“I brought you into this world, Emily, and as a mother, I’d still advise you to think this through. Anyhow, honey, those things would require constant injections, and Lord knows what else.”
“I think I might just get my cheekbones and nose done, too!” Emily answered, looking at herself in the mirror. She flatly ignored a pale white Rosaline, shocked at her suggestion of getting cosmetic surgeries done.
Rosaline also tried telling John about it in the hope he would convince Emily otherwise, but he was too preoccupied with his work to care. “Ah, it’s alright, Mom,” he said. “Emily is not a child. I can’t tell her what to do and what not to do. It’s going to be fine. I’m OK with it.”
John was in a rush that day and left for the business trip without noting the horror in Rosaline’s eyes. Days later, Emily underwent the first part of the treatment and looked horrible. Blue bruises and bandages marked her eyes, her face was scarlet and swollen, and her skin bore scars, making her look terrible.
But after being discharged, when Emily returned home, she was really happy. Just a little more time and I’ll look perfect, she thought. She parked her car in the driveway, grabbed her things, and got out of the car. When she entered her house, she saw Joel playing with his toys and realized how much she had missed him.
“Hi, baby!” she squealed, dropping the keys in the bowl by the front door shelf. “I missed you!”
But as she approached Joel, he ran away from her. “You, not Mommy!” he cried. “Granny!”
Emily didn’t understand what was going on.
“Oh, dear!” Rosaline gasped as she came to the living room. “I advised you against those procedures, Emily! No wonder Joel is scared!”
“Mom!” Emily snapped. “How can he not recognize me!? I don’t look that different!”
Joel, who was hiding behind Rosaline, peered at Emily and said, “You… not Mommy! Mommy was beautiful!”
Emily’s heart was broken when Joel said that. “Oh! Well, maybe it’s the after-effects of the surgeries,” she said, holding back her tears. “It’ll be fine. I’m your mommy, Joel. And I’ll become more beautiful. Just some more time…”
But nothing changed. Time passed, and Emily’s bruises disappeared, but Joel didn’t recognize her.
Emily was crushed. She sang him lullabies she used to sing to him as a child, bribed him with his favorite pancakes and cookies, and told him about the times they had spent together, but it was all for naught. Joel just didn’t recognize her anymore.
Emily now regretted the procedures she had undergone. She wanted to get them done so she wouldn’t lose John and Joel, but Joel had already pushed her away. But there was something Emily wasn’t aware of.
One day, she was sitting in her armchair on the back porch and reading a book when Joel dashed up to her with a flower from their garden. “Mommy! This for you!” he chirped, and Emily was overjoyed. “Oh! Thank you, darling—” she began, then paused.
“Wait! You called me Mommy! Joel! Do you remember who I am now?”
“Oops!” Joel pressed his palms on his lips. “Granny… she said we were playing a game!”
“What game, Joel?” Emily asked angrily. Joel then revealed the truth, which shocked Emily to the core.
He said Rosaline had asked him to pretend he didn’t know Emily from the minute she got home from the doctor’s clinic. Every day Joel did that, Rosaline bought him a new toy. Joel said the game was fun and that he wanted to continue playing it, so he stopped calling her Mommy.
Emily was furious and confronted Rosaline. “Really, Mom?” she snarled. “You made my son lie to me? Joel told me everything about your ridiculous game!”
“Well, honey,” Rosaline said. “I did that! Yes, I did… so you don’t go for any other ridiculous procedures! Those things are dangerous, and I didn’t want you to lose your natural beauty. You’re already beautiful, honey!”
Emily lashed out at Rosaline, defending herself by saying that she wanted to look more beautiful for John until a voice from behind said, “I agree with Mom, Emily!”
John was home from the business trip, and he couldn’t believe Emily had undergone plastic surgery. He said he loved her and would always do so because of her honesty, kindness, and humility, and for the woman she was. Not for some ridiculous cosmetic procedures!
“You’re beautiful the way you are, Emily!” he said. “And I never want you to change.”
That day, Emily realized she had over-thought things and gone too far. She decided to cancel all her further appointments and stopped blindly following what her other friends did. Rosaline admitted she was wrong to involve Joel in this, but in the end, it all worked out for the best.
What can we learn from this story?
