Mum Turned Out to Be the Odd One Out

Mom turned out to be the extra one, I told you last night, and then the whole mess unraveled.

Which flat are you talking about? The one on the fourth floor? you asked.

Im the spare one! I blurted, cheeks burning. I felt mortified.

Out of nowhere my old schoolmate, Tom Harding, shouted, Come over to my place then!

A bloke I didnt recognise called out, Milly, Poppy, is that you?

Yeah, thats me, I answered, even though after the divorce Id kept my exhusbands surname, so I was technically Olivia Foster now. How on earth did he know that?

I’m Sam Lewis! a stranger chimed in, grinning. Dont you recognise me? I spotted you straight away you havent changed a bit!

Liam walked out on me after our second baby arrived. He said I wasnt giving him room to grow. It was the gritty nineties nobody talked about personal development, there was no internet, no life coaches. People just tried to survive. When Liam left, I was left with two kids, the youngest still a newborn.

The first thought was to end it all, but my head won the fight. My dad, George, stepped in. His factory had gone bust and hed been laid off, so the engineer turned into a parttime babysitter.

We scraped by, barely having enough to eat. I was the sole earner, Liams child support was a joke, and everything else seemed to cost more each day. When the younger turned one, I started buying secondhand coats from overseas that eased the money pressure a bit.

Together we managed to raise the kids, and even got them a decent education free, thank goodness! They grew up, got their own families. Lucy, the older girl, married and burst out, Im pregnant, Mum! Youll be a grandma soon!

Joy filled the house, as they say.

Then trouble struck. My sisterinlaws daughter moved into our tiny twobedroom flat the one the factory gave my dad back in the seventies. By then my parents had both passed away. A tworoom flat was considered a palace back then, with a little storage cupboard and a balcony.

Now I had to share a room with my son. Then Simon brought his girlfriend over, and we all filed paperwork for her to move in. Everything felt grand, but reality slapped us hard there was simply no place for me to sleep.

The girlfriend crashed on the couch, which was fine for a while; a foldout bed squeezed into the kitchen or even the cupboard yes, the cupboard! I refused to sleep in the kitchen; to me that was humiliating. So the cupboard it was.

My son, dont lock the door, and everything will be fine, my brother and sisterinlaw urged, honestly trying to be helpful. After fifty years, the cupboard wasnt that bad.

For a couple of days I kept the door ajar, then one day I spotted my things shoved into the cupboard, junk tossed from the wardrobe. That was the final nail theyd moved me in there for good.

By then Simon was married. You have to understand, Mum, we cant afford a spare room. Sorry, he said. I tried to be useful cooking, cleaning but they treated me like a scruffy old dog, shoving me into that cramped space.

The thought of staying among boxes and tins forever was bleak and shameful. Id raised a son and a daughter; I couldnt just disappear. Money was thin I taught English at the local school and did a bit of tutoring, but it wasnt enough for a decent flat. The free cupboard was my only home.

So one evening, with my passport and pay card in a tiny bag, I just walked out of the house and plonked myself on the bench outside the block, hoping a constructive idea might pop into my head. There were no lessons the next day, just time to think.

Then that same bloke from before called out again, Milly, Poppy, is that you?

Im Poppy! I replied, still technically Olivia Foster after the divorce. How did he know?

Im Sam Lewis! he said cheerily. Dont you recognize me? You havent changed a bit!

I thought, Well, I havent changed at all but maybe a little. Time, that good healer and terrible cosmetic, had taken its toll even the class heartthrob turned into a balding, chubby old man. I wasnt any better.

How long had it been? Twenty years? At a reunion you could still recognise everyone. Id once been smitten with him at school, even asked him to a slow dance at the prom. Hed married some uptight party workers daughter, a careerclimber of sorts.

Why are you standing there? Its cold! Dont freeze! Alex laughed, the kind of humor that used to make me swoon.

A school mate, now a bit past his prime, tried to strike up conversation. What are you doing in this part of town? I thought you moved?

Just visiting my grandchildren. Theyre still in my old flat. Im heading home. What about you? Still living in that old council house? I can picture the fourth floor!

We reminisced about school and that prom slow dance.

Did you ever remember him? an elderly woman asked.

Remember? Of course I did! And where did you disappear after school?

I vanished? I snapped. You started seeing that monkey I withdrew myself!

Dont mix cause and effect, Poppy. You first withdrew, then I started dating the monkey! Sam corrected, teasing. So where are you off to?

I whispered, Nowhere. and tears welled up.

Nowhere? You dont have a home? the guy asked, flustered.

It seems I dont, I said softly.

He asked about the flat on the fourth floor. Im the spare one! I admitted, still embarrassed.

Then come to my place! Tom suggested out of the blue.

I asked, What about the monkey what about the wife? I was thinking of Liam dragging some random woman home I couldnt stay on the street.

Were divorced from that monkey ages ago! Come, move in. I wont bother you, Tom said. He even offered his car, saying, Ready to fly?

We went over to his flat surprisingly cosy. Tom didnt lie; he really wasnt a pest. Only for a couple of months, then he proposed marriage.

Were both in our early fifties, mind you. He always liked a good laugh, especially from a cheeky girl like me. He even remembered that prom dance forever.

I said yes to the charming realtor who could say no?

Throughout all this, the kids never called. At first I waited anxiously, then just waited, and eventually my mind shifted to wedding plans and family life. We kept the marriage a secret from the kids; there was no big ceremony, just a quiet café tea with four witnesses. So at least the lack of relatives was explainable.

Later I deleted my sons and daughters numbers. If they hadnt thought of me in all that time, maybe I wasnt that necessary thats what the declutter coaches preach.

If a mother becomes an unwanted item in her own childrens lives, maybe they dont need her either. Harsh? Yes. Fair? Also yes.

Eight months after I left, the New Year holidays rolled around and Tom and I went grocery shopping. Suddenly a shrill Mum! rang out and Lucy lunged at my neck, while Simon, overjoyed, clutched my other arm.

We hugged, and I asked, Why are you two together like this?

Because the brother and sister had never shopped together before either solo or with partners. Now were always in this odd pair! Simon admitted, embarrassed.

Turns out theyd both divorced. Right away? I gasped. Youre bold! Why?

Because because, they shrugged. My bold comment hit the spot theyd woken up the boldness in each other.

Theyd arrived at an odd hour and caught my exhusbands wife and Lilys husband together. It seemed theyd been in love for ages.

When will you be back, Mum? my son asked impatiently, eyes bright. Where have you been? Weve missed you!

A random bloke, looking oddly healthier, jumped in, Youll be back in a couple of years or Lily wont even recognise you!

Whats it to you? Sergei snapped, Stay out of Lilys business! He repeated, When are you coming back?

My husband in that drab coat! the man declared, showing off a shabby coat. Id finally bought something new for myself; before that all money went to their clothes.

What husband? the kids asked, bewildered.

Just an ordinary bloke, a vulgar sort, the swaggering guy replied. So Mum wont return. Shes got her own life now!

Dont you want to be a granny? Lily asked hopeful.

Mum wants to be a wife thats nicer! Besides, why would I share a bed with a grandma? he joked, then added, Nice meeting you, but were off!

What about us? Sergei whispered.

And youll probably go too, the mothers husband said with a smirk.

All the while Mum just smiled faintly. The man took my arm and said, Ready to fly? and we did. The kids stared, stunned.

When Tom and I returned from the shop, he teased, Hows the space suit? Too tight? Getting enough air? We both knew exactly what he meant. Alexander his name even means defender, just like a space suit. He was really my protector. Could love ever suffocate you? No one had ever loved me like that.

I thought, finally Ive got a space suit that fits perfectly I can launch into the cosmos, never too late.

Ready to fly? he asked again, and off we went.