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ELEANOR WAKES UP with a start, the first word that comes out of her mouth following her out of her sleep: "Taron!"
She frantically looks around the living room for him as she sits up, finding that she is on the couch. She begs it was all just a nightmare as her eyes dart from her dad sitting in one chair, previously taking a nap, and her mom in the other, knitting.
Eleanor sighs as she recovers from the jolt of waking. She closes her eyes and holds her face in her hands as Mary Ann puts down the scarf she was working on, stands, and kneels on the floor next to Eleanor.
"Sweetheart, you're okay," Mary Ann says. She and Ray found her on the front porch not long after Taron left, in a state somewhere between sleep and refusal to get up. "Taron's gone, but you're okay."
Eleanor looks up, her eyes unfocused as she drops her hands to her lap. Mary Ann glances at Ray, who shrugs.
Eleanor makes up her mind about something and promptly nods, throwing the blankets off of her.
"I'm going after him," she declares.
"No, you're not," Ray replies as he stands up. Eleanor manages to stumble onto her feet, but she winces and holds onto her mom for support when the pain of her leg catches up to her. "See? You've got to rest, Eleanor."
"No. I'm going after him."
"Honey, no, you're not," Mary Ann interjects.
Ignoring the two of them, Eleanor balances on one leg as she says, "Where are my crutches?"
"What are you gonna do, Eleanor?" Ray questions, standing in front of her. "You gonna go all the way to New York with a broken leg? You gonna catch him at the airport and tell him he can't leave because you love him?"
Tears fill her eyes as she glares at her father.
"Ray!" Mary Ann warns.
"Hold on. You're being selfish, Eleanor, which is entirely unlike you. Sure, I know you two have been inseparable for ages, but he has his own obligations. He needs to be with his family just like you need to be with yours."
Eleanor's eyes fixate on a spot on the floor, realizing that her father is completely right.
"I hate to say it, but you couldn't have picked worse timing to fall in love."
