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.