She soon realized that I was looking at her. When our eyes met in the rear view mirror for the third time, Freya stopped resisting.
"Alright, enough. Ask whatever it is you want to ask. If you keep looking at me from behind, I'll be uncomfortable the entire drive back," Freya said.
I couldn't help myself from laughing. "I don't mean to interfere in your private life, but what's your situation with Cyril? I just wanted to say. He has been chasing you for so many years now, he seems sincere enough. You should give each other a chance. That's not impossible, right, Anne?"
"Was that uncle trying to pursue Aunt Freya?" Anne asked.
"Yes." I nodded and joked, "What do you think about him?"
"He's not bad." Anne sure was a chip off the old block. I'm sure she learnt to be stingy with her words from Hendrix. She seemed way too calm as she talked about relationships.
I have yet to start explaining Freya and Cyril's past when Anne said, "In my opinion, he seems inferior to Aunt Freya. He can't seem to handle her. When it comes to relationships, I believe that things can only last long when both parties are equal."
"But..."
Freya didn't give me a chance to respond. "Did you hear that? Even Anne is clearer about our situation than you are."
I shrugged and was at a loss of words.
I never knew that Cyril had such a complicated family history. I felt heavy after having to process such a large amount of information. I then said, "Maybe you're being way too pessimistic about it. Cyril is young, but he's brave for standing up for his dreams. Who knows, he might be doing everything he can to persuade his family about you too, you know?"
"How selfish I would be if that were true." Freya looked up at the rearview mirror.
When our eyes met, I noticed that she was still the same beautiful, independent woman in the mirror. She didn't seem to have changed much in the past few years. Time was never an opponent to women who were willing to invest in themselves.
She was obviously happy but maintained a serious face. "It's much too restrictive being in a military family and I'm a woman that doesn't enjoy being tied down with rules. Whether out in the field or with his family, it isn't fair to him to cause a stir and always have to explain himself to his family just because of me. He'd be burnt out, and I wouldn't want that for him either. That's already a clear sign for me to not interfere with his family. This is for the best and the only way for both of us to live our lives."
Just then the traffic light turned green. "Just like that traffic light. You stop when you're at a red light and go when you are supposed to. There's no time for hesitating."
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