Loved In The Wrong Light

Synopsis

On Christmas Eve, I ordered a Lyft, and the driver turned out to be my crush, Jason Quinn. He took a shortcut down a side street, and we drove straight into a drone light show. My name blazed across the night. [Elena, will you be my girlfriend?] He dropped to one knee, his eyes shining. Through my tears, I managed to say yes. Everyone said it was straight out of a fairy tale. But it wasn't. It was the prelude to a very long, very lonely wait. One night during our third year of marriage, I waited up until 2 a.m. He stumbled in, reeking of whiskey, and called me by another woman's name. The day we signed the divorce papers at the county clerk's office, he glanced at his watch and said, "Hurry up. It's almost closing time." I didn't cry. I just kept replaying that night under the Christmas Eve lights, when he swore he'd love me forever. The truth was, the lights always went out eventually. And people changed. Months later, he pulled up in a luxury sedan, begging for a second chance. He said his startup had gone public, and he could finally give me a better life. I gave him a small smile. "I didn't look down on the guy driving a Lyft. I'm certainly not going to be dazzled by the CEO." His eyes rimmed with red. "Is there really no chance left for us?" I didn't answer. Outside, another light show was starting. Some people spent a lifetime chasing the memory of one bright night. Others chose to keep a small light burning, steady and true, for all the ordinary nights to come. This time, I didn't look back. I finally understood. A steady light beside you is worth more than the brightest spectacle in the sky.