Love Never Ends

Part 3: love is kind,

Christmas dinner was almost ready. The table was set, but once again Ana was rearranging everything, just to make sure that it was perfect and nothing was missing. Suddenly, she saw the picture of her son. she had been trying hard all day to avoid thinking about him; it wasn't easy because this would be the first Christmas they weren't together. "I shouldn't cry," she thought. "He is with his father, and tomorrow my boy will be back home." However, it was hard to convince herself that everything was okay. She tried to choke back the tears, but it was just impossible; she sat down on the couch and let the tears run their course. "Why has this happened," she mumbled. She remembered the time when she and Edward had met. What first attracted her about him was his gentle manner and the way he seemed to listen to everything she said. He swore he was so in love with her. They dated for a few years before he proposed, and a year later, they got married. Life was beautiful, and she felt lucky to have wed the perfect man: loving, honest, and hard-working; he was the epitome of the family man. The last thing in her mind was that her husband would ever break her heart. But he did. She wondered how long he had been cheating on her before she found out; it did not matter anymore. She chided herself for being so blind to see what had been so obvious to everyone else. He had become more distant and was easily annoyed. He came back quite late from work and was secretive about his whereabouts. The kind man she had married had turned into a different man, a stranger, and when she finally confronted him with all the evidence, he did not even bother to deny it. He simply packed his stuff and left. She was left behind to deal alone not only with the hurt of his betrayal but also with the responsibility to explain to their son why his family had crumbled.

The first weeks were difficult, but as the months went by, she began to heal. Her instinct was to hate the man who had caused so much suffering, but she knew that the best gift she could give her son was to make sure he had a relationship with both his parents, no longer living together, but constantly present in his life. She was determined not to poison his young heart against his father. She knew her son was okay and happy spending Christmas with his dad, so she wiped away her tears and decided to enjoy the Christmas dinner with her family. After all, her son would be home the following day.

It was early in the morning when she heard thefamiliar yell, "Mom, I'm home." They hugged as he began to tell her in a frenzyabout all the things he did and the presents he got. Edward was standing by thedoor, carrying the small suitcase, perhaps waiting to be invited in or to betold goodbye. "Hello Edward, come on in," She said. "Would you like somecoffee?" He lowered his sight as he said, "I'd love to, but I have to driveback home. It is good to see you. Bye son". Their son ran to his dad and huggedhim. "I love you, Dad." "I love you too",Edward said. "Bye Ana". She just waved and smiled as he turned and walked away. Her ex-husband had hurt her deeply, and manywould say he didn't even deserve a greeting, much less to be invited in.However, they had an unbreakable bond, their child, and their love for himhelped her understand that in spite of the pain her ex-husband had caused, shecould show kindness to him because her love for their child prevailed, and LOVEIS KIND.