--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Mrs. Nightwing glances at the box in my…" description: "\"“Mrs. Nightwing glances at the box in my hands. She clears her throat.\"I understand you've decided against Mr. Middleton.\"... It's best to be sure, thr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/libba-bray-259_children_mrs-nightwing-glances-at-the-box-in-my-h_1227739.png" --- # Mrs. Nightwing glances at the box in my hands. She clears… ![“Mrs. Nightwing glances at the box in my hands. She clears her throat."I understand you've decided against Mr. Middleton."... It's best to be sure, through and through," she says, keeping her eyes steadfastly on the girls running and playing on the lawn. "Else you could find yourself one day coming…” quote by Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/libba-bray-259_children_mrs-nightwing-glances-at-the-box-in-my-h_1227739.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/libba-bray-259_children_mrs-nightwing-glances-at-the-box-in-my-h_1227739.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/libba-bray-259_children_mrs-nightwing-glances-at-the-box-in-my-h_1227739.png) > ““Mrs. Nightwing glances at the box in my hands. She clears her throat."I understand you've decided against Mr. Middleton."... It's best to be sure, through and through," she says, keeping her eyes steadfastly on the girls running and playing on the lawn. "Else you could find yourself one day coming home to an empty house, save for a note: I've gone out. You could wait all night for him to return. Nights turn into weeks, to years. It's horrible, the waiting. You can scarcely bear it. And perhaps years later on holiday in Brighton, you see him, walking along the boardwalk as if out of some dream. No longer lost. Your heartbeat quickens. You must call out to him. Someone else calls first. A pretty young woman with a child. He stops and bends to lift the child into his arms. His child. He gives a furtive kiss to his young wife. He hands her a box of candy, which you know to be Chollier's chocolates. He and his family stroll on. Something in you falls away. You will never be as you were. What is left to you is the chance to become something new and unsure. But at least the waiting is over.”” [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Waiting for love can become a painful, endless cycle, but moving on opens new possibilities. **In simple terms:** Waiting hurts, but letting go brings growth. Key Takeaway Release the past to embrace new love. Themes waiting heartbreak hope renewal acceptance Mood melancholic hopeful Type emotional reflective When to use this quote - long‑distance relationships - unrequited love - post‑breakup healing Key Concepts romantic longing personal growth closure Questions to Reflect On - What would you do if you could end the waiting? - Can you find peace without closure? A Different Perspective The narrative romanticizes waiting as inevitable, ignoring agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Coming home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coming-home/) [Gaze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gaze/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Nights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nights/) [Nights Turn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nights-turn-954963/) [Return Nights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/return-nights-3785068/) [Wait Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wait-night-772822/) [Young wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-wife/) [Young woman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-woman/) ## Related quotes > [For I could not read or speak and on the long nights I could not turn the moon off or count the lights of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/for-i-could-not-read-or-speak-and-on-the-long-nights-i-could-not-turn/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) > [See, I done seen nights turn to day.s Love turn to hate, hugs turn to laids. 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But I'm willing to wait all night and much of tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-want-to-see-you-again-tonight-but-i-m-willing-to-wait-all-night-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A French proverb says 'Wait until it is night before saying that it has been a fine day.' To tell it more precise, wait…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/a-french-proverb-says-wait-until-it-is-night-before-saying-that-it/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“You do not feel like dancing and there are no daffodils, only walls, your bedroom door, and the quiet of the house, tucked asleep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-west/you-do-not-feel-like-dancing-and-there-are-no-daffodils-only-walls/) [Anna West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-west/) > [I live in a room and I go to work and I play a game called getting through the day while you wait for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/i-live-in-a-room-and-i-go-to-work-and-i-play-a-game-called-getting/) [LILLIAN HELLMAN](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) ## More by Libba Bray > [“I have never felt more ridiculous. If this is what it means to be a woman I am not the slightest bit interested.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/i-have-never-felt-more-ridiculous-if-this-is-what-it-means-to-be-a/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [There are no safe choices. Only other choices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/there-are-no-safe-choices-only-other-choices/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [“The King of Crows raked his fingers across the dark until it bled. He licked the blood from his fingers with a forked tongue.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/the-king-of-crows-raked-his-fingers-across-the-dark-until-it-bled-he/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [It is how it has always been. 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Make different choices...But the past cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/there-are-times-when-i-wish-i-could-go-back-and-change-the-course-of/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [“Sexuality is not meant to be this way - an honest, consensual expression in which a girl might take an active role when she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/sexuality-is-not-meant-to-be-this-way-an-honest-consensual-expression/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [There is no greater power on this earth than story.” Will paced the length of the room. “People think boundaries and borders build nations.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/there-is-no-greater-power-on-this-earth-than-story-will-paced-the/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [Heaven's brightest and best-loved angel, who was cast out for inspiring a rebellion against God. 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She had the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/duff-s-little-moans-traveled-up-her-spine-made-her-head-buzz-and/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) [Explore all 774 Libba Bray quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. 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It's best to be sure, through and through,\" she says, keeping her eyes steadfastly on the girls running and playing on the lawn. \"Else you could find yourself one day coming home to an empty house, save for a note: I've gone out. You could wait all night for him to return. Nights turn into weeks, to years. It's horrible, the waiting. You can scarcely bear it. And perhaps years later on holiday in Brighton, you see him, walking along the boardwalk as if out of some dream. No longer lost. Your heartbeat quickens. You must call out to him. Someone else calls first. A pretty young woman with a child. He stops and bends to lift the child into his arms. His child. He gives a furtive kiss to his young wife. He hands her a box of candy, which you know to be Chollier's chocolates. He and his family stroll on. Something in you falls away. You will never be as you were. What is left to you is the chance to become something new and unsure. 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