#rivervale_lodge

"She looks different. Older. And just... like.. like different."

"She is no longer your Nadeen."

Her shoulders droop and she nods again.

Brekke doesn't argue. She simply says, "I am sorry. I know this hurts."

"But... I'm a troll, right? So."

Brows up. "So...?"

"So... I'll deal with it? I do want her to be happy. She is happy."

"Mm." A nod. "But I understand that you are upset. This is your Lodge, and I will not fault you for sharing your sadness."

"I broke up with her. Months ago."

"Well... you won't go around saying anything about it. I don't want to make my feelings upset her, right?"

"It's not about me."

"Your feelings are about you. But no...I will not speak to her on it. Once, I might have. But the situation is different now."

Connor gets a hint, and he edged out with Jonas... still in earshot if Brekke wants to call him back in.

"She's there. For good."

"Yes."

"She has chosen. She chose some time ago."

"You chose as well."

"Yeah."

"None of that matters, though. How you feel...is how you feel."

"I wasn't gonna make a big deal out of it."

She looks around the room. "This is you and I. Is this a 'big deal'?"

She shrugs.

She sips her coffee.

"I am gonna manage. It hurts. But... but it was already over, wasn't it? It was over when she picked him."

"I think so, yes." She tilts her head. "Were you hoping it would not work? That she would return?"

Jaw juts.

Brow.

Shrug. Not looking at the Chief.

She waits.

"That wouldn't be very honorable."

"Hm." A sip of coffee. "What we wish is neither honorable nor dishonorable. If we act to force our wishes to truth, that is when we must decide the honor of them."

"My thinking is that you were honorable to support her when she sought her goals. You have been honorable in protecting your friend even though her choices have caused you some pain."

"Your honor is intact...regardless of your feelings."

"I guess?"

A pause. "How can I help?"

She scuffs her toe and shrugs. "I just need to get over it. Ain't the first time I wasn't picked."

"Mm." A nod. "I understand this."

"And Connor wanted to stay. And I have Dad and Tove. And you wanted me as your knight..."

Another nod. "Many have picked you. Some have not, but many have."

"So why does it feel so much bigger when they don't want me?"

A slight, wry grin. "I do not know. I wish I did." The voice of experience.

"Perhaps it is the wanting what we cannot have that makes it so?"

"Maybe." Sigh.

"How did you meet Frank?"

A blink, and then a distant look. "He came here as he was driving a route. Seeking three-days for rest."

"He stopped more frequently between runs...and then became part of the Lodge when winter set in."

A frown. "I was away then, though."

"I think part of the reason he stayed was because I was away. Questing. He stayed to help Kerri and Vegard."

"Oh? But.. I mean, you two are... I mean, you're so married."

A blink. "We were not always so married!" she says with amusement.