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sitting right beside him.  
    Jeff and Anna were done—it just didn’t seem possible.   They had been together for so long, and even though Drew didn’t understand it, they had seemed happy.   What was the point of staying with someone that long if you were just going to break up?
    It didn’t make sense.  
    “So what now?”
    “I go back to Chicago, I guess.”  
    He wasn’t even going to fight for her?   Wasn’t that kind of stupid?   Shouldn’t he try to make a stand or something?   Wasn’t that what the guys in the movies did?
    “What about Anna?”   Jeff shrugged.  
    “She said she’s going to drop my stuff off here.”
    “Here?   Why?”   Jeff and Anna had broken up.   There was no longer any need for her to be in Drew’s life.   Right?
    “I don’t know.   I guess she figures you’ll see me before she does.”   Jeff stared at the bottle on the coffee table in front of him for a moment before reaching out and finishing it off.   “I don’t know, Drew.   Maybe she’s right.”
    “Well, I’m pretty sure you two aren’t going to be spending much time together—”
    “No, I mean maybe she’s right.   Maybe something is missing.”   Jeff sighed, shaking his head.   “I don’t know.   I don’t even know what I’m talking about.   I don’t think I’ve been this drunk since college.”  
    “Halloween party.   Senior year.”   Drew remembered.   That had been a fun night.  
    “You know the craziest part?”   Drew turned to look at his friend.   “I still love her.”
    “It’s only been six hours since you broke up.   I think that’s expected.”   Drew sighed, rising to his feet.   “You should get some sleep, man.   It’ll be better in the morning.”
    “No, it won’t.”
    “Well, you’ll feel so lousy from the hangover that you won’t be able to concentrate on anything else.”
     

Chapter Two
     
     
    It was the Monday following her break-up with Jeff and Anna was still having a hard time looking at herself.   It didn’t matter how much Alice told her she’d done the right thing.   It didn’t matter that she knew she’d done the right thing.  
    Nothing made it any easier.  
    She’d spent all day yesterday holed up inside her bedroom, headphones on, a sketchpad in front of her.   It was her usual method of distraction whenever she was upset about something.   She always made her best attempt at losing herself in the music as it poured through the headphones, trying to imagine a happier time.
    Of course she hadn’t been able to draw anything.   Nothing worthwhile, anyway.  
    She’d made a few sketches of the cottage Nana lived in, but nothing turned out right.   The cottage looked too small, the trees too large, and the creek too far away.  
    Every time she tried to draw a line, she hated it.  
    That too was typical.   Anna was rarely ever satisfied with her own work.  
    She closed her eyes for a moment, forcing herself to take a deep breath.  
    What she needed to do was to relax.
    When she heard a horn honking, she jerked her eyes open and felt her cheeks color as she realized the light had turned green and she was officially holding up traffic.   She pressed her foot to the gas quick and hard, jolting forward.  
    She needed a distraction.  
    Anna reached forward and turned the radio up, flipping through the stations in some vain attempt to find actual music instead of commercials or talking.  
    Finally, the soothing sounds of an alternative rock band filled the car and Anna smiled softly.   Yes, this was much better.  
    The peaceful feeling didn’t last long, however.   As soon as the song ended, Anna immediately regretted stopping on this station.  
    “I just don’t see it, Dave.   What is the sense in monogamy?   I mean, seriously—it isn’t even human nature.”   She wanted to turn it off the moment she heard his voice, but for whatever reason, she couldn’t do it.  
    “Oh, boy.   Here we go with