What Charles said was to remind Amanda not to soften her heart when she met Stanford. He was unworthy of her lifelong commitment.
Jessica was asleep at this point as she was fatigued from the travelling.
It was silent for a moment the car before Amanda replied, “I know.” She was appreciative of Charles’ advice and concern.
“How long will you stay at B City?” Charles asked.
She looked at Jessica and then replied, “We’ve not decided, it depends on the situation.”
They remained quiet for a while. The car sped along the highway and Amanda was deep in her thoughts. After a while, she turned to look at Charles and asked, “Can I ask you a question?”
“Please go ahead,” Charles replied.
She pondered for a moment before asking, “Do you regret meeting my mother?”
Charles was puzzled and asked, “Why did you ask this?”
“Hmm… Isn’t it better to not have met the person who you loved but could not be together with?” In that case, a person would not be hurt.
Charles did not think so and replied, “It’s better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. It’s better to have met someone who you can fall in love with. Otherwise, you would not have had that opportunity to truly love. Of course, it would be unfortunate not to be with the person but it is better than not meeting her at all.”
Amanda respected Charles as he was a decent person. At the very least he was a person who valued love.
They arrived at the airport and Charles directed the driver to carry the bags.
Amanda helped Jessica down the car and said, “Just leave us here, we’ll find our way.”
The driver took out their bags and helped with the wheelchair. Charles then said, “I’ll see you to the aircraft.” He was very insistent and Amanda did not reject his offer.
They waited a while till it was time to board the aircraft. Before boarding the aircraft, Amanda looked back and saw that Charles was still looking at them. She waved farewell to him.
She sat next to Jessica and before long the aircraft was airborne.
Jessica started to mumble to herself, “Perhaps I’ll never have the chance to come back again.”
Amanda missed it and asked, “Grandma, what did you say?”
Jessica shook her head and answered, “Nothing.” The further she left that familiar place, the more unsettled she was. She could not even take a nap as her mind was filled with memories that she should have forgotten.
“Amanda, what are you thinking of?” Jessica asked as she was herself in a partial daze.
“Nothing.” Amanda covered Jessica with the blanket and said, “Grandma, have a nap.”
Jessica already slept for a while in the car and did not feel like sleeping now, “I’ve not seen Stanford for a while.”
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