Eight-year-old Diane tugged at her mother’s sleeve, her eyes wide with hope. “Mom, I want to go with you!”
Erika sighed, glancing at her packed bags. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’m going on a business trip. You can’t come this time. But when I come back, I promise, we’ll go to Disneyland together.”
Diane’s bottom lip trembled. “But… where will I stay?”
“You’re going to stay with Aunt Karina and Uncle Roger,” Erika said with a forced cheerfulness. “Isn’t that exciting? My sister loves you so much.”
The drive to Karina’s house was quiet, Diane staring out the window, trying not to cry. When they arrived, Erika knelt down and hugged her tightly. “Be good, Diane. Have fun, and I’ll be back before you know it.”
“You’re going to have so much fun here that when your mom comes back, you won’t want to leave,” Uncle Roger said, ruffling her hair.
At first, Diane did enjoy her time with her aunt and uncle.
They took her to the park, baked cookies together, and read her bedtime stories. But days stretched into weeks. Her mother called rarely, always promising gifts and exciting tales from Europe—but the calls were fleeting, and the promises never materialized.
Years passed. Diane grew used to her life with Aunt Karina and Uncle Roger, who had become the family she depended on. She still hoped her mother would return, but reality crept in slowly, hard and undeniable.
Then, one day, a phone call shattered the fragile hope she had left.
“I’m sorry, Diane,” Erika’s voice was casual, almost distant. “I’m staying here. I met a wonderful man, and we’re getting married. Italy is beautiful.”
Diane’s heart sank. “Okay… but then I’ll come live with you in Milan, right?”
“No, not right now. You need to finish school. Everything is different here. I think it’s best to plan for you to come for college. How does that sound?”
Diane nodded, but the disappointment was a heavy weight in her chest. She had imagined exploring her mother’s new life, meeting her stepfather, and finally feeling like she belonged with her real mom. But it seemed that dream was slipping away.
Eventually, she stopped calling her mother at all. She blocked Erika’s number and confided in her aunt, “I’m never speaking to her again.”
Aunt Karina and Uncle Roger had been her true family all along. They had been there for every scraped knee, every late-night fear, every triumph. Diane realized that blood didn’t matter as much as love and presence.
Yet, during her senior year of high school, everything changed. Aunt Karina knocked softly on her door, holding a phone.
“Sweetheart, it’s your mother. Please… take this call. She really wants to see you,” her aunt urged.
Diane hesitated but finally took the phone. “Hello?” she said, her voice a mixture of curiosity and caution.
“Darling!” Erika’s voice bubbled with excitement. “It’s been so long! I think it’s time for you to come to Milan! Your stepfather wants to meet you, and we can tour colleges together. It’s going to be so exciting! And you’ll love Italian boys—they’re the cutest and flirtiest!”
Aunt Karina leaned down, whispering, “You never know, Diane. This could be your chance to see Europe, and maybe… you can patch things up.”
Reluctantly, Diane packed her bags, torn between the excitement of a European adventure and the bitter memory of a mother who had abandoned her.
But the reunion was nothing like she expected. As soon as Erika saw her, she frowned.
“What are you wearing?” Erika asked sharply.
“Hello, Mother. What do you mean? I just got off a plane. I wore comfortable clothes,” Diane replied, confused and hurt.
“Well, that won’t do. You can’t meet my husband like that. I’ll give you something when we get home,” Erika said, dismissing her completely.
In the car, Erika talked about her glamorous life in Milan, asking nothing about Diane unless it was to critique her. “You’re fatter than I expected,” she muttered, more to herself than Diane. “But that’s fine. We’ll fix that with a diet.”
At her mother’s luxurious home, Diane was forced into an extravagant dress for dinner with her stepfather—a wealthy, powerful man who barely acknowledged her presence. Erika’s charm was on full display as she introduced Diane to him, while Diane felt invisible and humiliated.
“Honey, you’ll be staying here from now on. This city is so much better than your old town,” Erika said as if it were obvious.
“What? I thought this was just a visit to see colleges,” Diane protested, her voice trembling with anger.
“That makes no sense. You’re staying here. My husband always wanted children, and since I’m too old, you’ll have to do,” Erika said casually, revealing the truth behind the invitation.
Diane’s patience snapped. She forced a smile and asked, “Mom, can you give me some money for a taxi? I want to explore downtown.”
Erika hesitated, her pride too concerned about appearances to refuse. Diane left immediately—but she wasn’t exploring downtown. She went straight to the airport, exchanged her ticket, and booked the fastest flight home.
Hours later, Diane’s cab rolled up to Aunt Karina and Uncle Roger’s house. She ran inside, tears of relief streaming down her face.
“What are you doing here, sweetheart?” her aunt asked, alarmed but smiling.
“I couldn’t stay there anymore. You guys are my parents. She only wanted to show me off to her husband because she couldn’t have more kids,” Diane explained, finally free.
“Oh, honey. You always have a home with us,” Uncle Roger said, hugging her tightly.
That night, Diane realized she didn’t need a mother who abandoned her to feel loved. She had everything she needed right there—people who truly cared for her, who had been there all along.
Lesson of the story:
The people who are always there for you are your real family. Diane learned to trust her instincts and her heart, and she discovered that love and loyalty matter more than blood or appearances.