“Mother, I have my nursing certificate now. I can take care of myself.”
“I feel like I’m abandoning you.”
“Stop, Mom. You’re not abandoning me. I’m an adult. It’s time for me to spread my wings. You deserve to go enjoy life, and Scott wants to take you around the world. He’s such a good man, Mom. I’m very happy for you both.”
It was the truth. Scott was a really good guy. I knew it the moment I first met him. He had come to our apartment in Schaan to take my mom on a date. First of all, any man who would drive four hours to take a woman on a date was pretty impressive. But then, he brought both my mother and I flowers when he came to the door. It was so nice and showed that he understood what a close bond we had.
Over the last year, Scott and my mother had traveled a little, but she always came home because she didn’t want to leave me behind. Scott had even invited me to go with them a few times, but I didn’t want to impede on their time.
Finally, when Scott proposed, he first asked me if it was all right and if I approved. After losing my father, I never thought I could trust another man, and I certainly didn’t think my mother would ever find a match. I was so happy that she had a second chance at love.
“Well, the wedding is in a few hours. So, I guess it’s too late to back out now,” my mother joked.
“Yep, you’ll have to go through with it.”
We both laughed, and I knew at that moment that my life was about to change. My mother and my Ana were the two most important people in my life, but within the next two weeks, they would both be living their own dreams.
My mother was getting married to the man of her dreams, and my best friend was flying to America to meet up with her man. I felt overwhelmed by the prospect of staying in Liechtenstein without these two very important women.
It wasn’t overwhelming because of the financial difficulties, although those would be tough. The most overwhelming part of my mother and Ana leaving was going to be the feeling of getting left behind. They were both moving on with their lives, and I was just stuck. Stuck all alone in a country that was so isolated, I knew I would never meet the man of my dreams.
***
“Jordan, your mother looks amazing. When are they leaving on their honeymoon and Scott’s business trip? Are you excited to have the apartment all to yourself soon?” Ana asked as we waited for our turn to walk down the aisle.
Ana had always been the talker between the two of us. Sometimes, she would talk for a good ten minutes before she would let me get a word in. I didn’t mind, though. It worked for our relationship. I was the quiet one and Ana was the loud one. I was the shy one and Ana was the outgoing one. The opposite nature of our personalities helped us both throughout our relationship.
“I’m scared as heck, Ana.”
“Why? I thought you liked Scott.”
“Yes, I’m not scared for her. I’m scared for me. I don’t make enough money to pay all the bills alone. I’m going to have to take on roommates or something if I’m going to survive. You are going to be gone. I’m going to have to start hanging around my friends from work. Yuck.”
“Does your Mom know you’re not going to be able to pay the bills?”
“Of course not, Ana. And don’t you tell her. She’s finally accepting that I’ll be all right on my own. I can’t ruin that. I’ll just have to work two jobs so I can pay the bills.”
“All right, but I still think you should sign up for the OK Love website. You know Gordon is one of the greatest guys I’ve ever met. I’m so happy with him.”
“Ana, you haven’t been with him. You met him over the internet. I don’t see how you could even have feelings for a man you’ve never met.”
“Jordan, we talk on the phone, and we’ve Skyped. I know I love him. I can tell. And I think you should at least put your profile on the site and see if you find anyone you like.”
“You know those men from America are just looking for a wife, right?” I asked.
“What’s wrong with that? Isn’t that the whole reason we date people? Our hope is that we will find someone we bond with and can love and get married to. That website just puts two like-minded people together.”
The music started to play, and I watched as my mother came out of the dressing room behind us. She looked amazing, but most of all, she looked happier than I had ever seen her before. The smile on her face radiated like the sun as it rose in the morning. I really couldn’t remember a time when my mother had looked that happy. It made me feel really good to see that kind of light coming from her.
Ana started to walk down the aisle, and I took the moment to straighten my mother’s dress and get her ready to walk down the aisle.
Finding love once in a lifetime was a pretty big feat, but finding it twice was downright awesome. My father had been such an amazing man; it was really uplifting to see that my mother had been able to find a second love to share her life with.
“You look beautiful, Mom. I’ll see you at the end of the aisle,” I said as I started my walk down the rose-covered center aisle of our church.
The look I saw in Scott’s eyes told me that my mother was making the right choice. He smiled at me as I walked up to the front of the church and stood across from him, but his eyes instantly filled with tears when he saw my mother standing at the back of the church. His love for her flowed from him and made me want to find a love like that.
Even the most skeptical of people would reconsider when they saw the love that my mother and Scott had. It was deeper than just physical lust. More varied than romantic interest. They wanted to grow old together. Both of them had reached middle age and were ready to take on the second half of their life together. The drama of young adulthood was gone, and both my mother and Scott were ready to move forward with the undying love of each other.