Following you is not easy . In fact , I grew tired of following you many years ago . I just simply forgot to stop doing it . It became habit . Thinking now I can 't remember when I noticed a difference in me . Maybe I was drinking coffee and was struck with the notion all at once . Perhaps it was something that developed overtime creeping through me like a spider crawling on top of sleeping bodies at night . What do I do now that I remembered ? Do I simply forget again or should I do something about it this time ? You appealed to me so . Your very nature and need for me so strong that I always felt as though I was locked in as if on a Ferris wheel with a bar holding me in place , going round and round peaking and falling . Other bonds have come and gone . Ours has remained steady over time breaking that which was important to me all along . Breaking me , no , I was broken long ago . This time might be different . I have found someone . Found someone again who can cure me of you . If you were here right now standing in front of me I would have the courage to tell you once and for all . I would tell you that you are no good for me . You lied to me . You said that we would make it and be happy . Brother , you lied to me . If you stood at my door I would cast you away . I would not go with you on your next hunt . It is entirely possible that I never knew what you were hunting . I just wanted to make sure that you would be okay . So I stayed or I went depending on what you needed . I know I would have the courage this time to dispel you forever with the promise that I would see you on the other side . Yes , that will be my promise to you . Brother , I will see you on the other side . It rarely rains in Los Angeles in October . Yet there it was , a wall of rain coming down as I tried to make my way to the grocery store . My wind shield wipers could barely keep up and left huge streaks reminding me that I needed to go to Shucks and get new wipers for my car and Jennifer 's car . I planned to make seafood fettuccine for our anniversary dinner . Today was our fifth wedding anniversary . When I reached the grocery store parking lot I circled a few times hoping to get a spot closest to the door so that I wouldn 't get soaked . I looked up at the temperature gauge in my jeep and saw that it was sixty - eight . Still pretty warm . There were about five cars circling the lot waiting for a closer spot to open . I saw someone walking toward me juggling keys and a bag of groceries . She stopped right in front of me . Perfect , this was as close as I was going to get . She tossed her bag into the backseat of her Honda and pulled out in front of me , I had to put my car in reverse and inch back a few feet to give her enough room . Just as she pulled away I saw headlights turn in front of me and park in the spot , my spot . Damnit ! She was a young thing , in her early twenties . I guess I was still pretty young too , only just thirty . She got out of the car and ran into the store . She had a very nice ass . A car honked behind me . It startled me into action . I pulled into a spot that was about in the middle of the lot . I scoured my back seats for an umbrella or coat or anything I could put over my head . Nothing . I made a run for it . I grabbed my cart and headed toward the seafood section . My flip flops squeaking against the linoleum floor at each step . The store was florescent bright in comparison to the dark clouds that loomed outside . After I grabbed clams , halibut , shrimp , and salmon , I turned down the pasta and sauces aisle . She stood in front of the canned fruit holding a can of mandarin oranges . She looked up at me as I passed and her eyes flickered with acknowledgement . " Hey , aren 't you Jennifer 's husband ? " she asked . " I , yeah , I 'm sorry I don 't remember your name , " I replied . " Oh , I 'm Molly . I work with Jen in accounting , " she replied . " We met at the Christmas party a couple months ago , " she added . I vaguely remembered her or that Christmas party . From what I did remember , I made a complete ass out of myself in vengeance . " Jen 's boss hired me as an intern and then brought me on full time after I finished college , " she said . So , I was right . That put her at about twenty - three . Her blonde hair fell down well past her shoulders framing her face . She was very attractive . " Hey , I was planning to walk over to Starbucks after and grab some coffee . This weather has got me down , " she said . I nodded in agreement with that . Most Californians do not like the rain . " Would you like to join me ? " she asked . Before I could stop myself I agreed to meet her over there after I finished up with my shopping . She agreed and headed off toward the cashier . I found myself hurrying through the rest of the list my heart beating wildly . It had been years since a girl had shown any interest in me at all . Wait , what was I thinking , I was married and shopping for an anniversary dinner that I was about to make . I couldn 't go to coffee . Not with someone that Jen knows . It was weird how she referred to her as Jen . Only I call her that , and her family . The rain had let up a little but the clouds seemed even darker than before hanging like a blanket that could hide anything . I told myself that I was just going to get back into my car and drive home . That 's the kind of person I was . I wasn 't the kind of person to go have coffee with a strange , beautiful girl . She quieted down and seemed to be focusing intently on the foam at the top of her cup . Then she spoke and what she said made my heart plunge into my stomach . " I know about you and Jennifer , " she said . It came out like she was admitting to a lie . She was looking at me , watching my face . Did I know what she was talking about ? I thought I knew and my emotions caught in my chest like wildfire . My heart hammered as pure anger raced through my veins . I had told only one person . My brother . And here , Jen had told an intern . A twenty - fucking - two year old intern . The words what the fuck charged across my head like an insult . " It wasn 't Jen that told me , " she said . Oh great , that was supposed to make me feel a whole lot better . Now she had heard hear say , which means what , that her entire department knows , the entire office ? I felt like throwing up . She could tell that I wasn 't taking the news well . " Let me explain . Let me explain why I am here , " she said . Why she was here , wasn 't this a coincidence ? She had stolen his parking spot to get into the store to grocery shop . What the fuck ? " This isn 't easy to say and I want you to know that normally I wouldn 't get involved , but when I met you at the Christmas party a few months ago , well , I like you and it really bothered me and I wanted to help you , I have been thinking about it ever since " she said . Finally I found my voice , " Help me ? " I asked condescendingly . " Listen , " she said . " My apartment is just down the street . Could we go there to talk in private ? " she asked . Her face softened waiting for a reply . I felt my emotions calm slightly replaced with curiosity about how she found out and what she might know . " Sure , " I said quietly . We got up and headed toward our cars . " Why don 't you ride with me ? It will be easier , " she said . " Fine , " I replied . In the car , I clicked in my seat belt . She began to explain things more clearly . Her and Jen had become pretty good friends . They had both been in the same sorority at USC . The story took a twist that I was not ready for . At USC she had been involved with a couple women . My body stopped moving and I didn 't make a sound as I let her words sink in . at some level everything she was telling me felt right . My head was swimming by the time we reached her apartment . We got out and walked up two flights of stairs . She opened the door to her apartment , which was small , but well decorated . " Can I get you anything ? " she asked . " No , thanks . Well , how about some water ? " I asked . We sat on her couch , each of us on separate ends . I began peppering her with questions . I wanted details . I was sick and tired of not knowing . Not knowing why my own wife had never had sex with me before . She had given me many reasons , well not really reasons , more like excuses . We didn 't have sex before we got married because she wanted to wait . Then she didn 't want to have sex on our wedding night because she was too tired . Later it became clear to me that she was terrified of have sex . We had tried everything from counseling to going to her OBGYN just to make sure that she was capable . The hurt and rejection ran deep . So deep in fact that I had killed off that piece of me completely just to cope . In the beginning I would take care of myself , but then I gave that up , and let it go , for the sake of our marriage . I had confided in my brother only , after about a year . He told me to get a hooker . That was the last time I talked about it . I was lost in thought . Molly brought me back to reality . " I followed you to the store this morning , " she confessed . " Why ? " " Because I know that today is your anniversary and like I said before , when I met you at the party , I really liked you . And , Jen , she is having an affair , " she blurted out . By this point I had gone through such a fierce range of emotion that the latest bit of information stung only a little , although I new that wouldn 't last . I sipped on my water calculating if I really wanted to ask a follow up question . " With who ? " I managed . Molly 's eyes fell to the floor . " With me , " she said . Tears pooled at her eyelids and fell streaking her cheeks . I was completely speechless . " I don 't blame her . " I said . The words hung in the air like the dark clouds looming just outside . Molly managed a weak smile . She moved in closer to me and rested a hand on my leg . I flinched . " I just want you to know that I am sorry , " she said . " Yeah ? " I asked . I felt like my body had been squeezed dry like an orange in a juicer . The water I sipped rusted on my tongue . " I want you to know that I like you too , " she said . I didn 't answer her . Instead I reached for her hair . Her long blonde hair and pulled her onto me . I didn 't care anymore about wrong or right . I was going to take this and then I would find a new life . I would start over again . He created his own problems . He knew that . He was practical enough to understand that life is constant ebb and flow between cause and effect , decision and consequence . Only once before this was he faced with a life changing situation where he was thrust into a decision for better or for worse . Now , he faced two main problems . One was in the background his whole life waiting to come to fruition . The other was something that he had manifested all on his own out of sheer stupidity . Berkel sat in his doctor 's office gripping the chair 's wooden arms and tried to not listen to what she had to say . She explained how he would need to do some research now while it would be easy . He should find someone that he liked and who he trusted to work with during the transition . He should look for a new apartment that wasn 't on the top floor of a building that didn 't have an elevator . He should prepare for the inevitability that he was about to lose his vision . These were not the words he wanted to here . He thought he would have had at least another ten years before something like this happened . He had known since childhood that it could happen , but a person can never be ready . At twelve he was diagnosed with child onset diabetes , type two . It had gone undiagnosed for almost a year which had heavily taxed his liver and kidneys . By the time he was diagnosed and prescribed regular insulin injections his eye sight had already taken a hit and he had to wear glasses . His doctor then had said that the long term effects of not treating it earlier would most likely lead to blindness one day . At the time , like any smoker who knows that they will die from lung cancer someday , it did not really faze him . Berkel was not your typical kid . At eight years old he had taken to charcoal drawing like a baby takes to the nipple . When he turned eleven he switched to watercolor and at fifteen he was painting with oil . While other kids were watching Sesame Street on television he would watch Bob Ross . His bedroom wall was plastered with beautiful women like most teenage boys , but his favorite poster was of Starry Night over the Rhone . He was both transfixed and disgusted by the life of Vincent . Through his years as a painter he had experienced some highs and some definite lows . Some of his still life 's had sold for near five thousand dollars in a gallery in Boise near his home . But those were too few and far between . He had sold a fifty five by forty inch oil painting of the Sun Valley landscape for thirty thousand dollars to a hotel when he was just twenty two . It had been a god sent because his wife , Jocelyn , lost her job and they were just about to foreclose on their small house . Being an artist was all he knew to do . He tried a couple other jobs just to make more money for his wife and his daughter , but he could never hack it . He couldn 't sit in an office on the computer . That was not what his hands were meant for . He loved his family , but he was always looking beyond the horizon knowingly , waiting for the right time to go . Now , he was no longer in Boise . He had moved to Cannes , France on impulse after he separated from his wife after eighteen years of marriage . They had married young , because they 'd had a kid young . He had felt guilty leaving , but his daughter was a woman , just turned eighteen . His art had come to a stand still and he needed inspiration . Where better to find inspiration than France and Italy ? It only took seven months for him to find himself all over again . He found his edge , his calling as an artist . He made more money selling paintings on the boardwalk in Cannes then he did in five years in Boise . Something changed in him and passer Byers could see the fire spill from his paintings . He sent a big check to Jocelyn . They hadn 't officially divorced , but they were no longer exclusive in anyway . For now they agreed to be two drifters . She was focused on the restaurant she had bought . He sent money for her and for his daughter . He didn 't care how they used it . They had left on good terms and all in all she had been loving and supportive of his need to seek out his talent . To celebrate himself and his new found success he bought a black Mercedes convertible and drove up the coast to Monaco . His first trip he stayed at the glorious casino de Monte Carlo . It was decadent . He wasn 't much of a gambling man . He sometimes played friendly poker back home . He never had much money to lose . This time was different . This time his practical nature flew out the window . It met in direct proportion to how quickly his bank account had grown . He didn 't know it yet , but at almost thirty seven years old , Berkel faced disaster . He discovered that roulette infused his excitement more than most things he 'd tried in his life . At first he just watched and devised a plan of how he would play and win . His strategy was clever . He always stuck to the same group of numbers and often correlated them to his wife and daughter 's birthdays . His first time in he walked away ahead eight thousand dollars . His heart beat furiously on the drive back to Cannes from Monaco . The wind blew through his hair and he felt alive . His art work continued to sell and he felt he gained even more of an edge . He went to Monte Carlo every weekend and sometimes during the weeknights if he had made a good sell that day . His ego ran high and the sheer adrenaline from this new and exotic life fed his fury . It was six months later , since the first day he played , that he lost . He lost big . In his time there he 'd made some friends . One in particular took interest in him as an artist and a player . They would share stories over whiskey until the early hours of the morning . His name was Franco . Franco was a retired banker from Paris . Franco was there the night that Berkel lost big and gave his condolences . Berkel , was left with only two thousand dollars to his name and his rent was due the following week . His rent was five grand . Franco offered to lend him the money to cover it and a little extra . He knew he was good for it . Berkel would pay him back the following weekend . This went on for a few months . Berkel would get back in the black and then fall deep into the red . Franco would help him out . Not too much time went by before the being in the red became the norm and Franco was done with it . He wanted his money back and was ready to be rid of Berkel . Berkel walks out of the doctor 's office . He walks the seven blocks down to the water and stares out at the cruise ship anchored just off shore . His money would come in from those people , those wealthy American 's and British travelers who would want a piece of art to take home to remember their once in a lifetime vacation . The problem was that his debt to Franco far outweighed what he could bring in a week . He stared onto the horizon perplexed as to how he got into this mess . He would just have to cut out his gambling . At thirty seven his life was starting to feel as devastating and morose as his favorite painter . Vincent had shot himself and died at the age of thirty seven . That fate almost seemed optimistic in comparison to what faced him now . The glare of the sun off the water forced him to put on his sunglasses . He wished he could say that the sky looked anew and the water shimmered like it never had before , but that was not the case . He didn 't see things any differently now then the day before when he didn 't know that he would be blind in a month , maybe two according to the doctor . He had always seen things the way he was meant to see them . He had an acute artist 's eye and knowing that it would go away didn 't change what he already saw . Here he was faced with both problems . Destiny had caught up to him and in the meantime he had done something extremely moronic . To make matters even worse his daughter , now nineteen , had finished her first year of art school and was flying out to visit him for the summer . In just two years he had changed from a man who was most likely going through an early mid life crisis to just a man in crisis . He didn 't want to face his daughter . His pocket vibrated . He had turned his cell phone to vibrate in the doctor 's office . He looked at the caller id . It was Franco . He didn 't want to answer , but at the same time , he wanted to talk to someone . Hello . " Berkel , ces 't Franco , " he said . I know . Do you mind if we speak in English ? " Okay , no problem , " said Franco . Listen , Franco , said Berkel . " I just left the doctors office and found out that I am going blind . You are the first person I have told , " he said . His total bill to Franco had reached thirty one thousand dollars . Without a doubt it had added tension to their friendship . Franco knew that Berkel was an outstanding artist . Franco himself had taken a piece as payment for a portion of his debt . The line was silent and then he spoke . " Mon amis , Je regrette , " which meant , my friend , my apologies . He sounded sincere and it felt good for Berkel to speak the words . Next he would tell his wife . " I will get you your money before I am incapacitated , " said Berkel . " Your friendship is important to me and I have been living a fool 's life , " said Berkel . " You are going blind ? For sure ? He asked . " Yes , that is what the doctor said and it has always been a possibility , " he replied . " Mon amis ! Your art will be worth even more than before , now that you won 't be able to paint anymore originals , " he said with his thick French accent . What he said cut like a knife , but Berkel listened on . " Paint me two of your finest ever pieces and I will take them in exchange to write off all that you owe me , " he said . " You have a deal , " replied Berkel . " How much time do you have , " he asked . Berkel 's eyes burned with tears of resentment , not at Franco , but at the world in general . " I should have another month or so , " he replied . " Okay . I will come by your place in a month then , " he said . " Okay . On se parle bientôt , " said Berkel . He hit the end call button and then dialed his wife . He didn 't have much time to be depressed . He had two paintings to create . They had to be his best ever and he only had a week before his daughter , Marcy , would arrive . He 'd asked his wife not to tell her anything , but at the same time knew that was probably impossible . They talked about everything . Especially him , he was sure . The first thing he did was cancel his lease on his apartment . He moved his meek belongings to his new apartment on the bottom floor of a small complex right near the water . If he couldn 't see the ocean he damn sure wanted to be able to hear it . He set up his painting supplies in the front balcony and set to work . The first one came to him in a breeze . It was something he had dreamt about as a little boy , but never dared to paint . He rarely did portraits , but he had seen a face of a man in his dreams and could still remember him . He would call it Old Vincent . He felt it was a depiction of what Van Gogh might have looked like had he not killed himself at a young age . Old Vincent looked fuller of life and more content than the self portraits Van Gogh created of himself . Maybe he had finally found love again and was able to keep it . Or maybe he gave into life 's flaws and quit his grievance . By the time he had finished his first painting it was the day he was to pick up Marcy . He grabbed a chauffer to the airport . He 'd liquidated his Mercedes . He would have just had a car pick her up and bring her down the coast , but he wanted to greet her himself . It had been two years since he 'd seen her . He was nervous . At the airport she was waiting outside the baggage claim exit doors . Berkel got out of the car and walked to hug her . She greeted him with a huge smile . Her long brunette hair was pulled back in a pony tail . It barely looked as though she 'd spent the last sixteen hours traveling . When he pulled away he saw that her eyes were wet . " Well , I guess your mom talked to you about it then ? " he asked . Her expression was of worry mixed with anger . " She told me everything , dad , " she said . " You have been living like a buffoon , " she said . Berkel didn 't have much of a response . " Let 's get out of here , " he said . On the drive back to his apartment he told her everything . She told him about her first year in art school . It was like no time had past at all since they last saw each other . They had stayed in touch via email and telephone , but it wasn 't the same , as in person . In the weeks that followed she helped him to get settled . He had nights when he would wake up in the dark and think , this is it , I can 't see . He would reach for his bed side lamp and be able to see just fine . He finished his two paintings and gave them to Franco . Franco was astounded by both of them , exclaiming that even if he didn 't go blind they should appreciate to be worth much more than his debts . They shook hands and said their goodbyes . She slurped down her second dirty martini . She hadn 't eaten enough that day to suffice such an endeavor , but they were taking the edge off . Her waiter stopped by and dropped off her antipasto appetizer plate . She had been waiting an hour already and didn 't care anymore . She was going to eat something . " Can I get you anything else Ma ' am ? " he asked . Ugh ! Ma ' am ? ! " I 'll have another , " she said motioning to her martini glass . She was twenty - eight . It wasn 't as if she had just celebrated her forty - fifth birthday . There was no reason he should be calling her Ma ' am . He was probably twenty three himself , not that much younger . It made her feel even worse about her predicament . She had agreed to this blind date purely out of courtesy . Her new boss had set it up . She didn 't know how to get out of it , so alas , here she was , drinking alone , on a Tuesday night , when she could have been at home watching Heroes On Demand and fast forwarding through the commercials . Of course , the drinking thing wouldn 't have been any different . Although , she would have saved a bundle enjoying a nice glass of Pinto Grigio snug on her couch instead of spending ten bucks a pop on martinis . She hadn 't went on a date in months . Her last boyfriend broke it off with her for a girl he met while on a dig in South America . After finally getting over him , which took months , she picked one of the characteristics that bothered her most about him , him being short , and vowed to never date someone shorter than her again . In fact , this would mark the first date she 'd been on since . Since then she 'd also decided that being a workaholic totally made sense . She wondered why she had resisted it before . Working around the clock the last eight months had been absolute bliss . She 'd gotten promoted to senior account executive and received a substantial raise . Her plan was to work even harder in the months to come and potentially jump ship in an effort to get an even bigger promotion . She was always calculating and planning her next move . She owed her outstanding drive and work ethic to her mother . Her mother had lived on welfare for most of her upbringing . She had been an absolute embarrassment on a regular basis . She loved her mom , even more now that she had passed . The memory of her ignited a warmer glow than the reality of her contribution to Alyssia 's life . Alyssia strove to be everything other than what her mom was . She was hard working , planned her life and expected nothing but greatness in return . Eventually she would find the perfect husband , create a family of her own , and be admired for her perfection . She had no family . She never knew her dad . She relied on her best friend Jada , who was more like a sister and a mother to her than anyone she had ever known . She sat at her table tallying her bill in her head when she noticed someone approaching out of the corner of her eye . " Are you Alyssia ? He asked . She stood up quickly and took his outstretched hand for a quick hand shake . " Bruce . " He introduced himself . His hand was warm , not clammy , like hers had instantaneously become . " I am so sorry that I am late , " he exclaimed . He looked sincerely sorry and almost a little frightened . His face was adorable and his eyes were soft and kind . Overall he was nice looking and well presented . He had dark blonde hair . Best of all , he was tall . He had to be about four inches taller than her , which meant he was probably six foot one or so . Alyssia herself was pretty tall for a girl , like her mom , which was one genetic predisposition she actually took pride in . Alyssia wasn 't about to let him off the hook too easily for being late . " Are you able to stay or do you have something else you need to run to ? " she asked . His eyes widened and he did not reply . Yikes , she thought that maybe she was a bit too harsh with that . " I 'm just kidding . " She said . " No I deserve that . You see , I just got the oddest call a couple hours ago . " He explained . " I was on my way home from work to change before I came here to meet you when I got a call from a friend of mine . He works for the FBI . " Wow , this guy is pathological was all she could think . After she finished her martini she was going to fake an important call and flee the scene . She sat there nodding and sipping as he rambled on . It was too bad really , he was quite cute . After a couple minutes of feigning a look of interest she distinctly heard him say the words " back ground check " . " Wait ! " she said . " You had someone run a background check on me ? " she asked . " This is a date for Christ sake , not a job interview . Flag on the field ! " she said . Even though she hadn 't dated in a while , she knew when something just wasn 't going to work and she hated wasting time . Alyssia grabbed her purse and plopped down her credit card . " No wait . I know this sounds weird , but I just got out of a bad relationship last year and so I felt compelled , " he said . Alyssia just stared at him , not knowing what to say . " Listen , I know this is strange , and I wouldn 't even be telling you all of this if it weren 't for . " He stopped mid - sentence and let out a sigh . " The reason I am late is because I wasn 't sure I wanted to come and meet you . " Wow , this is awesome , you are awesome ! " she replied . " No , what I am trying to say … what I am going to say is very weird , " he said . " Oh , it 's just now about to get weird ? " She exclaimed . This didn 't seem to bother him . He continued on . He lowered his voice , as if all of a sudden he had a secret to tell her . " What I found out , what I am trying to tell you is that , Alyssia , you are my sister . He hesitated . I am your brother , " he said in a tone which sounded like he said this to convince himself of this truth . This was not what Alyssia expected to hear in the least . She was ready for something idiotic like he found out she went to a state college instead of an Ivy League or that when she was younger she had been quarantined from her classmates because of tuberculosis . But this , this came out of left field and left her speechless . When she finally regained her sense of reality she made the decision that he must be full of shit and that he was screwing with her . Maybe she was in a new reality show called Blind Date Candid Camera . That absolutely made more sense than the nonsense that was coming out of his mouth . She just sat a stared rationalizing these thoughts . When she finally looked up to meet his eyes she saw that they were brimmed with tears . " Is this some kind of joke ? " she asked . " No , Alyssia , this is not a joke , he replied . Alyssia stared at his face , into his eyes . It was his eyes , she had noticed them at first , but she didn 't put it together . He had her mother 's kind eyes . " I don 't know what to say . " She paused for a long moment . " How did you figure this out ? " she asked . He went on to explain that when his friend was running her background check that his own father 's name came up in the search . His friend got access to her original birth certificate which had both her mother 's signature and her father 's . The certificate that she herself possessed only had her mother 's name . He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a piece of paper . He slid the paper across the table . She read it over . Indeed the birth certificate said her name , Alyssia Charlene Whitcomb . She looked at his face again and felt her insides twist . Quickly her three martinis turned into a dull headache that throbbed just behind her eyes as she recounted what he had just told her . " Charlene , your middle name , is our grandmother 's name , " he said . Our father , Marcus , gave you that middle name , he continued on . Words flooded from his mouth for another minute or two , and then he fell silent again . It was most likely her lack of response that kept him from going on . " Alyssia , do you get what I am saying ? " He asked . " I had no idea that you existed . Dad never mentioned anything to me about you . " I tried calling him before I got here , but he didn 't answer , so I came anyway , " he said . He noticed she was picking at her fingernails again . " Are you okay ? " he asked . " No , I 'm not okay , she replied . " So what ? He 's alive ? Our father ? " she asked . " Yes , he 's alive . " " I also know that your mother passed away not too long ago , I am sorry , " he said . She didn 't reply . Questions that had no answers began brewing in her head . When she was growing up she 'd rarely pressed the question about her father . When she did ask , her mom told her that he had a new life that didn 't concern them and that sometimes that 's how things worked out . She knew her questions made her mom sad , she could see it in hers eyes . She didn 't want to make her mom sad , so eventually she stopped asking and at some point , she wasn 't sure exactly when , but the questions stopped mattering all together . The waiter came back with her bill and her card . Alyssia signed her name , realizing that she always signed it with a " C . " in the middle , which in the future might always cause her to think . She slid her card back into her wallet and stood up slinging her D & G handbag over her shoulder . Bruce looked amazed . " Don 't you want to meet him ? " he asked . She grabbed her coat and pushed in her chair . " Meet him ? She replied . " No , I don 't think so , Bruce , " she said . " Had he wanted that , this would have never had to happen , " she replied . With that she walked out the through the restaurant lobby , and through the front doors . She allowed the rush of cool air to fill her lungs and bring her life . She would walk home instead of taking a taxi and allow the air and the city to take her home .