Once my father put an ultimatum: if my stepmother is at my wedding – he will not come. This led to a hot dispute between us. My whole life flashed before my eyes: after my mother died when I was five years old, my father quickly married a second time. The woman he brought home was kind and beautiful, and soon she became a mother for us, despite her older sister’s initial resistance. She was able to pick up words, managed to get closer to us and bring peace into our home. I even started calling her a “mom”.

She was next to us in everything, taught us with her sister skills of housekeeping and took care of us when we got sick. She turned into a real mother, and later into her beloved grandmother. My father was also good: he worked hard to provide our big family. We had a happy life together. But everything changed when I was twenty. My father stated that he had found real love and went to be with his mistress.

My stepmother, broken by grief, moved to her own apartment, leaving me to feel abandoned, because my older sister and the younger brother lived in her life. I often came to her, looking for her advice and comfort. And so, after 3 years, when I was preparing for my wedding, my father’s ultimatum seemed unjustified. I told Machusi about his decision, and she immediately understood the situation. She decided it would be better if she did not come to the wedding, suggested to celebrate with her separately so that everyone was happy and satisfied. Her words and love once again comforted me at that difficult moment.