So, I met Emily at workshe and I would bump into each other quite often around the office. At first, it was just a polite “good morning,” then we started chatting more, and eventually we found ourselves going out on dates. She was just the sort of person youd want to share a movie night with or pop down to the local market for a bit of shopping. And honestly, she was exactly the kind of woman I needed at this stage in my life, well into my sixties. It was obvious she liked me, too. Sometimes shed want to stay over, just to watch a film or read late into the night, and in the morning we’d enjoy homemade pancakes and a proper cup of tea Id brewed myself.
For a while, I didn’t even realise that Emily had been married before, and she had a grown-up son from that marriage. He was thirty-seven, hadnt settled down yet, no wife, no kidsand I got the impression he was a bit jealous, maybe of his mum, maybe even of me. From the moment he found out about Emily and me, he made it clear in a hundred little ways that he didnt want us happy together.
One morning, after Id stayed the night at their place, her son pulled out some cash from his hiding spot and accused me of nicking someeven though nobody else could have taken it. Honestly, it was awkward and made me feel pretty unwelcome.
After that, I never went round to their house again. I asked Emily to move in with me, got down on one knee and proposed, even suggested a holiday together, but all I ever got from her was, “My son wont approve.” And so, our happiness was short-lived. Emily left me a week before my birthday because her son couldnt stand the idea of us being together. Shes nearly a grandmother now, so what are the odds of us ever tying the knot?
Nowadays, she avoids me at work, pretending nothing ever happened between us. I sometimes wonder, will she spend the rest of her life only thinking about her adult son, always putting his feelings above her own?
