Meeting with Mia.

Now it’s Saturday, 7:12 pm. You and Emma hear the knock on the door and your girlfriend goes to open it. Of course, it’s your English teacher, Mia Owens.

“Why did I agree to come here?” Mia asks mostly to herself, sighing as she steps into Emma’s apartment.

“Because you’re sad, you need friends, and I have this.” The younger teacher answers, showing her friend a bottle of wine.

“Okay, first, I’m not sad. I made my peace with the situation long ago. Second, is that Chilean wine?” Mia takes the bottle from Emma’s hand and examines it with eager curiosity.

Your girlfriend gives you a wink that says “I told you so.”

The three of you sit around the table with good wine and nice snacks. Even before starting any kind of conversation, Mia tastes the wine and gives it her smiling approval. Considering how she’s been lately, you and Emma share a quick look and consider that a small victory.

“So this newsmonger told you everything, huh?” Mia asks you and gives a small glare to Emma, who seems to shrink under the older woman’s gaze.

“To be fair, I asked you several times if anything was wrong and you always pushed me away.” You tell her. “I didn’t even know you were married at one point, much less divorced.”

“I’m telling you, it isn’t a big deal. We’ll get the matter of the house sorted soon. I’ll probably just settle for selling it to him for cheap. The place IS to my name, after all.” She sighs.

You sigh, too. This is kind of awkward, but you want to ask. “Is it true you got divorced because he was gay?”

Mia smiles wryly, but nods. “I knew he didn’t care about me three months after we got married.” She takes a sip of wine from her glass.

“Three months in!? How did you find out?” Emma asks, apparently not knowing that little tidbit.

“Well, the lack of intimacy was one thing.” Mia groans. “I’d bet everything I have that you two did more in your first two weeks than we ever did.” This makes both you and Emma blush. “But even so, his family was extremely religious. It didn’t take long for me to find out he married me to keep them happy and never had romantic feelings for me.” Her eyes are glued to her glass as she speaks, then takes another sip. Her eyes are distant, as if recalling memories.

“Did you… love him?” You ask, trying to hide the hesitation of your voice. You don’t feel good asking such personal questions, but you want to know.

Mia scoffs. “What kind of question is that? Of course I did.” She bites her lip. “I wouldn’t have married him otherwise. I tried to make it work, even after I realized the feelings were one sided. I tried, but gave up after a year. When I told him I wanted to get a divorce, he agreed immediately.”

You and Emma remain silent, listening to Mia as she tells you the details. Her eyes begin to water, but she doesn’t cry. Her voice cracks maybe once or twice, but she doesn’t lose her composure.

“He had another lover, though at that point I couldn’t even say he was cheating on me. We were just living in the same house, but we were never together. The divorce took a year.”

Seeing Mia like this, you start getting mad. Your grip tightens against your own glass of wine and you grit your teeth. So this guy just used Mia to keep his sexuality secret from his family? What about her feelings? What about all that time wasted in a pointless relationship? If he got her to marry him, he must have even lied to her about his own feelings.

“Aren’t you angry?” You ask.

Mia shakes her head. “No. I never was, and still aren’t. I’m just… disappointed, both in him and in me. I was foolish for falling in love with a man who didn’t care for me. I was a fool for thinking I could make him change his mind.” She closes her eyes and sighs heavily, remaining silent for a long while.

It hurts your heart to see her like this. Emma must feel the same, because she stands up and goes to hug her friend. You stay there awkwardly, not knowing what to do or say, but thankfully Mia recovers and chuckles lightly.

“I’m sorry, David. This must be really awkward for you.” She smiles apologetically.

“A little bit, but it’s not like it’s ever nice when a friend is going through a tough time.” You tell her. She looks a little surprised at your words. “I know that, all things considered, I’m still just a kid, both to you and Emma. Your problems are of another magnitude. While I’m dealing with bullies, you’re dealing with work and a failed marriage. Really, it makes me realize we’re not really on even ground.” You shake your head, chuckling self-deprecatingly. “But I still want to be there for you, Mia. I want to help in whatever way I can. The problem is I don’t know how to help you, especially if you keep pushing us away.”

Mia’s eyes widen as your girlfriend smiles wryly at your mention of you being a kid to her, but decides to dismiss it for now to talk to her friend, putting her hands on her shoulders and giving them a soft squeeze.

“He’s right, you know? We invited you here so you could get you mind off of things. I really think it’s time for you to start having a good time instead of burying yourself in your work to distract yourself. I should know, I wasn’t much different.”

Mia sighs and smiles, caressing Emma’s hand over her shoulder. Then, she looks at you. “It seems that, despite what I said, I was still trying to just be your teacher.”

“Don’t get me wrong. I understand it’s difficult, if not impossible, to be equals here, especially with the age difference.” You sigh, trying to suppress the frustration at your own words. It’s true you admire Mia as your teacher, but it’s also true you’d like something more with her. The revelation of her marriage and divorce makes it a little awkward to think of pursuing anything with her right now, but even so…

What’s more, it really hurts to see her like this.

“You’re 18, right? Then that’s a 14-year gap.” Mia says with a soft chuckle.

14 years. That would make Mia 32 years old.

“See? Well, for what is worth, we’re here to help.” You tell her.

Mia then starts laughing, covering her mouth with the back of her fingers. “Boy, I must really be a sad sight if I’m having the two of you worry about me. And don’t worry David. Even if we’re 14 years apart, I’m also 7 years older than this busybody over here.”

“Hey!”

“Oh you are, dear! Don’t even try to deny it.” The older woman still laughs, and Emma can’t really bring herself to be mad.

With Mia’s mood improved, things get a little more fun. You keep drinking and Emma brings out a deck of cards. Conversation and laughter fill the rest of the night as Mia teaches both you and Emma how to play poker, which sadly doesn’t turn into strip-poker once you get the hang of it.

When it’s time to turn in for the night, by which you mean 2:30 AM, Mia says she’s fine with taking the living room futon, as long as you’re not too nosy in Emma’s bedroom. She seems to enjoy both of your embarrassed reactions, but you assure her you won’t do anything with the amount of wine in your bodies.