“Hey, Sue. I’m right here.”“Hi, Jay.” she said with smile. Sue is so pretty when she smiles down on me. “Where’s your mother?”“We’...re sitting over there some where.” I said pointing in the general direction of where I had just come.“We saved two seats for you. Why don’t you ask her to come over?”So I ran over to Mom and told her. I think she was happy that the Powell’s wanted us to sit with them. As I walked over to Mom then back to the Powell’s I could feel eyes on me. I was in school, but I. She glance around, nervous, before crossing the room and sitting adjacent to Winter. “Hi.” She said meekly, unsure how to proceed.He looked over at her, moving his hand from the arm rest to offer a two-fingered wave. “What’s up?” He asked slowly.“Uh, well.. nothing, I suppose. I just, well.. Winter, I..” She paused, twisting her tongue and stuttering her words. Winter shushed her, leaning forward. “I forgive you.” He said softly. “I didn’t understand what was going on then. I was scared, still. It didn’t take a genius to see this wasn’t going to end well. ‘I should go over there and kick his ass!’ Jennifer said, vehemently. She paused, and then seemed to deflate like a punctured balloon. ‘Well, no I guess I probably shouldn’t.’ ‘Well,’ I began gently, ‘It would suck to get tossed out of our favorite restaurant and then get arrested.’ ‘Yeah,’ Jennifer said, smirking, ‘But that wasn’t really my concern. Grant and I have been together a long time, but he’s made it clear he won’t marry. I cried to myself in the living room when Bets called me from a cafe that we used to frequent. Our conversation was terse, but I managed to convince her that I loved her. Suffice to say, without going into the entire transcript, that she rode home with me.Lisa came downstairs to greet her mother, but there was no mistaking her tearstained eyes. They reflected the hurt inside, of losing a love too soon, and it was not lost on my wife. When I told her that Lisa and I had broken up, once and for.