Page 58 of Impossible

“I was seeing Liam for a while. We spent a lot of time together over the summer and it just...happened. We stupidly thought it would be a good idea for me to go to one of his family’s Sunday dinners to tell everyone about us. Little did we know, Becca’s parents were invited and Shirley happened to walk in on Liam and me kissing. It was horrible.”

“She said some pretty awful things to you,” my dad chimes in.

“She told you what she said to me?” I’m a bit taken aback. I figured she just told them about Liam and me.

“She did. She said she has been wanting to reach out to you to apologize,” mom says.

“But I’m the one who messed up. I’m the horrible friend who swooped in and stole her best friends husband after she died.” My eyes begin to water as the words fall out.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let me stop you right there, sis. I better not hear you speak about yourself like that again. Now, I don’t know exactly what it is that Shirley said to you, but I can assure you she was wrong. You did not swoop in. I know you. If you were serious enough to announce it to his family, regardless of the circumstances, you must have been crazy about him.”

“Your sister is right. You are not someone who jumps into things lightly. And despite what you think or what Shirley said, there is nothing wrong with you two together. Life is hard. You both lost someone you love. It’s no wonder you bonded over that and feelings grew.”

“You don’t think what we did was wrong?”

“Of course not. Even if we did, you two need to make your own decisions. Don’t worry about what everyone else thinks.”

“It’s more than that. There are other reasons we can’t be together.”

“Just don’t let others words or opinions impact your decision,” mom says.

Later that evening, on my way home, I reflect back on my moms words. They were oddly supportive of me in that moment. I don’t mean to make it sound like they’ve never been supportive of me, but they do have expectations. It’s like, in that moment, it didn’t matter how my decisions reflected on them. They just wanted me to be happy. Maybe they always have. Maybe I’ve been the one putting this pressure on myself all along.

Even if they were accepting of my relationship with Liam, I still wouldn’t know how to get over his words. That he will always want Becca back. Would I be okay in a relationship where I knew he would always prefer someone else over me? Truth is, it doesn’t matter. He never fought for us. He let me walk away without so much as a fight. It just shows validity to his spoken words.

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