Chapter Text
"I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy
asking him to love her"
-Notting Hill
My mother taught me the golden rule of relationships when I was still in second grade.
At the venerable age of greenhouse years, I was sneaking into his room because I had a nightmare (a noseless man chasing you by casting green spells from his wand may not sound so scary, but it gets terrifying when he knows his middle name and unleashes a snake behind you).
The square television at the top of the chest of drawers broadcast the Bridget Jones' diary and before mom noticed my presence at the foot of the bed I was able to watch a good part of the movie. At that point, as it was too late to protect myself from that story maybe not really suitable for a second grader girl, my mother made me curl up under the covers next to her and we watched the rest of the movie together.
Only my still underdeveloped brain just couldn't understand. Why would Bridget Jonas have to give up the cute one -the charming one- for a guy who was the human equivalent of a giant yawn?
Already - obviously I hadn't grasped the moral of the story, and in the end I had madly fallen in love with the playboy. Even today I can hear mom's voice and her vanilla scent while playing with my hair, it explains to me what I couldn't grasp.
“Charm and charisma don't take far, Lils. Sooner or later they vanish. And it's for this is what you should never, for any reason in the world, put yourself with the bad guy."
Since then we had shared hundreds of moments like that, exploring life together through romantic comedies. It was our tradition. We made ourselves a snack and then, lying between the pillows, we devoured his collection of happy ending movies full of kisses. Just like some people can't do without trash reality shows.
And that, in hindsight, is why I just waited for the perfect love story from the moment I was able to write the word 'love'.
Before she died, my mother passed on to me her unwavering confidence in 'and lived happily ever after'. My legacy has been the realization that love is always in the air, it's always a possibility, and it's always worth it.
The Perfect Man -in the 'good reliable guy'’s version- could be just around the corner.
That's why I always keep myself ready.
It's just a matter of time before it happens to me too.