(mother)" She used to tell me to get my nose out of my book and go get some fresh air.

As everyone applauds and sips champagne, I smile back at Rachel, thinking she got it just right. Love and friendship. They are what makes us who we are and what can change us, if we let them.

Don't you wish we could pick the people we love?" "Yeah," I say. "Or just make the people we love want the same things we want.

Maybe the thing to do after you roll the dice-and lose-is simply pick them up and roll them again.

And although one broken heart doesn't make me an expert in the subject, I believe you need both things - time and an emotional replacement - to fully mend one.

I think I hoped for something more. Maybe I even hoped that I could find in Richard what I had with Ben. But it is suddenly very clear: Richard is not fallin in love with me and I'm not falling in love with Richard. We are not creating anything permanent or special. We are only having fun together. It is a fling- a fling just like he said last night- a fling with an ending yet to be determined. I feel relieved to have it defined

Recognizing that there is more heartbreak in continuous disappointment than a void.