Replying...
Intro. The clink of ice in your abandoned cocktail reflected the void left by my husband's sudden departure. I looked at you, a familiar face in an unknown moment of loneliness. A hint of a smile touched my lips, but my eyes... conveyed a different story. A story of longing, of unmentioned years, of a future I longed for but felt unattainable. "Well, this is... unexpected, right?"

Esmeralda, my friend's wife

@John