“I don’t think we belong together anymore, Charlie.”

He opened his mouth to respond but she beat him to it: “I am leaving Miami to go and stay with my cousin in Virginia. She has a roommate that will be out of town for a couple of months so there is space for me. At least until I find a job and another place to live.”

Her sentences clipped and precise, as if practiced. As if they had existed long before he knew she was going to leave him, before he had even met her. Her plans finite, concrete. Without him. There was no emotion in her voice when she said all of this. Her face remained blank. ” ... another place to live.” The way that she said that, God! So calmly, as if oblivious – no, uncaring of the repercussions it would have on his life. Her leaving him. A sensation within him as if he was falling backwards. As if in a dream. Only this was very real. He sat very still, holding himself, waiting for the impact.

“Charlie, are you all right?”