Life hasn’t been easy since my husband’s passing. My son, Mike, became withdrawn and didn’t talk to anyone, so I thought moving towns and enrolling him to a new school would help him with his grief.
Days went by and nothing seemed to change, until one day he hopped inside the car with a smile on his face and said, “Mom, I made a new friend. She’s the best person I’ve ever met.”
My face beamed with joy. It was finally happening. My son has finally found someone he was comfortable with.
I didn’t ask many questions, I was just happy for him forming social connections.
One day, he came home and handed me a piece of paper. The phone number of his friend’s mom was written on it. “Mom Sophie invited me to her place tomorrow. This is her mom’s number. Please, say yes,” he said with excitement.
Later that day, I texted Sophie’s mom just to make sure she was fine with the playdate our children had organized. “We’d be happy to have Mike over,” Sophie’s mom texted back.
I offered to bring some wine, and she said it was a great idea.
The following day, we headed to Sophie’s place and I was finally going to meet her and her mom.
However, the moment the door opened and I heard a familiar voice, I felt defeated. It was Alice, the woman who made my high-school years a living hell.
The moment I looked her in the eyes, all the teasing, bullying, and harsh words she has ever said to me came back. I felt the same pain I did when I was a teenager.
With a cold expressions on her face, she said, “Lisa, you haven’t changed,” and laughed at my face.
I hesitated whether I should enter her home, but my son was already inside and his and Sophie’s laughter filled the air.
Alice and I barely said a word to each other. I remembered the time when she stole my prom date and laughed at my face, just like she did when she saw me at her door.
I didn’t want to have anything with that woman, but my son and her daughter made best friends, so there wasn’t much I could do.
While Mike and Sophie continued hanging out both at school and out, Alice and I didn’t have any contact. But that changed when the school principal call me and told me I needed to go to the school.
Unaware of what was going on, I entered Mrs. Terry’s office and saw Alice there.
She accused my son of bullying her daughter. And although I knew she was making things up, I was unable to convince Mrs. Terry that Alice was lying.
Not only she put my son in trouble, but she also accused me of being a bad mother who didn’t take good care of my son.
Alice’s bullying continued. But we weren’t teenagers any longer and I wouldn’t let her hurt my son the way she hurt me years ago.
I spoke to Mike and told him to stay away from Sophie. I knew the girl was a great person, but her mom forced her to lie, and I didn’t want Mike to be friends with her any longer.
One day, as I was getting ready for work, someone knocked on my door. It was Alice, but this time, she looked like the one who was defeated.
“Why are you here, Alice? To throw more accusations at me? What’s your problem?” I asked as I tried to close the door at her face. But she grabbed me by my hand and said she was there to apologize.
I was stunned at her words. “What changed?” I asked.
Alice explained that Sophie was extremely sad because she couldn’t play with Mike any longer. She cried every day and begged her mother to let her be friends with Mike again.
Mike was also said. He missed Sophie dearly, and I believed our children shouldn’t have suffered because of Alice and my unresolved issues.
I invited her inside and we had a long conversation. She said that she bullied me because she was jealous of me. I was part of a lovely family while hers was dysfunctional.
“And what about now, Alice?” I asked. “I’m a single mom struggling to provide a decent life for my son. What’s to be jealous about now?”
Alice shared that she married Luke, the date she stole from me at the prom, but he wasn’t a good husband and father. In fact, she spent a few awful years with him before she gathered the courage to leave him and run away with Sophie.
“And you, although your husband is dead, at least he loved you,” Alice said.
I understood she was facing her own issues, so I decided to forgive her for the sake of our children. We, however, never became friends.
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