Cute love story

I want to share a very cute love story with you. 

It filled my heart with emotion when I heard it. No, that’s not quite right. More than one simple emotion, in fact, but a whole bundle of them. Sadness mixed with joy, hope mixed with this sort of comprehension of cruelty of life. 

As it often happens on this blog, I was planning to write about my recent trip to Abu Dhabi. But, incidentally, I got distracted and decided I just have to write about this. Especially in light of the Valentine’ day. I know I am a little late, but still. Love is the theme of this month, not Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi can wait.

This is a story of an expat love. An expat love has additional complications, as if love wasn’t complicated enough. Few years ago, I watched as a young teenager couple was split up by the fact her family relocated from Qatar. The girl was heartbroken: she was leaving her first ever proper romance behind. But her mother was unphased by it. She will find lots more new boyfriends, she said. And, as she predicted, the girl didn’t wait long. Oh well, I thought as I saw her with a new beau on Facebook, she was too young for any serious relationship anyway. There is plenty of fish in the sea, right? We are not in Romeo and Juliet times, after all. 

Yet, it made me a little sad. How shallow are we? I thought, as I was listening to a divorced family friend going on about his many girlfriends. Why would I settle again? He said. I have too much fun now.

As you get older, you do, undoubtedly, see a lot of shit happen all around you, and of course, can’t help but become more cynical. Or more realistic, you can say. 

And then….this cute story happens. Another teenage couple was torn apart by his family having to move back home. The boy, I must add, is handsome. I am adding this to paint the whole picture properly, as these details matter. Not only is he handsome, he has always had this incredible coolness about him. You see, coolness is even more attractive than good looks. And the problem is, you cannot fake coolness. You can do many things about your appearance- work out, buy nicer clothes, change the shape of your nose. But coolness? Nuh. You are either born with it, or not.

This child….i saw him grow up. And he is cool as fuck.  I told his mother, a friend of mine, that he will one day become a rock star. So, imagine my thoughts when he was heartbroken leaving his first love in Doha. 

Don’t worry, I told his mother. In no time he will have all those local girls back home chasing him. And we are talking western world. A proper western world, where girls are a lot more active. Not a sheltered, well-behaved, over-protected bubble he lived in here. So imagine him, I told my friend, in a new school…. cool as he is, good looking as he is?... Good at sports and music? Come on. I give him a few weeks, no more! He will have forgotten all about his Doha girlfriend. 

Weeks past, then months. My friend texted me to say that the family was struggling with the costs of flights as the boy insisted to come back to Doha for Christmas. And now, he is back to Doha again on a school break. So amazing, I said to my friend. They are still together then? 

Guess what, my friend said, laughing. Recently, it was their anniversary. So, being so far apart, unable to control the world and parents’ jobs and circumstances, they ordered a pizza and ate it together- on Facetime. 

Oh my, I thought. Those guys are properly in love! 

And not only is that by itself, is a beautiful story. I also find the fact that the parents- on both sides, from different cultures and countries, are doing everything in their power to support those kids. They finance their holidays, they allow the visits, they understand their heartbreak. And I just love that. 

Whether we want to or not, our children will get influenced by us. Up to a certain age, we are in control of their lives. And we try to teach them all we know: from manners to loving broccoli. And I would imagine that most of you will be pretty good at teaching your kids how to protect themselves. From bullies and jealous friends to strangers and the internet. But what about love? Would you, like these parents in my cute little Facetime pizza story, support your child or would you just dismiss their feelings, tell them there will be plenty more? Because, to me….this is where we create proper human beings. And this is where we teach them that, despite all the shit in the world, love does exist.