We ended up sitting on the motel floor with cold takeout between us.
We laughed.
We talked.
We cried.
We bonded in a way I don’t think either of us ever had before.
The motel was cheap.
The food was cold.
The mattress was terrible.
But that night became one of the most important nights of my life.
Because I finally understood that love didn’t have to come with a price.
Months later, I wrote my mother a letter.
I told her I was happy.
I told her I hoped that one day she would want to know the woman I was becoming.
Then I mailed it.
And I stopped waiting.
I didn’t know if she would answer.
For the first time, I realized I didn’t need her answer to keep moving forward.