“Emma, sweetheart, come here.”
She appeared wearing pajamas.
“Mom? What’s wrong?”
I caught her hands.
“You need to break up with him. Tonight.”
“What? Why?”
“Because I know who he is.”
Just hours earlier, I’d been telling everyone how wonderful Tyler seemed.
Emma was 23, finishing her final year of college, and dating her first serious boyfriend.
I’d worried about her relationships for years. She made friends easily, but whenever someone showed romantic interest, she usually pulled away.
I sometimes wondered whether watching my marriage collapse had made trusting someone difficult.
Then Tyler came along.
They’d met during a campus volunteer event and had been dating for four months. Emma talked about him constantly.
He remembered things she mentioned, brought her dinner during late study sessions, and listened when she worried about graduation.
Most importantly, she seemed happy.
When Emma announced she’d bring him to our neighbor’s Halloween party, I was delighted.
