Our Lives
Against the odds, Mum had kept our family together. But then she vanished. What had happened?
A number popped up on my phone and I braced myself for what was coming.
It was my mum Gloria and I knew why she was phoning.
Someone’s told her I’m pregnant, I thought.
Mum had always said to me: ‘I don’t want you ending up in the same boat as me, getting pregnant at 16.’
Now I had.
I answered the call and waited for her to read me the riot act.
But, to my surprise, she didn’t. Instead, she said: ‘Are you going to keep the baby?’
‘Yes, I am,’ I replied.
‘It’s going to be OK,’ Mum said. ‘I love you and I’ll be there for you.’
I should have known she would support me.
Despite having a hard life, Mum had never judged anyone, least of all her seven kids.
Some of my earliest memories involved her being beaten and abused by violent men, and she’d resorted to drink and drugs to cope.
But, no matter what was happening in her life, she remained upbeat and warm.
Mum was at her happiest teaching us how to sew or to cook one of her delicious homemade soups.
And though we’d been in and out of care, we never doubted her love for us.
I’d been born on Christmas Day and now Mum said, ‘What if your baby is too!’
In the end, though, it was January when my little boy, Junior, arrived.
Mum was thrilled and I met up with her and my Auntie Norma to introduce her to her first grandson.
‘Give him here,’ Mum said, arms open.
She didn’t let him go until it was time to leave.
I went on to have another son, Carter, but eventually split from the father of my boys and, in time, I met someone new and had three more children.
Mum delighted in each one of her grandkids and couldn’t do enough for them, even making my daughter Luna a dress just like Elsa’s from Frozen, all from scratch.
She was still drinking, but gradually there were more times when she was sober and life felt like it was on the up.
Then, one day, she came to visit with exciting news.
‘I’ve decided to move near to you, love,’ she announced. ‘I want to put down roots.’
Her eyes sparkled as she talked about finding a job nearby, and she even left a suitcase of her stuff with me.
‘I can’t wait, Mum,’ I told her. That same month, we were planning to go to my auntie’s wedding together, but then I had to cancel.
I phoned Mum.
‘I’m so sorry,’ I wept. ‘I just don’t have the money for a wedding.’
‘Don’t worry, I’ll explain to them when I’m there,’ she said. Then, just hours later, she texted me: Love u all gudnite. I expected her to call
