The first was longish, filled with the proper tang of longing, but mostly upbeat about what I was doing. A week later I sent her a much shorter email....She finally replied: great to here from you! we're going to the beach! Later!!There was no later. Thinking of you. Missing you. And hope you're having a great summer! A week after clicking send on that and hearing nothing back, well, I quit making time to hit the library.Instead I was so pathetic that I wound up spending my evenings sitting in my. Where is your husband?”I was still off guard so I told him my husband had to go home. When I quizzed him he told me he and his wife had a fight and she threw him out of their room. I offered him a shot as he slipped into the tub opposite me. In the process of getting the shot, he slid around closer to me. I asked what the fight was about. She had been nagging him about his growing waist. As I said, a slight beer gut but not too bad. He told me he finally snapped back that he was totally in. “Very well, ten guineas and ten more if she pleases me,” Mr D’arcy offered.“Done,” Mr Bennet agreed delightedly, “Ring my bookmaker forthwith.”“Father the Telephonograph has yet to be invented, “ Jayne reminded him.“Oh yes damnit, fetch my boots!” he retorted.Mr D’arcy duly handed over the ten guineas.“Up the stairs, first on the left,” Mrs Bennet directed.“Miss Bennet?” Mr D’arcy graciously invited Eliza to take his arm and she led him to the stairs.“Do you propose to seduce me Mr D’arcy?”. I wasn’t ready for him to go. I mean, intellectually I was ready for him to go; my mother died at 77, and all of my grandparents had died by the time I left home, all in their 70s and one at 80. My father making it to 90 was an impressive achievement for our line. So I understood he wasn’t going to last forever.Emotionally, though, I was just not ready, damnit. We had found each other after 25 years, and we had made friends. He had became an important part of my life; I suspect we were much.