At 37, I thought I was finally in control. My life was calm, predictable—even happy. I had a job I loved, friends who felt like family, and for the first time in a while, a relationship that felt right. Theo was kind, curious, and had this quiet way of making me feel seen. I was proud to introduce him to the people I loved. But when it came to my mom… that got complicated fast.
She showed up to our dinner uninvited.
We were barely through appetizers when I spotted her outside, peering through the restaurant window with binoculars. I wish I were joking. Theo laughed nervously, thinking it was a coincidence. It wasn’t. My mom had a long history of overbearing behavior—tracking my phone location, “just happening to drive by” wherever I was, and once even hiding in my closet during a date because she “heard a suspicious cough.”
This time, she took it to a new level.
