He came home that evening looking happier than I had seen him in a long time.
“She’s wonderful,” he told me.
He described how they had laughed about their terrible experiences with technology, exchanged stories about their younger years, and discovered that they shared a love of old movies.
Before they parted, Helen had apparently suggested that they meet again.
My father was delighted.
He spent the next morning checking his phone, waiting for a message.
Nothing came.
He sent her a polite text, asking whether she had arrived home safely and thanking her for the evening.
The message was delivered, but Helen never responded.
At first, my father wasn’t particularly worried. Perhaps she was busy. Perhaps she had second thoughts. Perhaps she simply didn’t feel the connection he had felt.
He tried not to take it personally.
But after several days of silence, he finally accepted that the relationship wasn’t going anywhere.
