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because he is attractive, because well, he is.  It’s hard not to notice such a unique looking man, which is a shock on its own that she even noticed his good looks, especially while here with Dylan.  This makes her feel guilty.  She looks back at the grave in front of her and tries to clear her racing mind, but her curiosity wins.  She looks back at the man and realizes that it’s also not because he is in mourning that has her so curious, because she has seen people mourn here many times before.  It’s because she has never had another person grieve so close to her before with completely raw grief.  She is all too familiar with the emotions and curious about his grieving process. 
    For so long she has felt broken and alone.  She never felt like anyone unders tood.  Everyone says they are concerned, but none of them actually want to deal with her grief.  They just want her to pick up and move on as if it never happened.  As if Dylan never even existed.  It’s an impossible task to expect of her and to save the people closest to her from her burdens.  It has driven her into almost complete isolation.  She knows others can see it, too, no matter how hard she has tried to hide it. 
    All of a sudden the man looks up in her direction.  Before she can look away he locks her in with his big dark almond eyes. She is caught in his gaze like a deer in headlights and is unable to break the spell.
    “Hi .  I’m sorry.  I wasn’t prying, I swear,” Anna-Marie says once she is able to breathe.  She is mortified at her intrusion.
    “Oh no, it’s okay, really.  To be honest, I really don’t know how to do this.  We just buried her and it still doesn’t seem real.”
    “I’m so sorry to hear that.  To be completely honest, it never does seem real no matter how long it’s been.”  Anna-Marie wants so badly to ask how it happened, to see if it was the mysterious animal attacks, but, oh God, that would be insensitive.
    Instead she says, “I think everyone grieves differently, in their own way.  I think it really depends on the relationship and what happened,” Anna-Marie says, then holds her breath hoping he will elaborate on what happened.
    “Well , Catherine was my girlfriend and she died of cancer, so it was expected.”
    Anna -Marie feels a mix of relief and disappointment to hear how she died. 
    “I’m sorry to hear that.  It’s never easy when someone you love dies.  Everyone tells us we just have to go on like that person never existed.  They never understand.”  Anna-Marie looks away, shocked with the resentment she feels for this revelation.  She has always felt the anger, but has never voiced it before.  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
    “That’s okay .  You should never apologize for speaking the truth or for your feelings.  If people don’t like it, screw them.  My name is Alessandro, Alessandro Pierre, by the way.”
    Alessandro takes a few steps in her direction until he is close enough to shake her hand, while still keeping his distance.
    “Hi, Alessandro!  I’m Anna-Marie Hager.  It’s nice to meet you.  It looks like we are going to be neighbors.” 
    Anna -Marie shifts her chin towards the grave in front of her.  “This is Dylan Williams.  He was my boyfriend and best friend.  He was killed by some kind of wild animal.”
    “That’s horrible.” 
    “Yeah, it was.  I was the one who found him.  I’ve had nightmares since.  To be honest, this is the only place I have felt safe.  Well, until-”
    “Until what?”
    “Oh, nothing.”
    Shit!  She isn’t talking about it , he thinks to himself.
    “Hey, this may sound forward but if you’re not too busy, I was wondering if we could go for a drink somewhere and talk?”  Alessandro got his charm from his father and hoped it wouldn’t fail him now.  If he has to, he will use his power of persuasion but that will only be his last resort.
    Anna-Marie chews on her bottom lip not knowing