“Joe”, she said, “I can’t give what you ask”. She looked into his face beseeching his eyes to understand that she didn’t want to hurt or be hurt, meant no harm to him. “Joe, I’m just not ready for that, perhaps never will be, every time you come I feel dread, because you ask me for some­thing I’m not willing to give, perhaps not even able to give.” There was a silence in the night and she found more words. “I know you say nothing but all the time you put a weight on my heart, I don’t want to be held down, I want ” her clenched eyes stared into the night but couldn’t find what she wanted.