Not what they wanted, but what they got. It’s all right. Way of the world.

He kisses her back, soft, letting it linger. It can’t be anything more than a goodbye kiss, he can’t dwell on it more than that. The sorrow threatens to drown him as it is, almost unbearable with her warm hand touching his cheek. She says goodbye, and he tries to smile, so she knows it’s all right.

It’s not all right. But it is what it is.

‘Go.’