Chapter 22

Across the ocean, it was winter. Shayne pulled his coat tighter around himself, clutching a stack of thick textbooks as he hurried across the empty plaza in front of the library. Life in a foreign country felt as though it was going in slow motion. In a way, it even felt muted. With the noisy pursuits and deliberate "chance" encounters gone, time seemed to stretch on endlessly. He grew used to spending late nights alone in the library, used to getting through meal after meal with coffee and cold sandwiches. The counseling sessions continued. In that quiet room where even breathing could be heard, he learned to stop hiding behind anger and avoidance. Instead, clumsily but sincerely, he began to dissect the moments that had led to his loss. He remembered the disappointment in Laura's eyes, again and again. He remembered his own complacent neglect and the absurd arrogance of believing with such certainty that Laura would never leave. The pain was still sharp, but he no longer tried to