My mum gave up everything to raise me. After my father left, she was always there for me, the only one. All I wanted was to do something nice for her. So I figured it wasn’t too late for her to find love on a dating app. But, God, what I definitely didn’t expect was to find out who she would go on a date with!
My name is Lucy, and I’m 23 years old. As I usually do on weekends, one day I went to visit my mum, Phoebe.
I am her only daughter and she has no-one else. My dad left the family when I was very young, and since then my mum has always been on her own.
I was her top priority and with all the care she took of me, she never had time for a personal life. My mum is 56 years old and it’s not easy to find a partner at her age, but I stayed optimistic, hoping to help her.
We were at her house and I stood with my phone, taking pictures of her and showing her how to pose.
The afternoon sun was streaming through the window, flooding the living room with warm light. The room was cosy, filled with family photos and mementos of my childhood.
‘Mum, stand by the window,’ I instructed, trying to catch the best light. ‘No, not like that, more gracefully, like a cat.’
‘A cat? Lucy, at my age?’ replied Mum shyly, her cheeks taking on a slight tinge of pink.
‘It’s never too late to feel like a woman. Listen to what I’m saying. And don’t look at the camera. Imagine you’re staring mysteriously out the window…’
Phoebe hesitated, but obeyed and stood at the window, tilting her head slightly and looking out at the street with a soft, thoughtful expression.
‘Oh… Stand still… Got it!’ exclaimed I, taking the picture. I showed her the picture with a wide smile. ‘See? You look amazing, Mum!’
She looked at the picture and a small smile appeared on her face. ‘You think so?’
‘Of course I do! It’s perfect for your Tinder profile,’ I said, editing the photo a little before uploading it.
‘Honey, are you sure this is a good idea? I’m not young anymore, who would want me on there…’ she faltered, doubt audible in her voice.
‘Mum, don’t talk about yourself like that. Life doesn’t end at fifty! Love knows no age!’ I said firmly, looking into her eyes to emphasise my words. ‘You deserve to be happy too.’
We worked together to add a description to her profile. We laughed as we came up with the right words to describe her warm heart, love of gardening and passion for cooking.
‘How about this, ‘Loving mother and avid gardener looking for someone to share laughter and delicious food with. Believes love is timeless and life is full of surprises.’ What do you say?’ I asked.
Phoebe chuckled softly. ‘That sounds lovely, Lucy. Thank you for doing this for me.’
‘Of course, Mum. You deserve to find someone special,’ I said as I hugged her. ‘Now let me show you how to use the app.’
After a brief instruction on how to swipe left and right, I felt confident that she was ready to dive into the world of online dating.
We had one last laugh at the ridiculousness of it all, after which I said goodbye and headed home, wondering hopefully what the future held for her.
The next day I arrived at the office, and as usual my work day started with coffee and gossip with my office mate Natalie.
The office kitchen was buzzing with morning chatter as we grabbed our coffees and settled at a table in the corner. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the air, creating a cosy start to the day.
Natalie immediately leaned towards us, her eyes sparkling with excitement. ‘You’re not going to believe this, Lucy. Michael, our boss, has been looking at his phone all day and smiling like a kid.’
I raised an eyebrow in surprise.
‘Michael? Smiling? What’s going on with him?’
Natalie grinned, her excitement palpable. ‘Woman. I’m sure he has someone. I mean, that’s the only explanation. Michael is always so focused on his work and never gets distracted. But today he was glued to his phone and smiling like a lovesick teenager.’
The thought of Michael, our workaholic boss, being in love was amusing. We’d never seen him with a woman, let alone behave like that.
‘We have to find out who it is!’ I declared, bursting with curiosity.
At this point, we devised a plan. Natalie approached Michael, carrying a stack of papers. ‘Michael, would you mind taking a look? I can’t find last week’s report,’ she said, feigning confusion.
Michael sighed, reluctantly putting the phone aside. ‘Natalie, you’ve been working here for years. Let me see,’ he replied, taking the paperwork from her.
While Michael was distracted by Natalie, I quietly picked up his phone from the desk. My heart raced when I opened it, not knowing what to expect. But I wasn’t prepared for what I saw.
It was my mum! He was texting my mum! Their conversation had been going on since last night. I was going through the messages in my head.
They had already arranged a date for this evening; my mum had invited him over to her place for dinner. Panic gripped me. ‘No, no, this can’t be happening! Not this,’ I thought frantically. How could it really be?
Why him, Mum? I couldn’t even imagine how awkward it would be to work with my boss as my future stepfather. No! I couldn’t let it happen. I had to stop it.
When Natalie and I got back together, she immediately started asking, ‘So who is it? Do you know her?’
I smiled forcedly and lied, ‘No big deal, just a girl. Nothing special.’ Inside I started to panic. I had to come up with a plan to make sure Michael didn’t go on this date. If he went, it would ruin everything. Possible solutions flashed through my mind.
The day was coming to an end, and I saw Michael hurrying to finish his work. It was so unusual, because Michael was always the last to leave.
But I knew where he was rushing off to, and it was imperative that I didn’t let him fall behind. Seeing that Michael was packing, I walked over to him with my laptop.
‘Michael, do you have a minute?’ I asked, trying to sound casual despite my pounding heart.
‘I’m in a bit of a hurry… But of course, what do you need?’ – he replied, glancing at his watch.
‘I can’t get this report right. Would you mind checking to make sure it’s correct?’ I held out my laptop to him, hoping he wouldn’t notice the intentional errors I’d planted.
Michael sighed and took the laptop from me. ‘Okay, let’s see what you’ve got,’ he said, opened the file and started looking at the report.
As he went through the report, pointing out errors and explaining the corrections, I couldn’t help but notice his project on the computer screen.
It was a project he had been working hard on all day to finish before the date. My heart raced as I realised he would finish the work in no time.
‘Lucy, I didn’t expect you to make such mistakes; you usually do a great job. What happened?’ – He asked, looking at me worriedly.
‘I’m sorry, I don’t feel well,’ I mumbled, trying to hide my excitement.
Michael finished going through the report much faster than I expected. ‘It’s all done. Now please don’t distract me, I have some things to finish up,’ he said, quickly pushing my laptop aside and opening his project file again.
Panic gripped me. Afraid he wouldn’t have time to finish his work, I did something terrible. There was a cup of coffee next to Michael’s laptop. I knocked it over, pretending it was an accident, and the coffee spilled onto his laptop.
‘No! Lucy, what have you done!’ screamed Michael, grabbing the laptop and trying to save it. But it was too late. The laptop wouldn’t switch on.
‘Oh, I’m so sorry…’ I stuttered, guilt overwhelming me.
Michael looked at the laptop disappointedly, then checked the time on his phone and sighed sadly. After typing something on his phone, he slowly took off his coat and sat back down at his desk. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.’
‘It’s okay… I’ll have to redo the project on another computer. Don’t worry about it,’ he said, clearly upset.
I felt terrible. Until I saw the result of my actions, I didn’t realise what I had done. But the deed was done, and nothing could be changed. Mum probably won’t be too upset, she’ll find a better mate. That’s what I told myself to make myself feel better.
Back at my desk, I felt even worse. I was a terrible daughter, colleague and person. I called my mum and heard her quiet, sad voice.
‘Maybe it’s not for me, dear. I think I’m going to stop using the app, it’s too complicated for me,’ she said quietly.
‘Mum, don’t worry, I’ll come and see you tonight,’ I replied, my heart was breaking.
I knew I had to make things right. So I headed to Michael’s office again. ‘Michael, do you have a minute?’ I asked, my voice shaking slightly.
‘There’s one more thing I need to ask you…’ I needed to make things right.
In the evening, I knocked on my mum’s door. My heart raced as I waited, knowing I had a confession to make. The door opened and my mum appeared on the doorstep, shocked to see me with Michael.
‘Lucy? What are you doing here?’ – She asked, her voice full of surprise.
Michael looked equally puzzled. ‘Why did you bring me here, Lucy?’ – he asked. He was kind enough to give me a lift after work, not knowing that I had bigger plans in mind.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. ‘Mum, Michael, I have a confession to make. I tried to sabotage your date,’ I mumbled, feeling a mixture of guilt and relief.
Phoebe’s eyes widened in confusion. ‘What are you talking about, honey?’
Michael frowned, glancing back and forth at me and his mum. ‘Lucy, what do you mean?’
I felt the weight of my actions pressing down on me. ‘Phoebe is my mum. When I found out you were going on a date, I panicked and thought only of myself. I worried about how it would affect me and focused only on my feelings. In my selfishness, I forgot how it would affect you,’ I admitted, and my voice trembled.
The expression on Phoebe’s face softened as she stepped closer. ‘Lucy, why did you do that? You know it’s been so long since I’ve been on a date.’
‘I know, Mum. And that’s why I feel so awful,’ I said, my eyes filling with tears. ‘I was scared and selfish. I wasn’t thinking about what it would do to make you happy. I was only thinking about myself and how awkward it would be if my boss became my stepfather.’
Michael looked thoughtful, his initial shock replaced by realisation. ‘Lucy, I had no idea Phoebe was your mother. But I appreciate your honesty. It takes courage to admit you were wrong.’
I nodded, wiping away a tear. ‘I’m really sorry about that. I realise now that you two are perfect for each other. Perhaps fate brought you two together because you both had such a hard time finding someone.’
Phoebe smiled softly. ‘Honey, I understand why you felt that way. But you have to know that my happiness means a lot to me, and if Michael can bring that happiness, then we should give him a chance.’
Michael nodded in agreement. ‘Lucy, your mum is a wonderful woman. It would be an honour to get to know her better.’
I felt a sense of relief come over me. ‘Now that you know the truth, I want to tell you one thing. No matter what happens, if you’re happy, then I’m happy. I hope I can make up for my mistake.’
Phoebe hugged me warmly. ‘You’ve already made it right, sweetheart. Thank you for being honest.’
She then turned to Michael and invited him inside. ‘Come on in, Michael. Let’s have dinner.’
Michael smiled and stepped inside. ‘Thanks, Phoebe.’
Mum looked at me and held out the invitation. ‘Would you like to join us, Lucy?’
I shook my head with a smile. ‘No, Mum. This evening should be yours. Enjoy it.’
As the door closed behind them, I felt a rush of joy. I got in the car and drove home, feeling lighter and happier. After all, I was right – love knows no age.
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