ARCHIVE FOR Aine Greaney

Google maps assured me that the motel on my laptop screen was two minutes' walk from the beach and three minutes from my conference site. I was traveling to beachside Florida to chair a conference discussion panel, and, lucky me, even at the height of spring-break season, this place had lots of availability.

I arrived at nighttime. Even in the dark, I could tell that my motel's website had been more photo shop than reality.

I still remember that summer afternoon when my mother came upstairs to find me weeping into my pillow.  I was 20 years old, and I had just discovered that my boyfriend had been cheating on me. Of course, I told my mother the edited version of the story, omitting that part about me walking into his apartment to find him in bed with his ex-girlfriend.   

 

I also remember my mother’s advice: “You should be choosier about the company you keep,” she said. “Pick men who actually deserve you.”