Chapter Text
When she woke, felt me gone, sat up and saw me
Sitting there in my misery, my first thought was
How very young she seemed, a child woken from
A nightmare, seeking assurance, and finding none.
When I told her she'd have to make a decision,
She asked me what I thought, what other people
Would think of her passing up a chance at such
A man at her age. She knows what they would think.
When she asked if we'd still see each other, she
Took my "No" with surprise. I said, "If you take him,
You'd have to give me up." "No, but not as friends.
Only, as this, Anne." Only as this? "Only this" would be
The basis of a lifetime spent together, wife and wife.
Only this is the most private, sacred thing two people
Could share. Only this-- Only this-- Only--
How could we go back to common friendship now?