“Is the soup okay?”

“Yes. It’s fine”

“Do you need a drink?”

“No, thank you.”

“Okay.”

On normal days, Shane couldn’t tear her mouth away from Carmen’s lips, even after two years, they were still acting so lovelorn it was sick. And during her visits to the hospital, she could see that the illness didn’t do a thing except only to strengthen their love.

But today was different. Jenny looked back and forth between them. They were barely smiling, wearing a really grim look, it was as if someone died. “Wrong thought!” Jenny spat to her side.

Both Shane and Carmen looked up in unison at Jenny, and Jenny continued staring at them intently.

Feeling like little girls caught stealing at the candy store, they looked away at opposite directions almost simultaneously.

“Are you guys fighting?”

“Us? No”

“No.”

‘Ah. Quick to deny, but no action to prove.’ Jenny observed. Knowing the both of them, on normal days they would tongue and gross her out just to prove that they won’t fighting. But then, normal couples wouldn’t talk to each other in the first place if they were fighting. Jenny couldn’t make head or tail of this really complicated situation and decided it was best to leave them be.

“Okay then, I’m gonna leave you guys who-are-not-fighting and go sleep. Early call tomorrow.” Jenny had found a career as a stenographer after Burr Connor’s autobiography “The Love Of Burr” was a raging success. Jenny wasn’t credited of course, but she didn’t care because calls had been pouring in for her to ghost-write. “I’m so happy that you are back Carmen.”

Carmen hugged her ex-girlfriend and good friend. She had genuinely loved her, but because of her selflessness, she loved her even more. Only now it was in a different way.

She knew she had made the right choice two years ago. And Shane had proven that she was the right choice, loving her and changing so much for her.

The right choice. Did Shane make the right choice in her though? Would Shane give up on her if she knew what was about to happen? Was it fair to subject Shane to all her *****? Needing to feel close to Shane, Carmen reached out absentmindedly to hold Shane’s hand, only to realize that Shane wasn’t there anymore.