How are you holding up?

What "Hello Sara, how are holding up?" I ask.

Sara gives a tired sigh and says, "As well as can be expected I suppose. I've been so nervous the last two days I've hardly slept. Elric's been wrapped up in planning for re-election, so I doubt he's even noticed."

We walk inside the house together. Sara says, "Thanks for coming Whisper, I know you have a life of your own, and the last thing you probably want to do is spend time with some soon to be divorcee in a tiny house in the middle of nowhere."

I give the house a quick look over, "Don't worry about it. My job is my life, and I can think of worse things than spending some time alone with a beautiful woman.

A faint blush rises into her checks and she asks me, "You don't have...a special somebody?"

I look out the window, "I used to, but she..." I pause and take a deep breath, "She wasn't who I though she was."

Sara quickly says, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

I turn to look at her, a melancholy smile on my face, "It was a long time ago. It's been awhile since I've even thought about it."

"Can I ask what happened?"

"I loved her, she didn't love me. It took me a long time to figure it out."

"There must have been more to it than that."

"You want the details? It's a long story."

Sara said yes, so we took off our coats and sat down next to each other on the couch. As I said, it's a long story, and one I'm not going to bother telling here. I told Sara the whole sordid tale, and when it was over she asked me, "She just walked out on you?"

"Yeah," I replied, "Needless to say, my love for her died that night. Still, I don't hold anything against her. She tried to tell me in the only way she knew, I was just too stupid to listen."

"You weren't stupid, you were in love." Sara takes my hand and squeezes tightly. Her touch fills me with something I haven't felt in a long time--hope. The hope that there were still some good people left in this cold and hard world.

"Are you in love?" I asked her.

"Wha...What?" She asked, a look of surprise, and something else I couldn't identify, on her face.

"Are you in love with Elric?"

"Oh...Elric." She said, "No. I realize that the love went out of our marriage long ago. I look back on it now, and I think that all the love was mine. I'm not sure if Elric is capable of loving anyone but himself."

We sat in silence after that, looking at the fading flowers on the wallpaper. I was about to stand up and tell her I was leaving, when she leaned up against me. Sara had fallen asleep. She must be emotionally exhausted after everything she's been through.

I quietly get up and lower her onto the couch. Gently, I put her feet up and go to find a blanket for her. I take an old quilt and cover her up with it. In her sleep, she curls up with the blanket and murmurs something. I leave a note for her and turn on a lamp. Just as I begin to walk out, Sara says something in her sleep.