The cold air stung Melissa's cheeks as she stepped out into the streets, but she was still determined to get on with her day as she had planned earlier. Each step through her local area brought a painful memory that she was forced to relive in silence.The shop on the corner, held the image of Isabel leaning over the large freezer in the centre of the shop where she would pick out an ice lolly. Summer or winter she had to have one, the only changing factor would be the flavour. Strawberry was her favourite, mango was for if she felt it was a special day, and, on days she felt were particularly boring, she would choose blueberry or raspberry and then marvel over the next 30 minutes about how blue her tongue and lips had gotten.Further down the street was the pet shop. That was one of the worst places to have to pass if they were ever in a hurry as Isabel would stand and stare through the window to check which of her favourite animals were still for sale. She named every pet that went into that shop and often bartered with the shop owner so that he would reserve her favourites. Of course, he never did due to Melissa's instructions that they would not be getting a pet anytime soon. David was allergic and they had too much of a busy schedule to worry about pet training. As Melissa passed the pet shop she noticed a new batch of kittens on display in the corner of the shop. Today would have been one of the worst as Isabel would have insisted that they went in to check the new kittens, where she would name them and choose which would be an ideal candidate to take home.Melissa slowed to look through the window and saw a perfect, fluffy, ginger kitten peering over the side of the kitten's pen.Isabel would have loved that one, Melissa thought, and wondered if it would have made coping easier if they had bought Isabel a kitten. They would have at least that live reminder of Isabel's playful and caring nature, or perhaps they would have grown annoyed with its presence, who wants a cat in place of a daughter? Maybe we could have traded places between the cat and Isabel, she thought, wishing such a compromise would have been possible. I would have exchanged all of the cats in her place, David too.A small gasp left her lips at the realisation of what she had just suggested. Her focus was no longer on the pen full of kittens but on her reflection in the glass window. Any mother would have thought a similar thing, she told herself. It was just in passing, it's not like I've hired a hitman for him or anything.She turned away from the window determined to get on with the day. Just focus on what's ahead, she told herself trying to keep her gaze away from the shops as she passed. There was a small toy shop, a stationery shop, and even the post office, which all held memories of Isabel and her everyday antics. Melissa's instinctively held her hand up against the side of her face as a blinder to shut out the shops as she passed. She was grateful that David had declined to accompany her, it would have been uncomfortable, to say the least, and he would have found some reason to lash out if the way he had behaved in the bedroom was anything to go by.She had promised herself lunch, but she didn't feel much like eating, so she opted for a coffee at the café across the road from the shoe shop. She'd never visited this café before, she didn't go to cafes much at all as she would normally end up in Mcdonald's or somewhere similar due to Isabel being her main company on her outings."Melissa," a man said as he approached her table.There was something notable about his face, a faint recognition, but she couldn't recall exactly where she knew him from."How have you been?" He asked in an all too familiar way."I'm sorry," she said lacking the patience to attempt to work out their acquaintance. "Do we know each other?""James. From college," he said."Oh, I ..." She couldn't remember him.He pulled out the chair opposite and sat down, his eyebrows dipped in concern. "We saw each other a few weeks ago, at the memorial."She shook her head. She didn't want to hear about the memorial, she had hated it. She hadn't been able to pay her respects to the others who had died when her own heart was so broken. She realised it was selfish, but it had been too soon for sharing, attempting to soothe the other sufferers' pain with false, kind words would have only exasperated her own torment.She focused her attention on a nearby table napkin, folding the edges into shapes, and wishing James would just leave. But she realised he wasn't planning to and prepared herself for a possibly uncomfortable conversation."You really don't remember?" he asked."No.""I'm sorry, I didn't think. I ...""It's fine," she interrupted his apology. She didn't need any more sorrys. They didn't help. "Why were you at the memorial?""My sister and niece were on the train," he said."Did they ...""No, no," he interrupted. "They were lucky, but they wanted to attend to pay their condolences. You don't remember meeting her?" he asked."No, I don't remember much of the memorial. I'm sorry." She said as she tucked the menu back into the holder. If James was going to stay, she wasn't."It's understandable. How is David?""He's slowly making progress," she answered although, she didn't think so."Oh," he said as a confused look crossed his face. "He seemed to be coping fairly well considering. I thought he would have been the rock for the two of you."David coping? She thought. All I had seen was coldness, bitterness and even tantrums. I wish he had been the rock, but I seem to have carried myself through with no help from him at all."Well, I'm happy to see you're looking better. It was quite worrying to see you in that state." He pulled a business card from his pocket and handed it to her. "But if you need to speak about anything, anything at all. Don't hesitate to get in contact.""Sure," She said, knowing that she would never get into contact with him. Dr James Marlow MD was the name on his card, and underneath was written, Board Certified Psychiatrist.Why would he think I would need to speak to him about anything? She wondered. Had he heard about David's mood swings? But then, he had just mentioned that David looked as though he was coping well the day of the memorial, and it was me that was 'in a state'.Deciding he was merely trying to be a friend and was being over-friendly, she pushed the card into her bag and ordered her coffee, making a firm resolution not to think about it again.Shopping went without any distractions. Melissa bought her shoes, and then stopped by the grocery shop for some small bits and then made her way home. She would probably order in that night, but at least there would be something to eat if they had to wait.David was, as she had expected, sitting on the bottom steps of the staircase waiting for her return. She couldn't recall when this action had started, but surely enough, whenever she had left over the past few days, she always returned to find him just sitting there.He didn't speak when she entered the house, instead, he watched her remove her jacket and shoes, his eyes on the shopping bags at all times."I got the shoes," she eventually said.He nodded, his eyes glancing over the grocery bags quickly before he spoke."Did you enjoy your day out?" he asked, his voice flat and indifferent."It was nothing special. I had a short walk, stopped for a coffee and then did the little shopping you see here." She tried her best to keep her voice cheerful, but she also felt indifferent to David and his presence.She took her new shoes from the box and placed them on the shoe rack before taking the grocery bags into the kitchen. It had been a quick and easy day, all except the nagging feeling that something wasn't right which she had had since she'd left the café.Perhaps it was the coffee, she thought as she rummaged through her handbag for some gum. She pulled out a loose business card.Dr James Marlow MD, Board Certified Psychiatrist, it read.Had I picked this up for David's benefit? She wondered, unable to remember where she had gotten the card. She had already tried to get David to visit a therapist. Why would James be any different, but then why else would she have his card?I might give him a call, she concluded.