And while he was doing those things, he thought about Allie and the love that was missing from both their lives.

There are memories for both of us, of course, but I've learned that memories can have a physical, almost living presence, and in this, Savannah and I are different as well.If hers are stars in the nighttime sky, mine are the haunted empty spaces in beetween.

Life doesn't often turn out the way we think it will, does it?

I do love you. I mean, love has nothing to do with this.

Every time I read to her, it was like I was courting her, because sometimes, just sometimes, she would fall in love with me again, just like she had a long time ago. And that's the most wonderful feeling in the world. How many people are ever given that chance? To have someone you love fall in love with you over and over?

Say I'm a bird! Say it! Say it now!" "You're a bird." "Now say you're a bird too." "If you're a bird, I'm a bird.

Then we'll find a way to work through all this together because I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you.