I remained quiet.
“She needed to know that the way she feels right now doesn’t have to define her forever.”
The following afternoon, Emma came home unusually subdued.
I found her sitting on her bed, looking at her phone.
“Everything okay?”
“Tyler wants to talk.”
She showed me his message.
Can we talk tomorrow? There’s something I need to explain.
“Are you going to meet him?”
“Maybe.”
Then she looked up.
“Mom, did you stay with the boy who criticized your teeth?”
“For a little while.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought being a good girlfriend meant keeping him happy. I hadn’t learned that someone else’s happiness shouldn’t come at the expense of my confidence.”
Emma considered that.
“Did he apologize?”
“Eventually.”
“Did you forgive him?”
“I stopped being angry. But I realized we weren’t right for each other.”
She looked down.
“I still really like Tyler.”
