https://Voice.club - Gina scanned the battered books that felt like friends. She sure could use a friend.
She picked up a paperback called “Love Is”, full of cute cherubs and sweet love notes. A loose page fell out and Gina’s sunglasses slipped as she reached for it. It said, “Love is… showing your emotions.” Yeah, right. She turned it over and laughed. “Love is… giving him another chance.”
Gina bought two and, tucking them into her bag, she headed for the coffee shop. Waiting for her latte, she read “Love is… when you can’t stay mad for long,” and “Love is… when nothing is too much trouble.”
Tears welled up and Gina swallowed hard as she flipped through the pages.
“Love is… being able to say you’re sorry.” Not happening, Gina muttered. But it reminded her of a line from an old movie. “Love means never having to say you’re sorry”. Two opposing views. Being able to say you’re sorry, but also never having to.
Gina sipped carefully, mindful of the concealer on her injured lip, and thought about love. What it was. What it wasn’t. The coffee infused her with warmth while the books infused her with their sentiments.
Gina made a decision.
Love meant loving yourself first – you couldn’t give what you didn’t have, and she finally understood why he behaved as he did.
But love also meant saying sorry. She would say sorry, but not like before - sorry for things that weren’t her fault, sorry for “anything” just to make it stop.
No. This time she would say sorry. but enough is enough. And she was sorry – sorry it hadn’t worked out, sorry she hadn’t reached this point sooner.
Gina found a pen, opened the “Love Is” book and added “Love is… loving yourself first.” Then she wiped the concealer from her bruised face, gingerly eased out of the cardigan and put her sunglasses away.
The waitron came by and gasped.
“Yes,” Gina said, “he often beats me up. But he won’t do it again.”
Gathering her belongings, Gina headed for the police station.
