A Message - Love, Camera, and Social Media

"Willie, have you had something to eat?" Olivia asked as she peeped through the room's door; Williams was grossly engaged with his Macbook.

 

He has been like that all morning, she left him for school this morning. She thought.

 

"I've been busy but I had fruit juice and pie though" Williams replied, his eyes still fixed on his MacBook.

 

"Babe, you know you shouldn't starve yourself, huh?" Olivia admonished before turning to the kitchen.

 

With a graceful sweep, she deposited her grocery store treasures onto the kitchen slab, cleansing her hands with a splash of water. Swiftly securing her apron in a ritual of culinary readiness, she embarked on the journey of crafting a delicious meal, and in no time, it was ready.

 

The aroma of the meal filled the air as she pushed the door open. Williams let out a quiet smile when he spotted Olivia approaching. 

 

"Here love! " She smiled, stretching the plate toward him.

 

"Yorkshire pudding and roasted beef? You're the best, baby girl." Williams complimented with a teary-excited voice. He planted a kiss on her cheeks, then her forehead, her lips, and all over her face in excitement.

 

For the past two years, Williams, a twenty-something software developer, has been in a relationship with Olivia, a thriving college student who has found success as a YouTuber.

 

They discussed her school and his work while eating. William accompanied Olivia to the kitchen once they were done. Then Olivia proceeded to the sitting room and set up for her YouTube video. 

 

"Hey, guys! It's your girl Olivia again. So I just had Yorkshire pudding and roasted beef. It's homemade.  Yes! I'm a proud chef, and yes, you guessed it. It's Willie's favorite.

 

"Secret tip, it's my ticket to ask for his forgiveness anytime he's mad at me. Willie never says no to good Yorkshire pudding and roasted beef."

 

Today, I decided to hop on the challenge, "Share your story about true love".  For the better part of my teenage life, I thought true love was simply a fairytale—meeting my prince charming, love at first sight, wanting no one else but him, getting married, and living happily ever after. It looked so unreal, like could I ever get this?

 

Yes, I could and I did. True love is a kind of feeling that's beyond the context of explanation. It's when the butterfly phase is over and you've dealt with challenges together, it's a quest, it's a journey, it's a risk—not all of us can get to tell a happily ever after story but I tell you love is beautiful.

 

Here's how I know I have true love… " Olivia paused as she heard Williams answer a call, she heard a message pop on his phone before he answered the call but she had ignored it earlier,  now as she overheard his response on the call,  she was curious and uneasy. She paused her phone's camera and walked to the room.

 

"Willie, who was that? " She asked in a worried tone as she sat beside him on the bed.

"It's Jessica, my workmate. She sent me a text and I didn't reply. She decided to call. Here, read what she sent" Williams handed the phone to Olivia before she could ask. "What do you suggest I do?" William asked when Olivia was done reading.

 

"Well, I don't like Jessica for anything but I guess she truly needs your help with this, you can go meet her. I trust my man." Olivia replied with a smile. William pulled her into a tight hug and whispered something into her ear. She suddenly grew excited. He offered to do her video with her before going to meet Jessica. They walked to the sitting room holding hands and giggling about silly stuff.

 

They sat in front of the camera and continued the video.

 

"Here's how I know my man truly loves me; he is so invested in my success, motivates me to read, helps me when I'm struggling, makes me comfortable. He sees a future with me, he is always asking how many kids I want, what I love about marriage and all. He hides nothing from me, like just now he handed his phone to me to read his messages and this is why I trust him. He is willing to sacrifice for me, he gives up his desires just to cater to my needs even when I avoid telling him about it, he finds out somehow, and comes through. He gives me his time despite being busy and doesn't feel like he wasted it. He respects me, and he doesn't look down on me no matter how annoying I could get.

 

It is not all rosy though. Sometimes, he disappoints me, he hurts me, we fight and I'm sad but the good thing about it is that he tries to be a better man for me. He has changed many things about himself in the few years of our relationship." She concluded with a peck on his cheek and a big smile to the camera. William positioned himself nicely and started talking.

 

"I'm her baby boy, Williams. For me, I know Olivia truly loves me because; she discomforts herself just to make sure I'm comfortable. She tries to give me and not just take. She sticks with me in sickness, and in health, when I'm financially under, she's always cheering me up. She helps me be a better version of myself, she boasts about me everywhere and makes me want to truly make her proud. She helps me to be happy with myself, to celebrate my achievements, to feel good. She is so reasonable, and I could talk about anything with her. Sure, Olivia could get annoying sometimes but she'd always look beyond her jealousy or emotional bias and give the right advice. Lastly, she cooks me good meals like I just finished having homemade Yorkshire pudding and roasted beef".

 

They both laughed at his last statement. "I love you, Willie"

 

"I love you, Olivia". They shared a kiss before ending the video.