Love hesitates

She stood staring at the ticket in her hands, her mouth trembling as she tried not to cry. As she crept further along the security line, she focused her attention on the terminal ahead. She was too afraid to look back, for if he was there watching her, she might run back into his arms.

Just before she turned the corner, she finally dared to look over her shoulder. There he was, watching her with mournful eyes. She touched her hand to her lips then blew him a tearful kiss. She had to say goodbye; she couldn’t stay.

When she got to her gate, she sat and sobbed. And sobbed and sobbed. She didn’t want to be at the airport leaving this place; leaving this man. She wanted to be in his arms where she felt safe and secure.

But he didn’t ask her to stay. And she was too afraid to ask if he wanted her to.

It was several hours and countless tears later that she finally arrived at her destination. She should have been happy to see her family waiting excitedly for her, but she was devastated at the idea of never seeing him again.

She wondered what was meant to happen now. Does she call him? Does she wait for him to call her? Or is this the end? Is her return to America the end of it all?

She didn’t want to seem needy; desperate. So she waited for him to contact her.

But he didn’t want to smother her; to make her feel obligated. So he waited for her to get in touch.

Love hesitated; pride was resolute.

Note: This was part of a writing exercise that was meant to be titled “love hesitates”. I wasn’t really sure where to go with the assignment and I admit that this took me a very long time to complete as there was/is another “love hesitates” idea in my mind, too. Still, I chose this one because despite love’s hesitation, the girl and boy did put their pride aside and within days they were communicating regularly despite the distance. And, eventually, the distance was bridged once again and they married. (Yes, it’s a real-life experience of yours truly!)