**The Proposal**
One of the biggest mistakes is thinking people are just good, bad, stupid, or clever. People arent fixedthey change. Someone mightve been foolish and become wise, or cruel and turn kind. Thats the beauty of being human. You cant judge someone once and be done with itbecause by the time you do, theyre already different. Thats something Leo Tolstoy once wrote in his diaries.
Arguing with greatness is hardsometimes impossible. Life keeps proving him right, if you look close enough, sift through the noise, and find the truth at the heart of it all.
But todays too hot for deep thoughts. Proper July heat, like the air bounced off sun-scorched brick walls and just gave up, lying flat on the pavement, beaten by the sun pouring summer from the sky.
Except for Emily. Inside, shes midwinter. A bitter, biting cold. So this summers happening without her.
Schools just ended. Unis the next step, like any proper graduate. But Emilys pregnant. Unis off the table. And Jake turned out to be a right git. When she told him about the baby, he just bit his lip, stared out the window, and said,
“Sure, I was first but whos to say I was the only one?”
Emily didnt even cry. Just stood there, staring at his backcalm as anything, breathing steady. She wanted to say more, ask what she was supposed to do now, but then the doorbell rang. Her mum was home. Jake went to let her in, muttered a quick hello in the hallway, and left.
Mum marched straight to Emilys room, took one look at her, and asked what was wrong. Emily just blurted it out.
“Nothings wrong. Im just pregnant.”
Mum stared, dead in her eyes. Then she shriekedEmily didnt catch the words, though, because the sound was drowned out by the slap that followed.
And thats when winter hit. Like snow had fallen all at once, burying her alive. Cold. Empty. Inside and out.
Mum kept yelling, but snow muffles everything. So Emily just sat on the edge of her bed, cryingexcept the tears didnt fall. They froze inside her, turning to little crystal beads rolling around in the hollow space where her heart should be.
Mum stormed out, the front door slammed, and thensilence. Just Emily and her frozen tears in the middle of a sweltering July evening.
She curled up under the covers and *then* the sobs came. Proper, messy, girl-crying. Sniffles and hiccups and all. And the worst part? It wasnt even for herself. It was for the babyunborn and already unwanted. By its dad, its gran, even its own mum. Nobody was happy about it.
She fell asleep before the sun even set, dreams all jumbled. Woke up to someone sitting beside her, stroking her hair.
Mum was back.
“Em, love forgive me. Im a fool, and not even an old one at that. Should be celebratingmy girls all grown up. Gonna be a mum herself soon. And I”
She was crying now, swiping at her cheeks.
“Justlisten. Pray its not a boy. Please, not a boy. Men bloody men. Not one of em knows how to love a woman right. Your dad didnt. Mine didnt. None of em!”
That set Emily off proper. Full-on wailing. She sat up, clung to her mumthe person she loved mostand they cried together, each mourning their own sorrow. But it was warm, at least. And summer still blazed outside.
Thenthe doorbell again. Mum sniffed hard, wiped her face, and held Emily back when she tried to get up.
“Stay, love. Ill get it.”
She straightened her hair on the way. Tragedy or not, if a mans at the door, you dont answer looking a mess.
Opened it. And there they weretwo of em. Jake, and in front, his dad, who cleared his throat.
“Evening, Mrs. Thompson. Sorry for the hour. But my lad heres told me everything, seems like.” He glanced at Jake. “Or was there more, future grandad?”
Jake just hung his head. His dad carried on.
“Right. So were hereboth of usto ask for your daughters hand. If Emily can forgive this idiot for what he said.” He cuffed Jake round the ear. “Go on, you little sod. Apologise properly. And if she wont have you, youre no son of mine.”
Yeah. People change. Mess up, then fumble their way to making it right. Good thing weve got mums and dads to knock sense into us when we need it.
