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haven’t.”
    “And how long have we been working together?
Over two years?”
    “We’ll have to chalk it up to the pace of
work around here. It’s always so hectic.”
    She took off her hairnet and let her long
black hair cascade over her shoulders. Simon was astounded by how
beautiful she was. She had a sweet, adorable face.
    “That’s the nature of our profession,” she
said. “There simply isn’t any free time.”
    He raised the plastic cup and took a sip of
coffee. “Tell me, are you and Jerry still together?”
    She stared into space, surprised. “Jerry? No,
we broke up. We still live in the same apartment, but he’s going to
move out soon. He’s in the process of looking for a place. We’re
still good friends, but that’s all.”
    He gave an understanding nod. “Oh, I see. I
always thought you made such a nice couple.”
    “So did I.” She looked down sadly. But a
moment later, her eyes were twinkling, inquisitive. “And what about
you, Simon? How’s your love life?”
    “Nothing to brag about, I’m afraid. But Helen
and I are making an effort.”
    “Making an effort? That doesn’t sound
particularly encouraging. So you’re having problems?”
    He took a few deep breaths. “Yes, in fact we
are—but I’m sure your time is much too valuable for me to go into
how my wife and I aren’t getting along so well these days.”
    “Not at all. People say I’m a good
listener.”
    His eyes darted back and forth. “To tell you
the truth … I really don’t know if I can complain. It’s probably
the same with all marriages. The only thing that really gets to me
is that things aren’t like they used to be. Do you know what I
mean?”
    “You’re trying to say that the love between
you has sort of cooled off?”
    He wanted to say no, but he nodded. “I guess
you could put it that way. Things used to be different. We used to
enjoy each other’s company every day. We were so much in love. But
recently …”
    “People are all very different,” she said
sympathetically.
    “What if we really don’t want to stay
together anymore? We get into so many fights, and what’s most
ridiculous is that it’s always about something trivial.” He spoke
in a low voice, almost a whisper.
    “Instead of looking forward to going home,”
she said, “it seems like torture.”
    He pointed his finger at her. “Exactly. How’d
you know?”
    “I know the feeling. I’ve gone through this
before and don’t intend to repeat the experience.” She raised her
hand. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. What I wanted to say was that
I would rather live alone than force myself to put up with a
certain kind of relationship. Of course, each person has to know
what’s right for him or her.”
    “You may have a point. Maybe I really should
think about getting a divorce—we seem to be beyond help.”
    “Well, whatever you do, Simon, don’t rush
into anything. There’s no real hurry, is there? Try talking with
your wife. Maybe the smart thing would be for you both to go to a
marriage counselor or someone like that. Who knows?”
    He rested his chin on his fist and gazed
through the window at one of the glowing stars. “I certainly don’t
know. I have no idea anymore what to do. I try so hard, but nothing
seems to work.” This last statement was spoken in a tone of deep
frustration.
    “Everything will be fine, you’ll see. You
shouldn’t worry so much about it. It’ll work out.” She waited for
him to rest his hand on the table and then covered it with
hers.
    Their eyes met. An unusual warmth rose to his
cheeks. He wanted to remove his hand, but then changed his mind,
not wanting to offend her. He lowered his eyes, cleared his throat,
and said, “Life can take strange turns, can’t it?”
    She smiled at him sweetly.
    “And there’s nothing we can do about it.” He
stared down at her hand, which seemed glued to his skin. He raised
his eyes sadly and again met her glass-like gaze. He reminded
himself that