“…Mom, I’m telling you! He frikkin lied to me!” I exclaimed, throwing my head back on the headrest. My mom rolled her eyes as she turned the corner, gripping the steering wheel. I had asked her earlier to come pick me up early from swim practice. I couldn’t concentrate properly. There was just too much on my mind. And all that grief was caused by a certain someone.

“Candace, come on! It’s none of your business!” my mom groaned, turning up the radio. I scoffed.

“Of course it’s my business, mom! He specifically told me that he would not get into a…” I trailed off when I heard the song playing on the radio.

“What do you get when you fall in love? A guy with a pin to burst your bubble. That’s what you get for all your trouble. I’ll never fall in love again. I’ll never fall in love again.” I groaned. Perfect. This was just what I needed. I slid down in my seat, watching the trees rush by, trying to block out the music.

“What do you get when you kiss a guy? You get enough germs to catch pneumonia. After you do, he’ll never phone ya. I’ll never fall in love again. I’ll never fall in love again.” Oh, the agony! I was one inch from losing my temper at the radio when my mom flipped it off.

“Candace, really, you’re overreacting.” She sighed, giving me a sideways glance before pulling into the driveway. As we eased into the garage, I resumed my rant.

“Mom, I’m being serious here. Sure, this wouldn’t involve me, except for the fact that he blatantly lied to me! To ME!!!! Listen, the reason he broke up with me was because he works two jobs, and he swims every morning! He told me his schedule! He has absolutely no downtime! And I understood that!”

“Yes, Candace, and- ” I held a finger up.

“Mom, don’t talk, just listen.” I commanded gently. Well, as gently as I could, being as angry and flustered as I was. My mom held up her hands in surrender and stepped out of the car. “Okay, mom, so he has no time, and I respected that, and gave him no further crap about it because he had a good reason. And he even told me himself that he was really relieved to be free from our relationship because he had enough to worry about already. See, I understood that! Not to mention, he vowed never to get into a serious relationship unless he knew he found the ONE! And fat chance he’s gonna find the ONE while he’s still in high school!” By this time, we had already walked into the house and were both standing in the kitchen. I didn’t even notice where my feet were taking me due to my nonstop ranting.

“Candace, wait just a minute.” My mom said, holding up her hand. Then she disappeared into the basement. But, I wasn’t done yet. I stood at the doorway to the basement stairs and yelled down to her.

“He made me his witness when he made that vow! So now he has SO many reasons not to have a girlfriend! Why, then, am I seeing him in a relationship? Just a FEW WEEKS after he made all those reasons, now he has a GIRLFRIEND! Mom, He LIED to me!” I concluded with a furious scream, and stalked to the kitchen counter, where I flung my swim bag. My mom slowly ascended from the basement.

“Are you done now?” she asked calmly. I looked away and nodded rigidly. She held an empty laundry basket in her hands. I expected her to disappear into the laundry room, but she just stood there, looking at me intently. I felt her eyes searching my face. “Candace,” she sighed. I looked up. She had a patient, yet distressed, look on her face.

“Yeah?” I mumbled.

“We can’t make promises like that. We never expect things like this to happen. They just do. Remember, we’re not the ones in charge of our plans here. Sure, Anthony made that promise to himself, but he never expected this to happen. It’s like when you have unexpected free time! You know, ‘Oh, I’m not doing anything right now. I might as well knit or read!’ It’s just like that! You don’t know what’s gonna happen!”

“Mom, when I knit or read, I don’t lie to other people!” I said, rolling my eyes. My mom sighed and ran a hand down her face.

“Okay, think of it this way. When I came to America, I was just nineteen! I decided that I didn’t want to finish school in the Philippines, and I wanted to reunite with the rest of my family in the States! My plan was to come here, spend time with my family, go to school here, and then that’s it! I’d go back to the Philippines after that! And, why not, I thought about taking a part time job. Did I choose it? No! My friend just said there was an opening somewhere, and I was like why not. I mean, I didn’t have anything else to do! So, I get the job, I work there for a while, and whatever! I didn’t expect to meet your dad there! I wasn’t even planning on seriously dating! I just accepted dates here and there and went out with whoever! My friend just set me up with him! You know, it was Valentines day, and I had no plans, and I wasn’t planning on going anywhere because I had a sty on my eye! But my friend urged me to go, so I did! And your dad wasn’t being serious about it either! ‘Oh, all I have to do it take this girl out, feed her, whatever.’” In spite of myself, I began giggling.

“Oh my gosh. That’s how you guys met?” I laughed. My mom grinned and nodded.

“Well, that’s how it happened. It was all just for kicks. I didn’t want to think about a relationship! I had family, school, and work to worry about! but, guess what! Ten months later, we got married! I wasn’t expecting that, but it happened! And, guess what, when I returned home to the Philippines after school, he came along with me! And then I met up with my dad again, who I hadn’t seen in twenty… no, sixteen years, and I had a GUY with me! A guy seven years older than me!” By this time, all anger was swept away from me, and replaced by giggles. I leaned on the kitchen counter.

“Wow, mom!” I sighed when I regained my composure. “I had no idea…”

“Neither did I.” My mom laughed, turning the laundry basket sideways and leaning it on her foot. Then, she looked at me seriously. “Candace, really, Anthony isn’t doing this to hurt you. You understand?” she asked. I sighed and nodded.

“Yeah.” I said softly. My mom smiled.

“Good. Besides, why do you care so much? If you keep trying to interfere with Anthony’s life, people will start to think you’re not over him.” she said, looking down at the laundry basket. I scoffed and looked at the ceiling.

“Mom! I’ve already told you lots of times! I can’t find it in myself to even consider getting back together with him! We tried it out and failed. It’s simple as that!”

“Yes, but you still have feelings for him.”

“No, I don’t!”

“Then, why do you care so much that he’s with another girl now? You know how he is when it comes to girls.” She raised her eyebrow at me, daring me to challenge her. I opened my mouth to speak, but clamped it shut. She was right. Anthony may not be the guy I want to spend the rest of my life with, but I was having problems letting him go. I couldn’t deny that.

“Mom, he made a promise.” I sighed. “And I made a promise too. Before I fell in love with Anthony, I made a promise not to get into another relationship. But, I did. And now I’m regretting it. He’s gonna regret it too. Just give him a few months.”

“Then let him regret it!” my mom cried. “For crying out loud!”

“I don’t want him to regret it! It’s too painful! So, I don’t want him to get involved in the first place!”

“Oh, it’s too late for that, Candace.” My mom chuckled. “He’s already done it. And, to be honest, you’ve been getting involved with someone as well… that grungy boy, Joseph. Isn’t he two years younger than you?” I grunted in disgust.

“Mom! I’d never date him! Sure, he’s a really sweet boy, and he’s really mature for his age, but I just don’t go for that kind of guy! He’s not my type.”

“Oh really, now? What about when you promised Joseph that he’d be your date to your junior prom if no one else offered to take you?” she grinned. My jaw dropped.

“How did you find out about that?” I asked, wide-eyed.

“Oh, Dani hears everything.” My mom shrugged. I clenched my fists. Damn that little preteen hoe-bag. Mom continued. “Your sister also told me that you kissed him.” I had to grab the ledge of the kitchen counter to keep from stumbling in shock.

“I kissed… ugh, Dani’s gonna die.” I seethed. My mom just stood there patiently.

“It’s true, isn’t it?” she asked in an even tone. I looked at my feet guiltily and nodded my head.

“A few times, actually.” I mumbled. I looked up to see my mom’s disgusted face. “Oh come on, he’s so persistent! He literally held me back and wouldn’t let me go until I did it! He’s a bad kisser anyways.” I added hastily. My mom just rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“But the fact of the matter is you kissed him.” I nodded slowly. “And he’s very sweet to you most of the time.” Nodded again. “So, why isn’t he your boyfriend?”

“I told you, Mom! He’s just not the right one! And, besides, there are plenty of fish in the sea, and very few of them will be my boyfriend! I don’t need a boyfriend to live!” I cried, waving my hand up for emphasis. My mom picked up the laundry basket and kicked open the door to the laundry room.

“Well, then that shows that you’re strong.” She said over her shoulder. She went in and left the door open to hear my side of the conversation. “Candace, Anthony was okay for a while without a girlfriend, but you know how some people are. He realized that there was a void inside him, and he needed to fill it. You can’t blame him for that, can you?”

“Huh, I don’t have a void.” I grumbled, crossing my arms.

“What was that?” my mom called from inside the laundry room.

“I don’t have a void!” I raised my voice.

“Well, then that makes you stronger than he is. If he needs someone to complete him, and he can only go a month without someone filling the gap, then you know that you have more inner strength!” I rolled my eyes.

“I’m sure he’ll be using his inner strength to fill someone’s gap.” I said rudely under my breath. My mom’s head popped out from inside the laundry room.

“Didn’t catch that!” she said. I straightened up.

“Nothing!” I said quickly. My mom emerged from the laundry room with her basket filled with clothes and bedsheets. She pulled out a chair from the dining room table and dragged it to the place she was standing earlier.

“Candace, do you know the story of the butterfly in the cocoon?” she sat down and began folding clothes. I nodded, and she continued. “A person walked by a butterfly fighting it’s way out of a cocoon. The person felt so sorry for the butterfly because it was struggling so hard, that he helped open the cocoon for the butterfly. Now, as it turned out, the butterfly was lame when it emerged. Apparently, it needed the struggling and the strength to open the cocoon, because without the exercise, it wouldn’t be strong enough to survive. By interfering, the person only made things worse when all he wanted to do was help. Do you see what this teaches us, Candace? You’re strong and independent, and you don’t need a boy to complete you. Anthony is still learning and struggling. He’ll learn eventually, but he needs to do it on his own in order for him to gain enough inner strength. If you interfere, you might just be making things worse. Do you understand?” She looked at me intently. I thought about it a while, then nodded. There was a lot of truth in that.

I remembered when I was like Anthony. I felt I needed a boyfriend to survive. I needed someone to tell me that he loved me, to tell me that I was beautiful, to be there for me. After a year of failed relationships, I learned that boys weren’t everything. I didn’t need someone to complete me. Now, if a boy showed total infatuation with me, and was so sweet and loving, I wouldn’t just throw myself at him. No, not anymore. I learned how to judge whether a boy was perfect for me, and I knew that so far, no one fit the mold. Even when I was dating Anthony, I had a feeling deep down inside that he wasn’t the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

“Yeah, I understand.” I said quietly. I felt my anger slipping away… but before it did, “Mom, he still lied to me!”

“He did not lie!” she gave an exasperated sigh. “Something just came up! That’s all there is to it!”

“But he made a promise!”

“Candace, for crying out loud! I promised myself that I wouldn’t marry until I was twenty-five! I married when I was twenty! Look, we promise ourselves things, but we can’t stick to them that faithfully! They’re more like guidelines! We make promises to ourselves as goals. Why did we take you to visit London last year?”

“To see colleges.” I answered slowly, not knowing where this was going.

“Yes, and now it’s your goal to make it to Oxford! Now, will you get into Oxford? Hopefully! But is it guaranteed that it will happen?”
“No.” I shook my head.

“See? Now, think of this. If you’ve made a so-called ‘vow’ to go to Oxford, and your mind is all ‘Oxford, Oxford, Oxford’, and you were offered a full scholarship to Harvard, would you reject it?”

“No.” I shook my head again, firmer. My mom raised her palms up.

“See? It’s just a guideline! It’s not all that strict!” she cried hopefully, trying to make sure the message had finally sunk in.

“So, it’s no big deal then? I should be happy for Anthony, and not interfere?” I asked, trying to get the point right on target. My mom smiled brightly.

“Exactly. So, don’t you feel better now?”

“A bit, yeah.” I nodded.

“This was better than running to your friends and whining to them, huh? They would’ve all urged you on and told you to raise Hell for him.”

“Actually, yeah.” I laughed. My mom laughed along with me.

“Well, I’m happy that you listened. Now, go on to your room and get some rest. You’ve got work in less than two hours.”

---

I stood at my dresser and lifted the lid of one of my many jewelry boxes. I reached inside and pulled out a black bracelet with lettered beads. I turned it over in my hand and read the message spelled out by the beads: “I Love Anthony”.

“Mystery girlfriend, whoever you are, I can’t wait to meet you, so I can pass the baton, and my love of Anthony, to the next lucky girl.” I said out loud, stroking the bracelet. Then, I placed it back in the jewelry box and sighed. Yep, things were gonna be all right.