His family urged William to propose to his high school sweetheart, Victoria. They had been together since the tenth grade, they had studied at university, it was time to start a family. William himself had wanted to for a long time, but Victoria seemed to be avoiding the subject.
– Of course she doesn’t want to talk about it, she’s waiting for you to propose! – Daddy was telling her.
In order to buy a beautiful and expensive ring, Grandma surrendered some of her family jewelry to a pawnshop. William chose a beautiful date – New Year’s Eve – and decided to propose in front of his friends, so she would never forget that day.
He was very nervous that day, everyone noticed it, Victoria included. She watched him closely all night, waiting for a catch, but she could not stop him before he got down on one knee in front of her and pulled out a box with a ring. Neither was she in a position to say yes. In front of mutual friends she refused William, reminding him that they were still young, there was no hurry. Already in private she said that he embarrassed her in front of her friends and made her look bad. This was the last straw. William and Victoria broke up.
It took many years before they met again. William was married by then, living happily and raising two children, and Victoria’s life did not work out. She had no luck with work, and then she married the first man she met, who beat her badly. This marriage drove her to an early stroke and on disability she occasionally made it to some charity programs. It was there that she met William again – he was an organizer of one of the events, he worked with volunteers, he did not recognize Victoria at once. She spoke very badly, slowly, hoarsely, it took him a long time to understand what she was saying about her life, but all he could do was sympathize and support with words. They had once been very close, but time had erased the memories of those times, and in their place William had memories of marriage to the girl he loved, the birth of children and successes at work. And she really couldn’t forget the day she had made the biggest mistake of her life and rejected William.
Before, his heart would have ached for Victoria, but now he treated her the same way he treated the other handicapped people he worked with.
