and Annabel felt the tears flow.
“Hi, Mom,” she sniveled.
“Honey, what’s wrong? What is it?”
“Jeremy and I broke up,” Annabel stammered through sobs.
“Come, let’s go inside.” Her mother steered her down the hall and into the kitchen. “Tell me everything from the beginning.” Mrs. Green put the kettle on and took a seat at the kitchen table by the window, motioning for Annabel to join her.
As a kid, the kitchen was where Annabel would always talk to her mom about things that mattered . I t was their favorite place to talk when they wanted some mother and daughter time, and it had remained such. That was where Annabel had first told her mother about meeting Jeremy and had announced the news of their engagement . N ow, she was going to tell her about their break up. Thinking about those happier conversations brought another wave of tears , and Annabel reached for the box of Kleenex, her shoulders shaking violently.
Her mother sat quietly, waiting for her to start talking . T hat was the thing Annabel loved most about her mom . S he never pushed or prodded or tried to impart her point of view; she was a great listener.
“Do you want to tell me what happened?” Mrs. Green nudged her daughter lightly after Annabel had been sobbing uncontrollably for ten minutes.
Of course , she wanted to talk about it , if only she could get the words out of her mouth without bursting into tears each time!
“He cheated on me,” Annabel wailed, “with his agent!”
“With that woman, Athena, you’ve been telling me about?”
“Yeeees.” Annabel reached for another batch of Kleenex.
“Are you sure?”
“I saw them with each other’s tongues down their throats, drinking champagne!” Normally , Annabel would not use such a graphic descriptio n with her mother, but something inside her snapped, and she abandoned her control. “And all those seminars he’s been frequenting lately - those were all lies so that he could sneak around with her.”
The kettle whistled, and Mrs. Green got up to make tea . S he chose lemon chamomile for both of them.
“Have you talked to Jeremy yet?” she asked, placing the tea mugs on the table.
“Yeeees,” Annabel unleashed another wave of sobs. “Yesterday , right after I saw them together, I told him to get out.” Annabel proceeded to tell the details of her conversation with Jeremy.
“Well, it sounds to me like you ’ve made up your mind about it.”
“I thought I ha d, but this morning it finally sank in , and it felt terrible to realize that it was over. I loved him so much, M om . I thought he was the one . I still love him! And to think that he cheated on me with Athena . H e admitted to it too, didn’t even try to deny it! He said he did it for us because she promised to get him a movie deal! Can you believe it? What kind of a man would do something like that? And what’s wrong with me that I failed to see his true nature all this time? I mea n, he was probably with me all this time only because I agreed to pay the rent and now, voila, he’s off to something better. And I’m left all alone, with nothing!” Annabel concluded her tirade with another torrent of sobs.
“Do you want him back?”
“Noooo! I don’t want that cheating bastard back!”
“So why are you crying?”
“Because it still feels terrible! Because my life is ruined , and I don’t know how am I ever going to get it back together.” And it was true – she did not.
“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry.” Mrs. Green placed her arm around her daughter, rocking her back and forth, just like when she was a little girl. “I know it feels this way right now, but you will meet someone again, someone who will appreciate and love you.”
“I’m not so sure about that.” Annabel shook her head . A t the moment , such a possibility seemed next to impossible.
“O f course you will . I know it. You’ll meet a great guy who’ll love you more than anything, just like I met your
“Hi, Mom,” she sniveled.
“Honey, what’s wrong? What is it?”
“Jeremy and I broke up,” Annabel stammered through sobs.
“Come, let’s go inside.” Her mother steered her down the hall and into the kitchen. “Tell me everything from the beginning.” Mrs. Green put the kettle on and took a seat at the kitchen table by the window, motioning for Annabel to join her.
As a kid, the kitchen was where Annabel would always talk to her mom about things that mattered . I t was their favorite place to talk when they wanted some mother and daughter time, and it had remained such. That was where Annabel had first told her mother about meeting Jeremy and had announced the news of their engagement . N ow, she was going to tell her about their break up. Thinking about those happier conversations brought another wave of tears , and Annabel reached for the box of Kleenex, her shoulders shaking violently.
Her mother sat quietly, waiting for her to start talking . T hat was the thing Annabel loved most about her mom . S he never pushed or prodded or tried to impart her point of view; she was a great listener.
“Do you want to tell me what happened?” Mrs. Green nudged her daughter lightly after Annabel had been sobbing uncontrollably for ten minutes.
Of course , she wanted to talk about it , if only she could get the words out of her mouth without bursting into tears each time!
“He cheated on me,” Annabel wailed, “with his agent!”
“With that woman, Athena, you’ve been telling me about?”
“Yeeees.” Annabel reached for another batch of Kleenex.
“Are you sure?”
“I saw them with each other’s tongues down their throats, drinking champagne!” Normally , Annabel would not use such a graphic descriptio n with her mother, but something inside her snapped, and she abandoned her control. “And all those seminars he’s been frequenting lately - those were all lies so that he could sneak around with her.”
The kettle whistled, and Mrs. Green got up to make tea . S he chose lemon chamomile for both of them.
“Have you talked to Jeremy yet?” she asked, placing the tea mugs on the table.
“Yeeees,” Annabel unleashed another wave of sobs. “Yesterday , right after I saw them together, I told him to get out.” Annabel proceeded to tell the details of her conversation with Jeremy.
“Well, it sounds to me like you ’ve made up your mind about it.”
“I thought I ha d, but this morning it finally sank in , and it felt terrible to realize that it was over. I loved him so much, M om . I thought he was the one . I still love him! And to think that he cheated on me with Athena . H e admitted to it too, didn’t even try to deny it! He said he did it for us because she promised to get him a movie deal! Can you believe it? What kind of a man would do something like that? And what’s wrong with me that I failed to see his true nature all this time? I mea n, he was probably with me all this time only because I agreed to pay the rent and now, voila, he’s off to something better. And I’m left all alone, with nothing!” Annabel concluded her tirade with another torrent of sobs.
“Do you want him back?”
“Noooo! I don’t want that cheating bastard back!”
“So why are you crying?”
“Because it still feels terrible! Because my life is ruined , and I don’t know how am I ever going to get it back together.” And it was true – she did not.
“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry.” Mrs. Green placed her arm around her daughter, rocking her back and forth, just like when she was a little girl. “I know it feels this way right now, but you will meet someone again, someone who will appreciate and love you.”
“I’m not so sure about that.” Annabel shook her head . A t the moment , such a possibility seemed next to impossible.
“O f course you will . I know it. You’ll meet a great guy who’ll love you more than anything, just like I met your
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