**To Stay or To Go**
Emily opened the door, surprised to see her daughter Sophie and a young man she didn’t know, who smiled warmly.
“Hi, Mum, meet James,” Sophie said quickly, nudging him forward. “Thought it was time you got to know each other. Is Dad home?”
“Hello,” James greeted, slightly shy, stepping inside.
Emily smiled reassuringly and nodded.
“Sorry for dropping in unannounced,” Sophie chattered, “we’ll just have a cuppa, then we’re off to the cinema.”
James was polite, smiling modestly but keeping up with the conversation.
“Mum, where’s Dad? I wanted him to meet James.”
“Oh, you know your father—probably tinkering in the garage. Said the car needed a proper clean. Won’t take it to a car wash, insists on doing it himself,” Emily replied.
Soon, Sophie and James prepared to leave, the young man thanking her politely before they headed out.
“What a well-mannered lad,” Emily thought, closing the door behind them.
Sophie was in her second year at university, already grown—so grown that Emily hadn’t even noticed when it happened. Now Sophie often sought her advice, asking how to navigate life’s challenges. Sometimes Emily had answers, but other times she’d say:
“Love, some questions don’t have clear answers. Life isn’t about right or wrong choices—it’s about timing. Things unfold as they should.”
Everyone had their own path. Emily herself had spent over twenty years with her husband, David, always at a crossroads. She still remembered the night her friend Lucy introduced them—
“Emily, this is David, my Tom’s mate,” Lucy had said, steering a tall, awkward man toward her. “He works with Tom, who’s been nagging me to set him up. Anyway, chat away!” And with that, she vanished into the crowd.
The student disco was in full swing. Emily and Lucy were in their final year, while Lucy and Tom were set to marry in two months. David stuck out—shy, slightly hunched, uncomfortable among the students.
“So, David, do you study?” Emily had asked, breaking the silence.
“No, been driving lorries three years now. Did my time in the army before that.”
“Odd,” she’d thought. “Most lads come back from service tougher. My brother certainly did.”
“Tom and I served together,” he added. “Stuck friends since. Only ever went to school, though. You and Lucy here, then?”
He’d smiled—a boyish, disarming grin—and despite herself, she’d smiled back, though she’d had no intention of encouraging him. He wasn’t her type.
If someone had told her that night he’d be her husband one day, she’d have laughed. But fate had other plans. Life would be dull if we knew where we’d end up.
Each time David asked her out, she told herself it was the last. They’d talk, part ways, and she’d decline next time. Yet she never did. Part of her pitied his quiet kindness; another part admitted no other suitors measured up.
“How’s it going with David?” Lucy would ask.
“Fine, I suppose,” Emily would murmur.
Time passed. They attended Lucy and Tom’s wedding as witnesses. Emily graduated, started work. They kept seeing each other. Eventually, she grew used to him—his steadiness, his reliability. Still, she hesitated.
“Mum, I’ve introduced you to David. He’s talking marriage, and I don’t know what to say. He’s dependable, hardworking, caring… but he’s not exactly worldly. Doesn’t read much.”
“Don’t overthink it, love,” her mother said. “So he’s not bookish—he’s devoted. That’s what matters. Love grows with time.”
Then came the proposal. Nervous, blushing, David fumbled a ring box from his pocket.
“Emily… will you marry me?”
She studied the ring, then smiled.
“Yes. But where are my flowers?”
“Blimey, forgot! But I’ll get you some, promise.”
Later, she’d wondered why she’d said yes. He was ordinary, someone she’d never taken seriously. Maybe it was because all her friends were married, and she feared being left behind.
They built a life. A home, routines, problems—David handled those. But the more they shared, the wider the gulf between them felt.
Dinner conversations were practical, never about the films she loved or gallery visits with friends. They disagreed on TV shows, weekend plans. She led; he followed.
“David, must you watch cartoons? You’re not a child.”
“Who says only kids can enjoy them?”
She’d sigh, wishing he were more refined, teaching him table manners before dinners with colleagues.
The turning point came when she attended an office awards banquet alone—David had flu. Sitting there, a thought struck her:
“I’m glad he’s not here. I’d have spent the night worrying he’d say something wrong.”
Change was needed. But two days later, she discovered she was pregnant.
“You’ll be parents,” the doctor said.
“I’ll have the baby,” she replied, dazed.
David was overjoyed. “Emily, I’ll love you both even more.”
Years flew. Sophie grew. Emily knew a child needed both parents, yet she longed to leave. But she stayed.
Sophie started school, proud parents each side. “I’ll get top marks!” she chirped.
“That’s my girl,” David said. “Clever and kind, just like your mum.”
Decades passed. Sophie went to uni, started dating. Friends’ marriages crumbled—infidelity, drink, rows. At night, Emily thanked God for David’s quiet devotion.
“You’re so lucky,” Lucy sighed. Divorced, raising two alone. “David’s your rock. Still looks at you like you’re twenty.”
Emily smiled but never confessed how stifled she’d once felt, how close she’d come to leaving.
Now, with Sophie grown, she wondered: *Would she understand if I left?*
But the truth was, beyond David and Sophie, she had no one. They’d built a life. The time for leaving had passed.
Ahead lay the quiet years—the slow sunset of maturity, and beyond it, old age.
**Sometimes, staying is the bravest choice of all.**
