Things should have been awkward the next morning--in fact I expected it to be awkward, but what happened was completely unpredictable. The world wasn't over, nobody died, and Robert didn't come barging in the door screaming like someone would in a soap opera. I looked over, and she was sound asleep. It was eight in the morning on a Sunday, and I was happy. It's an unusual feeling after being divorced; waking up and being glad you did. I was watching the woman of my dreams sound asleep and she was in my bed.

"I know you're watching me." I heard her mumble.

"Oh. That's creepy right?" She turned over with a goofy smile.

"Depends. How long were you staring?" She had a teasing tone in her voice, and I was a little relieved that she wasn't running out the door regretting everything. I guess the look on my face showed what I was thinking.

"Hey. What we did was right, okay?" She ran her fingers gently across my cheek. I put my hand over hers. It was what I needed to hear.

While we got ready, I had to keep looking over at her just to be sure I wasn't dreaming or imagining things. She brushed her teeth and showered, just like she'd been doing that in my apartment for years. She blew dry her hair, and pretended I wasn't openly gawking at her.

"I could get used to this," she said quietly, all the while looking at me to gauge my reaction.

"Definitely." Was all I could think of to reply at that moment. I was caught up in the moment, and I felt like I was gonna suffocate from holding my breath.

"I'm hungry. You got any cereal?" She finally said, breaking the silence.

"Oh yeah! I can make you something, if you like. I make some mean french toast." She flashed a smile at me, and walked toward the kitchen. I followed close behind. Twenty minutes later, after I'd made us both breakfast, she and I sat there eating quietly, relishing the moment.

"So what's on the agenda?" Claire said after we had both finished.

"If you don't mind, I actually have to do some errands. I mean I can put it off, if you want." Claire was of a hell of a good reason to procrastinate, really.

"No, I can do that. Some normal, everyday, regular people stuff."

"Yeah. People stuff." I had forgotten how cute she phrased things.

You'd be surprised how interesting mundane things become when you're with somebody you're completely in love with. Of course I ended up with more food than I really needed, courtesy of Claire's sweet tooth, but I didn't mind. In a way I enjoyed fooling myself into believing she was living with me, and this was what we did all the time. When we got to the checkout boy, I suppose we were very obvious, because he looked up at us repeatedly as he was ringing up the various items. It's like he had never seen two girls together before. I was kinda glad he noticed though; I wanted to scream over the loudspeaker that we were together, finally, after 5 long years of painful non communication.

When we made the drive back to my place, Claire was strangely quiet. It was unsettling--she had been so talkative and lively earlier; now she seemed pensive. After a few minutes I couldn't take it anymore and broke the silence.

"So the other day we didn't really talk as much as I would have wanted to. Ya know because of...what happened." Claire was looking out the window, and I felt suddenly separate from her.

"Yeah. I guess sex is easier than sharing." I blinked a couple times. I knew she didn't have sex with me just to keep from talking about her problems, but it bothered me just the same.

"So...does your father know?" She turned to look at me, a quizzical look on her face.

"About what?" she asked, confused.

"About your--your preferences."

"Oh. Yeah, he's aware of it. I mean after I graduated I started bringing some girls to dinner and after awhile he kinda put two and two together." Girls? As in plural? My heart started pounding in my chest, and a chill suddenly came over my body. I knew she'd had experience, that much was obvious, but I didn't know she made it a habit.

"Okay." Silence filled the black Corolla I was driving. Deafening, heart breaking silence.

"So it's my turn to ask a question." She stated, after I put the car in park in front of the apartment building. "What does your husband know?" The words came out of her mouth like it was vinegar. I sat there in the car, stunned.

"Nothing. Doesn't matter though, not like he gives a shit. He's the one that cheated. Technically since we're separated what we did wasn't cheating...was it?"

She sighed, opening the car door.

"I don't know." she said as she stepped out of the car. We both walked to the door and as I put the key in the lock, she sighed again and brushed back her hair with her hand. I stepped in, and once we were inside, I turned to face her.

"Okay, what's with this? You were so happy and wonderful this morning, and now you act like you can't stand to be with me. What did I do?" The tears started to well in my eyes but I refused to cry. Her face softened, and she put her hand on my arm.

"Gretchen, I want to ask you a question. I want you to be honest, please."

"What?" I said, frustrated.

"Do you think this will last? This...thing we're doing." She gestured her hand back and forth between us.

"I hope so." My voice was pathetic and wobbly sounding. She got a look of relief on her face, and sat down on my couch, putting her head in her hands.

"Good. Because I'm honest to God completely in love with you and I don't know what in the world I would do if this didn't mean to you what it means to me." I was dumbfounded.

"Why in the world would you think that? I love you, Claire! That hasn't changed for half a decade!" She lifted her head up, her face unreadable.

"I want to move in with you." She stated suddenly, voice filled with fear and weariness.