For the first time since I had entered the bookstore, Karen laughed without restraint.
“You really haven’t changed.”
“I’m told it’s one of my worst qualities.”
She stood up.
Then she stepped closer to my chair.
“Look at me.”
I did.
“I don’t want to be someone’s secret, Alex. I don’t want to be a temporary escape from loneliness. And I don’t want you to choose me because you think you have to rescue me.”
“I don’t.”
“Good.”
She brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face.
“Because I don’t need rescuing.”
“I know.”
“I’m choosing you because when I was at my lowest, you treated me like a person instead of a problem. And when I nearly made a decision out of pain, you gave me the freedom to wait.”
Her voice softened.
“That mattered more than you know.”
I stood up.
“Karen, I have been trying to find a way to say this for months.”
