Marriage?

It's a funny thing, being shown a marriage proposal photo, just out of the blue. You know, the classic setup: guy on his knee, offering up the ring, girl being oh-so-overwhelmed and shocked and happy. Is it a commemorative professional photo, or is was that really how it happened and was caught on camera by someone who was aware of the plan? Honestly, I don't know, because I didn't really look. If anything, the former is just further proof of things being taken seriously, of people caring enough to go to such lengths. But I didn't really spend time looking at the background details once I recognised what was happening and who was in the photo.

A distant relative whose family my own mother could always only loathe and despise and hiss at: justified in part only, and even that goes all the way back to her childhood, which was way too long ago to still be harbouring so much resentment about. And in any case, it shouldn't even be directed towards them, but towards their parents and grandparents for creating the circumstances that they did - but I digress.

A distant relative, whose family, despite my mother's eternal contempt and disdain (because they're just oh-so-stupid, and such know-it-alls and just generally ingratiating), could actually move not only to a different country, but to an altogether different continent, even, and without knowing any language other than our own at that. 

A distant relative, whose marriage started in a dark, mouldy apartment, and whose family has since gone through more poverty, several illnesses including a brain tumor, but who apparently could remain together, and love each other, and respect each other through it all. 

Whose family seems to have just... lived through life in the most normal manner. Could just remain as normal and pedestrian as it gets, and be content and happy with it.

While we grew to be stuck here. in hatred, in the iron grip of control, miserable, in pieces, and cut off and pretending and exhausted and fearful and bent and broken. Because we just had to look down on everyone else, because we've always been oh-so-superior, and all the others have always been just oh-so-stupid and oh-so-insufferable.

Right, mother?