"You had me at eighteen." His mother looked up at him with a confused smile, but she didn't respond. They walked side by side through the stony path of the park, enjoying the warm morning stroll, one they hadn't had the time for in a while. "You and dad stayed together since you were teenagers. How did you manage that?"

His mother laughed, hands shoved into the pocket of her coat. She shrugged offhandedly. "Your father and I didn't just have you when I was eighteen; we married each other too. Now don't get me wrong, it wasn't something we planned, the pregnancy, I mean. I was young, and there was no telling where we ended up in the future. We got married on a trip to Italy and told no one. When my parents found out, they lost their minds."

"Knowing grandma and grandpa, I am not surprised."

"Right? Anyway, I heard it all. I was too young to know what love meant; I was setting myself up for disaster; I wasn't thinking clearly. You know, maybe they were right, but I loved your father so much. Do you know how many other teenagers marry at eighteen and are divorced as soon as high school is over?"

"Quite a few, I would think."

"A lot. There are a lot. Marriage didn't immediately make your father a mature man and me a mature woman. We still fought like kids. He had school, and so did I. The reason we were married for so long wasn't just because of love alone; it was luck too. Not a lot of people get to try it once and get it right. Some people try the first time, and it fails, same for the second, the third goes the same. Your father and I got lucky. The long-distance marriage lasted, schooling while raising you worked, moving in together after living apart for years worked. We got lucky."

"I can't imagine dad as a teenager."

"He was...corny. Silly, weird, opinionated, and so was I. It was one of the reasons people were adamant that we wouldn't work. We would clash too much, and it would cause friction in our marriage. They said opposites attract, but your dad and I... liked to joke that we broke science. He would say, 'we are very like poles that attract.' My silly young man, we didn't want to miss the chance on love because of what people thought would happen."

"I wish I had that luck."

"Did the entire point I made earlier go over your head?" he snickered, and she threaded her arms through his, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Sometimes people get lucky once, and others get luckily after a while. Josephine was your first fail, but she is not going to be the end."

"What do I do mom?"

"Forgive her." He rolled his eyes, and she grinned. "You must have heard this a thousand times, but it is actually the truth. Forgiving her is not for her, it is mostly for you. Emotions, especially the ones you are struggling with are not the best leaders, principally when they are loud. I, more than anyone in the world, know about your track record with women. Josephine was the first woman you saw yourself with, and you took it seriously."

"I know ma." He frowned and looked away, squinting at the glare of the sun when his eyes caught something on the other side of the park.

Cassandra was walking by herself, strapped in a coat of her own, long brown hair, auburn in the sunlight, flowing over her shoulders. It was the first time he had ever seen her casual. The pool didn't count because she was required to dress down for the occasion. She walked on, dressed in sneakers with no makeup, jeans and bright blue headphones over her ears. Cassandra didn't notice him, and he only looked for less than ten seconds, but it felt longer. The rings on her fingers catching his attention before he looked away, and she crossed the street, briskly walking out of the park gates.

"She is beautiful isn't she."

"She has a way of arresting a room." He replied casually, looking down on his mother with a sombre smile. "She is an oddity I can't figure out, but she is not what we are talking about here. You mentioned forgiving."

"Yes, forgiveness. If you don't let this go, wash her out of your system with no resentment left in you, you would see many relationships that follow through the lens that she has put on you." His mother laughed with a shrug. "It's what leads to the stereotypes people, men and women alike, give each other. When a woman breaks your heart and leaves with your money, then suddenly every woman is a gold digger. When a man breaks a ladies heart by cheating, then suddenly all men become unfaithful. The lens you keep might define relationships to come. You have to be careful because sometimes you don't notice that you even have them on."

"How do you really forgive someone and not know if there is residual pain?"

"Time and conscious action. You go back to the drawing board day after day and wipe off the stain little by little. You feel the pain, and you accept it, don't talk it out, review it and address it. Admit that you cared for her, and she broke your trust, accept it, dust off and start walking again. I got lucky on the first try, you didn't, but life isn't over. You have more and more to look forward to."

He laughed sadly. "You got married at eighteen, I am twenty years older than you were when you got married, and I am still single."

"Marriage was never on the top of your list. At least not then. Besides, as I said, your father and I played a wild card and were lucky enough that it didn't come around to bite us in the ass. Whatever happened with Josephine, you and I both know she did something you can't ever deny."

"Which is?"

"She proved, at least to some level, that you are capable of commitment. If you put your mind to it, you are capable of loving someone thoroughly and being faithful." His mother cupped his face, pulling him down to kiss his forehead long and hard. "My beautiful baby boy. You and I are all we have left. Whenever you feel like you need someone to talk to, you can always come to me. Don't keep anything inside."

He kissed her head as well, enveloping her in his arms, hugging her tightly. "I agree. Someone has to give a reason to leave the house more often."

"It does get dark in there." She grinned. "I mean it on telling me when you are hurt, or confused, or betrayed. I would body check anyone if I have to. No one hurts you and gets away with it."

"Don't I know it. Do you know why I never got bullied in school?" She shook her head, and his voice dropped into a low mischievous whisper. "Because none of the boys wanted to get on the beautiful Mrs Clarks dark side. They wanted to be in your good graces."

"Stop it." She slapped his arm hard, and he laughed even harder.

"It's true. You've been my hero since day one." He looked down at her and sighed. "So, in the spirit of losing my girlfriend, I have a lot of free time to spend. What do you say we go out tonight? You, me, and a restaurant by the beach."

"Of course."

He slung his arm over her, and they continuedtheir walk through the park. Josephine wasn't going away anytime soon. Shelived in the same city, she went to the places he loved, she was in his life.He wasn't changing his life just to avoid her, he didn't plan on letting herwin, but his mother had a solid point, he needed to wash her effects out ofhim. He wasn't ready to start living his life centred around a woman who wasdeeply centred around her own.