Love, Resumed in a Bookstore

Robert and Elaine met again in a bookstore. Not by fate, by courage. She almost turned

around when she saw him browsing the same aisle they once argued in. Instead,

she stayed. He noticed her reflection in the shelf glass before he turned. “Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” he answered, softer than before. They talked about books they’d read alone.

Lives rebuilt. Mistakes named honestly instead of defended. “I used to think love was urgency,”

she said. “Now I think it’s patience.” “I used to think endings were failures,”

he said. “Now I think they’re lessons.” At the register, she hesitated.

“I’m not asking for what we were,” she said. He smiled, eyes bright.