Chapter 19

Roderick stood there with this woman he once

loved, appreciating in their silence how he loved her in an

entirely different way now.

Madelyn turned to him, looked him over

carefully, and said, “You’ve met someone.”

Roderick chuckled. “Is it that obvious?”

Madelyn patted him on the cheek. “Yes, it

is.”

“Are you upset?” Roderick asked.

Madelyn laughed loudly in a way that

Roderick had not heard her laugh in years.

“Hardly,” she said. “If anything, I’m

relieved. You don’t know how worried I’ve been that you wouldn’t

meet anyone and that after a while you would suggest we get back

together. I was going to feel so bad breaking your heart,

especially when I know that us being together again is nothing that

either of us would ever really want.”

Roderick was silent for a moment, allowing

the information to sink in. Finally, understanding her far better

than he probably had in years, he asked, “Have you met

someone?”

“Many someones,” she said. “I have met many