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Toy-boy turmoil!

My teenage boyfriend was a real family favorite..!


Published by: Polly Taylor
Published on: 20th September 2010

The kitchen windows rattled as stampeding elephants thundered down the stairs – only they weren’t elephants, just my six kids.
‘Mum, have you seen my trainers?’ asked my son Anton, 14, grabbing his school bag.
‘In the hallway,’ I replied, sipping my tea.
‘I’ve lost my eyeliner,’ fretted Jessica, 15.
‘Bathroom, next to the sink,’ I answered, casually flicking through the newspaper.
It was like this every morning, so, even though I’d split with my second husband Matthew, and was a single mum, I was never lonely.
I rarely had a second to myself!
I was especially close to my 14-year-old daughter Grace. Her brothers and sisters thought she was a bit of a madam when she wanted – but with me, she never got in a huff. We were more like best mates than mother and daughter.
That’s why, when she told me her boyfriend Tom, 16, was having problems at home and wanted to move in, I didn’t hesitate. I adored him. They’d been dating for a few months, and he’d been charming.
With his long floppy hair and pouty lips, he looked a bit of a heartbreaker. But he was actually very sweet and surprisingly shy.
It was a typical stormy teen romance, though – and soon after he moved in, they started arguing.
They were just so different – Grace was a social butterfly, while Tom was a homebody. Like me, he enjoyed his creature comforts – but then I was 40, not a teen.
Weeks later, it came as no surprise when Grace told me they’d split up.
Tom was too sensible, an old head on young shoulders.
‘We’re too different,’ she sighed.
‘Are you okay?’ I asked her.
‘I’ll be fine,’ she said. ‘I just need some space.’
‘Should I ask him to leave…?’ I asked. She shook her head.
‘It’s not fair to ask him to leave, what with the troubles he’s been having at home,’ she said.
So Grace went to stay with her grandparents. ‘Just until the dust settles,’ she told me.
Over breakfast the next morning, Tom was miserable. ‘It’s all right,’ I soothed, handing him a cuppa. ‘You just need to keep your mind off it.’ He nodded sadly.
‘I’ve got some errands to run,’ I said. ‘Come with me.’
Sat in the car, I tried cheering him up. Turning the radio on, I sang along to Mr Blue Sky by the Electric Light Orchestra
‘I love this song!’ he chuckled.
‘Me, too!’ Giggling, we sang the rest of it together.
All day we babbled away about everything from 50s rock music, to our favourite sweets. I couldn’t help laughing to myself – Tom really had been born after his time.
When we got home, he seemed happier, and I had to admit an afternoon of behaving like a teenager had done me the world of good, too.
The following day, I’d had to go food shopping.
‘Want some help?’ Tom volunteered.
‘Why not?’ I shrugged.
I was doing Grace a favour keeping him occupied but, as we chatted away, I realised I couldn’t stop smiling. He was great company.
Driving home, my eyes on the road, I listened to his kind voice and imagined it wasn’t my daughter’s ex…
If only I could find a connection like this with someone my age.
Over the next few weeks, Tom accompanied me everywhere.
‘Grace really owes you one,’ Matthew chuckled when he popped round one afternoon. ‘Ferrying that sulky teenager around for her.’
Sulky? No. He made me laugh, listened to me, made me feel special… Oh God! Was I falling for him?!
‘Snap out of it,’ I told myself. ‘He’s young enough to be your son!’
My stomach twisted as I imagined the look on Grace’s face if she knew that I fancied her former fella.
Even worse, I imagined the look of disgust Tom would give me if he realised a woman 25 years older had the hots for him.
Still, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. I’d been married to blokes my age, and look where that’d got me – divorced, and alone. Tom seemed… different.
The next day, sitting in bed in my PJs watching TV, there was a soft knock at the door.
‘Telly in my room’s broken,’ Tom said, popping his head around the door. ‘Mind if I join you?’
‘Of course not,’ I replied.
Perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea… but I couldn’t bring myself to protest as he slipped, fully clothed, under the covers.
Butterflies buffeted my stomach as I felt his body heat next to mine.
This is wrong! He’s too young, he’s your daughter’s ex…
But my heart thundered in my chest and, when his hand reached for mine…! Reality hit. I’d been longing for him to touch me.
I didn’t want to hurt Grace, but she didn’t want him any more. Why couldn’t I have him?
Next I was reaching for him, too. Then we were kissing… then we were, well…
‘I’ve fallen in love with you,’ Tom whispered afterwards.
‘Me, too,’ I told him, running my fingers through his long brown hair.
For the next few weeks, I felt torn in two. The woman in me was floating on cloud nine, but the mother in me was disgusted.
But no amount of guilt could cancel my feelings. And by the time Grace was due to come home four weeks later, I knew I wanted to be with him.
‘I have to tell her,’ I told Tom.
‘We can’t keep secrets, it’ll only end in tears,’ he agreed.
Sat on the sofa with Grace, I took a deep breath. Would she be able to forgive me?
‘Love, erm,’ I stammered, unable to look her in the eye. ‘Tom and me… we’ve been sleeping together.’
Eyes widening, then: ‘What?’ she wailed. ‘How could you?’
‘I love him… I’m sorry,’ I whispered, swallowing back tears.
‘That’s, that’s gross!’ she sneered, storming upstairs to my bedroom. ‘I hate you!’
‘But Grace, I can’t help…’ I started, running after her. ‘What are you doing?’
Scissors in hand, she was shredding every item of clothing in my wardrobe.
‘Stop,’ I begged. ‘Let’s talk.’
‘You’re old enough to be his mum,’ she spat.
Throwing the scraps of material at me, her body shook with sobs. I’d never felt more ashamed.
The next day, Grace went back to her grandparents while I cried in Tom’s arms, still torn in two.
How this was going to work out I’d no idea – because I couldn’t imagine living without either of them. As much as I loved Grace, I needed Tom.
Luckily, my other kids were supportive. The only hurdle was Grace. The poor love was in bits. I called her every day, but she wouldn’t speak to me.
Until two weeks later, she called. ‘I miss you Mum,’ she said. ‘I want to come home.’
It wasn’t easy, but we worked hard at rebuilding our relationship.
Three years on, and I’ve never been happier.
Last year, me and Tom got engaged, and it meant the world to me when Grace agreed to be our bridesmaid.
Now, at last, we can all look forward to a happy future.

• Tom said: ‘I fell in love with Nat soon after we met. I never wanted to hurt Grace, but me and Nat are soulmates.’
• Grace said: ‘It upset me, but Tom’s not a bad person and we’d already split up. As long as he treats her right, I’m happy for them.’
Natalie Parsons, 43, Cardiff, Glamorgan