The woman who had been crying on her son’s chest moments ago also couldn’t tear her eyes away, and suddenly their gazes met.
- Why are you still standing here?
the woman said softly, her voice cold.
- Go on, but don’t fool yourself. Kyle won’t come back to you. Forget him and build your own life without my son.
- What are you saying, Olivia?
the young woman replied just as quietly, with a note of bewilderment.
- I truly love your son, and I’ll definitely wait for him. I promised him. He knows I’ll wait faithfully.
She said this with conviction. Her voice trembled from the overwhelming emotions.
- Wait for him, huh. Sure!
the mother snorted contemptuously, her face twisting in anger.
- You’re just as flighty as your mother. Get out of here and find someone else.
She added spitefully.
- And forget about my Kyle.
Olivia wanted to say something even sharper and more cutting, but her husband gently put his arm around her shoulders and led her toward the platform exit.
Olivia, burying her face in her husband’s shoulder, followed him, quietly sobbing.
- Oh, Jimmy!
she whispered plaintively.
- I can see right through her.
This girl is completely wrong for our Kyle, and she even had the nerve to come see him off.
James, trying to soothe his wife, replied quietly.
- Olivia, don’t worry.
- What can we do now if our son chose her? That pretty little thing can charm anyone with her looks. Our boy couldn’t resist her spell either. Ah, you men! You’re all the same!
Olivia continued, her voice filled with resentment.
- You’ll never understand. You always think with something other than your head.
Kelsey heard every word, but her heart felt uneasy. It hurt and offended her that her beloved’s parents treated her so unfairly. After all, she had always tried to behave decently and never given cause for gossip. Kyle and Kelsey had gone to school together since first grade, but only in high school did their first timid feelings emerge.
In tenth grade, their friendship gradually evolved into something deeper, pure and innocent, like a spring flower blooming after a long winter. Kyle walked Kelsey home every day after classes, and they spent hours strolling the quiet streets of their small town—these walks were true happiness for them. They reveled in each other’s company, forgetting the world around them.
They didn’t even think about the intimate side of relationships. It seemed that being together was what mattered most. Their first kiss happened two months after they confessed their feelings to each other.
Kyle loved lifting Kelsey into his arms and spinning her around like a little girl. And she, bursting into genuine laughter, felt like the happiest person alive. Yes, they were truly happy in their youthful romance.
Olivia often stood by the window, watching Kyle walk Kelsey home. She saw how he looked at this girl and realized her son no longer belonged to her alone. This fear pierced her soul deeply.
She wanted his life to be perfect and for him to make the right choice. But what if he was mistaken? What if this girl would just ruin his bright future? On graduation day, when all the graduates and parents celebrated the end of school, they slipped away from the noisy crowd. By the riverbank, where the water’s rush drowned out all worries, they sat together, talking about the future, making plans, and embracing under the starry sky.
Hand in hand, they greeted their first adult dawn, feeling that a grand and bright future lay ahead. They weren’t bothered by any gossip that might arise behind their backs because they knew they had done nothing shameful. Kyle treated the girl with reverence, as the best part of his life.
After high school, the couple decided they wanted to tie the knot. They dreamed of a modest but heartfelt wedding with only their closest ones present. However, the young people’s plans met unexpected and harsh resistance from the guy’s parents.
If before they had seen their son’s relationship with this girl—they disdainfully called Kelsey—as a temporary fling, now, learning of his true intentions, they grew seriously concerned. Kyle’s mother, Olivia, immediately sprang into action. She began persistently convincing him that Kelsey was not the girl to marry.
Girls like this Kelsey, son, you’ll have a whole trainload and a little cart more. She often repeated irritably. Kyle’s father, James, silently supported his wife.
As always. By nature, he was a quiet and compliant man, completely dependent on his wife in life and at work. After all, Olivia was a department head in the city administration, overseeing the construction division, while he, James, worked there as an ordinary driver.
Olivia was extremely displeased with her son’s choice, but what angered her most was that he wanted to link his life with a simple girl, the daughter of a single mother. Kelsey’s mother, Mary, had moved to their town from the big city years ago, already pregnant. She gave birth to her daughter but never told anyone who the father really was.
Mary worked as a humble seamstress, making costumes for performers at the local community center, and took on extra jobs at home to make ends meet. Olivia couldn’t accept that her son had chosen such a bride. She had long eyed another life partner for Kyle—Emma, the daughter of the town’s mayor, a girl from a very affluent and respected family.
In her eyes, such a marriage would be ideal, and she intended to do everything possible to break up her son’s relationship with his unworthy girl. Olivia paid no attention to the fact that the girl she chose for her son lacked the outward beauty of Kelsey. Far more important to the woman was that the mayor’s daughter had vast prospects and broad opportunities.
She tried to persuade her son to build a relationship with Emma, seeing it as a step toward a secure and stable future. However, Kyle proved stubborn and categorical. He firmly stated that his heart belonged only to Kelsey, and no amount of his mother’s persuasion could make him change his feelings.
Since finishing school, the guy had become completely unmanageable, which only heightened Olivia’s anxiety.
- You’re too hard on them, Olivia,
her friend said over a cup of tea.
- Young people should choose for themselves.
- I just want my son to live better than I did,
Olivia exclaimed.
- I’ve worked hard all my life to give him a future.
- And what can this naive girl give him? She’s not his match.
- But what if he’s happy with her?
her friend countered.
Olivia paused for a moment, but her pride wouldn’t let her admit the truth. And at the end of the conversation, she added,
- Happiness is temporary, but mistakes last a lifetime.
She had big plans for her son’s future and wanted to send him to a prestigious university in the capital to get a solid education and make useful connections. But Kyle unexpectedly announced he had decided to join the military. He was convinced that a real man should serve his country first, and only then decide on a career.
Olivia was in shock. She tried to reason with her son, urging him to reconsider, but all her efforts were in vain. In desperation, she even decided to act behind his back and secretly contacted the recruitment office, hoping to pull strings and spare her son from service.
But there, she faced an unexpected response. The recruitment officer, a man of strict principles, politely but firmly advised her to calm down and stop interfering. He emphasized that Olivia should be proud of raising a son who doesn’t seek easy ways out and wants to honorably fulfill his duty to the homeland, without trying to dodge service.
These words from an authoritative figure made Olivia reflect. She realized her influence over her son wasn’t limitless and that Kyle was now an adult, ready to make his own decisions, even if they clashed with her plans and expectations. Kyle chose to enlist not only out of patriotic feelings but also with a secret hope that during his absence, his mother would calm down and accept his relationship with Kelsey.
He believed that upon his return, when they could marry, his mother would see how sincerely the girl had waited and might finally embrace their love. He had no doubts about his beloved’s loyalty, just as he had none about his own feelings. The night before departure, they spent like on graduation by the river, sitting in each other’s arms and silently watching the stars.
In the silence, Kelsey passionately whispered,
- Kyle, I love you so much. If you want, we can do it right now.
Kyle simply replied quietly,
- I want it too, but no. Let’s wait. I don’t want to rush things. And I don’t want to hurt you either. When I return, we’ll get married, and then everything will be as it should.
Kelsey smiled shyly but gratefully. In that moment, they both knew their future would be bright and pure; she would definitely wait for him and become his happy bride, then wife.
And now, standing on the platform and hearing the cruel words from Kyle’s mother, the girl felt her heart constrict in pain and offense. How could Olivia say such things? Kelsey was sure of her honesty and fidelity, and no one but Kyle mattered to her. And she would definitely wait for his return.