Oliver had celebrated their ruby weddingforty years together. And now her mother wouldnt even look at her father.
Then, one dreadful day, her mother had arrived on her doorstep with suitcases, announcing she was leaving him.
«Can you believe it? Hes gone and shacked up with some floozy of a nurse!» Lydia had gasped, still catching her breath from the climb up the stairs. «Fancy thatchasing after women half his age! What a Casanova!»
«Mum, really? Are you sure? Maybe youve got the wrong end of the stick,» Alice had said, staring in disbelief.
Lydia had always been prone to dramatics, often blurring fact with fiction. A whisper in her ear could spiral into a full-blown scandal by teatime. But this time, it was no exaggeration.
«Oh, of course, Ive got it all wrong,» Lydia scoffed. «Those photos I found on his phone? Not the sort you just send to anyone! The old fool should be counting his days in peace, but no…»
Alice decided to deal with that later. First, she had to calm her mother down. She sat her at the table, brewed tea, and tried to soothe her. It happened to lots of people, she said. It wasnt the end of the world. Shed help her through it.
Little did she know her mother would take that literally. Alice had no idea what she was getting into.
From that moment on, Lydia moved in. That wouldnt have been so bad if Alice didnt already have a family of her ownher husband, Henry, and their five-year-old son, Thomas, who was at that age where curiosity was a full-time occupation.
At first, Alice tried to see the bright side. Help with Thomas? She worked remotely and managed fine on her own. Cooking? Lydia adored greasy meals Alice avoided for her figure, and Henryfor his health. Cleaning? Their standards of tidiness were leagues apart.
And that was only half the trouble.
«Right, you lot need to change the bedding. Thomass too, but you can do his in the morning,» Lydia declared at eleven at night, just as they settled in to watch a film.
«What, now? Mum, Thomas is asleep! How are we supposed to do it in the dark?»
«Its fine. The hallway lights enough. Do it quietly, then off to bed. Shouldve been done in the day, but you lot always leave things to the last minute. Dust mitesll be nesting in here soon!»
At times like these, Lydia would plant her hands on her hips, scanning the room for more chores to dump on them.
Alice sighed but obeyed. She knew her mothers quirksif she refused, shed never hear the end of it. Lydia was a woman who thrived on conflict, while Alice had learned to bend.
Henry didnt share her patience.
«Love, cant you just say no?» hed whisper when they were alone.
«Its my mum. You know how she is…»
«I do. But this is our home, our rules. Im starting to lose my patience with her.»
«Just bear with it a little longer. She needs time with Dad. Itll sort itself out.»
But Alice didnt sound convinced. Shed already spoken to her father. Hed admitted to a slip.
«I dont know what came over me. Maybe I just wanted to see what I was missing. Your mothers the only one Ive ever known. And now I dont know where to put myself. I love her, but will she listen…?»
Truthfully, Alice understood her mother. She wouldnt have forgiven infidelity either, even if it was just a fling. Lydia had every right to leave. But she wasnt doing anythingjust waiting, as if things would magically fix themselves.
It only got worse. Soon, Lydia decided Henry had grown too comfortable.
In her parents house, chores had been split down the middle. Her father vacuumed, scrubbed the bathroom weekly, did dishes, even cooked a roast now and then. He helped with spring cleaning, polished windows, went to the market. In her house, though, Henry might sit with Thomas over his letters or take him to swimming lessons, but the rest fell to Alice. And that made sensehe was the breadwinner, now supporting her mother too. Alice worked a few hours a day from home, her wages spent on little luxuries.
But Lydia didnt see it that way.
«Youve let him off too easy!» shed insist. «He should be doing more in the evenings, not lounging about. Keep him busy, or hell end up like mineeyes wandering where they shouldnt.»
«Mum, thanks, but well handle it.»
Lydia didnt listen. She set about «reforming» her son-in-law.
«Sit down,» shed order when Alice rose to clear the table. «Henry, shes been on her feet all day. Too proud to ask for help. Be a dear and wash up.»
Henry would scowl but comply. His patience, however, wasnt endless. Arguments began. Hed vent to Alice in private, careful Lydia wouldnt hear, but the tension simmered.
And he was right. Alice knew it. But what could she do?
«Mum, you cant go on like this. Whats your plan?» she asked after two months.
«Dont know. Ill think of something. Ive nowhere else to go.» Lydia stiffened, sensing where this was headed.
«Hows that? You and Dad own the house. Split it, sell itdo something.»
«I want nothing from him!» Her mother crossed her arms. «Ill manage. I wont speak to him.»
So Alice and Henry managed instead. And they were exhausted. Alice hinted that they missed their evenings alone, that the flat was too smallbut Lydia ignored it. Then she said it outright, and of course, Lydia took offense.
Finally, Alice snapped. She found her mother a room, packed her bags, and waited.
«Whats this? Are you going somewhere?» Lydia asked, towel-drying her hair.
«No, you are. Weve rented a place for you. Best we could do. Happy families only exist on tellyreal people need space.»
Lydia ranted, screamed about being thrown out, but in the end, Alice and Henry convinced her. Theyd help with rent for two months. They couldnt go on like this.
«You dont want us splitting up too, do you? Where would we all go then?» Henry asked.
Her mother relented. But the peace didnt last.
«What kind of hovel have you dumped me in?» she shrieked down the phone after one night. «The place is crawling! The neighbours couldnt care less! The kitchens filthylooks like it hasnt been scrubbed in a decade! Dont get me started on the loo!»
«Mum, we did what we could. Youre free to find somewhere else.»
But the places Lydia liked were beyond her means. Slowly, her tune changed. She started muttering about lawyers, paperwork. Then, one day
«Thats it. Im home. Back where I belong,» she announced, as if it were Alices fault.
«Really? What about Dad?»
«My feelings havent changed,» Lydia sniffed. «But Id rather put up with his face than that cesspit. They nicked my purse while I was at the shops! Ill endure him. At least my rooms mineno extra lodgers, furry or otherwise.»
A weight lifted from Alices chest. She didnt know if her parents would reconcile or divorce, but it didnt matter. Let them sort it out in their own home, not hers. At last, her flat was hers again.