maturity warning: teenage pregnancy, time period sexism, child loss
[name_u]Andrea[/name_u] ’ [name_f]Drea[/name_f] ’ [name_f]Charlotte[/name_f] Tarras (96) is Kate’s grandmother and the adopted great-gran of her three children, who’s definitely the beloved matriarch of their family. Life wasn’t easy for [name_f]Drea[/name_f], who became pregnant with her sons (Kate’s dad and his twin brother) when she was only seventeen after a rushed engagement that ended the second the responsibility of fatherhood was revealed. Due to the time and
the values it carried though, she was the one shamed for this, not the boy who abandoned his unborn children before any proper talk could be had; going to live with relatives in another state to avoid facing Drea’s parents, who were insistent he at least paid for his son’s upbringing.
After a lot of arguing - and more mud being thrown at her name, namely that she’d been unfaithful - [name_f]Drea[/name_f] was finally able to get monthly payments for her children to take some strain off her own parents. In spite of the odds stacked against her, and social stigma following her wherever she went, [name_f]Drea[/name_f] refused to give up on her son’s who she loved fiercely from the second she learned she was pregnant. She quit school early and began working an assortment of jobs to bring in extra income, eventually settling as a seamstress: the career she maintained until retirement - although if you need any advice on handling a sewing machine, she’s the woman you go to.
Losing Kate’s father - the elder of the twins who was always more boisterous and headstrong, as [name_f]Drea[/name_f] still remembers clear as day - was a crushing blow to her, only alleviated by her eldest grandchild’s survival and the support of her younger son, calling them her ‘miracle workers’ for how they helped her heal emotionally following the senseless loss. [name_f]Drea[/name_f] doesn’t care if you call her a stereotypical granny in how she behaves: providing treats, a place to stay and listening ear are what she’s proud of, and no-one can talk her out of this (with [name_f]Kate[/name_f] joking she’s wear the familial stubbornness originates, something [name_f]Drea[/name_f] never denies). Her surviving son, who’s now 77, is a grandfather himself now, and she’s always inviting her large family over to stay, resulting in gatherings full of the joy, laughter and warmth everyone knows [name_f]Drea[/name_f] deserves to be surrounded by.
~
@cara_murvolio Kate’s granny sounded so cute I just had to introduce her!