After sending the message, tears welled up in my eyes. The words of the taxi driver echoed in my mind and a sudden wave of longing for my parents washed over me. I opened my chat with my mom; the last message from her was just a few days ago. She'd brought up, once again, the childhood engagement my grandfather had arranged:
[Emily, why not give it a try? You and Leon have been together for seven years with no progress. I just feel he lacks a sense of responsibility. Go meet Ollie. He's grown up to be quite the young man…]
I switched back to my chat with Leon, the message I'd sent to him still unanswered. A hollow feeling crept in—I knew he likely wouldn't respond. With a sigh, I returned to my mom's chat and finally replied:
[Okay, Mom, I'll meet him.]
Almost instantly, my phone lit up with an incoming call from her.
"Emily! You've finally come around! But, there's a small hitch—Ollie just left the country to help his family with business. You'll have to wait…"
When I didn't answer, her tone softened. "Emily… did you and Leon break up?"
I took a deep breath, wiped my tears and steadied my voice. "Yes."
The silence on her end felt like a held breath, then came her sigh of relief.