This Thanksgiving my son came to visit. He said he was bringing a “special friend” from college whom he wanted me to meet. My mother’s heart went into overdrive, planning dates for the wedding and potential grandchildren’s names. My son has always been very close to me but he had never mentioned Amy before so I was more than a little curious.

The day before Thanksgiving he called me. By dint of asking if Amy had any special food preferences, I was, I admit unashamedly, trying to fish for more information about her. I could almost hear my son grinning over the phone.

“Mom, let me make all this easier for you,” he said. “Amy is a great friend but she’s not interested in me in the way you think. Amy’s a lesbian. Her girlfriend has flown to France for a vacation with her family and unfortunately Amy couldn’t join her so I invited her to come along with me.”

“That’s fine with me,” I countered. “I was only asking about her food preferences you know… I’ll treat her the same as any of your other friends and she’s always welcome here.”

Amy came. She turned out to be a sprightly petite short-haired blonde and I have to say less than halfway through the dinner, my heart warmed to her. She is a witty young girl with a mind of her own and the most lively and engaging guest I’ve had for dinner in a long time. She had me in fits of laughter when she related a very funny story about how she met her girlfriend. It was clear that she also trusted and relied on my son a lot.

I was just thinking to myself that I was glad she and my son were friends, when during a pause in the conversation when her attention was on her plate, I happened to glance up at my son. What I saw made my heart twist.

In that unguarded moment when he thought that no one was looking at him, he was looking at her. And the look on his face spoke plainer than if he had talked for hours. The love shone out of his eyes as he gazed at her. And not the kind of love friends have for each other.

I felt almost ashamed of myself, as if I had spied on his innermost thoughts. The meal continued and throughout it, my son’s mask came on again and he never repeated that look nor was there any indication in his speech or gestures that Amy was anything but a good friend to him. It was clear that Amy also considered him as a “good buddy” only.

In the subsequent days when my son has called, whenever I inquired about Amy, I only got standard responses. It’s clear my son doesn’t want to share what he feels with me and I don’t have the guts to honestly ask him outright. I even asked myself a couple of times if I could have been mistaken but when I remember that look, the sheer intensity, the naked caring and hunger on his face, it settles all doubts.

I still remember his first romantic heartbreak as a teenager and the way he cried. It's true that was years ago and he has had subsequent successful relationships but my son is a person who, when he loves, loves deeply so I can't help fearing he is setting himself for another major heartbreak again.

But as difficult as it is, I guess I’ll just have to wait for Time to solve this conundrum instead of rushing in with my foot-in-mouth technique of unwanted advice. I just hope Time is kind to my son.