“Always a hotel?”
“Yes. The idea was that it was a week where none of us had to do anything except relax together. No one had to cook. We could order room service. There was nothing to do but enjoy ourselves. And the weird thing is we can go months without seeing each other, and when we finally get together it feels as if we only saw each other yesterday. That’s friendship, I suppose. It’s the reason I look forward to it every year.”

And she knew she’d never have to hide how she felt when she was with him. Never have to pretend that she was fine if she was having a moment of sadness, or guilt, or pain. Noah never tried to offer suggestions or fix as so many people did. He didn’t minimize her pain. He didn’t tell her that all she needed was time. He seemed to accept that some things in life were tough, and sometimes there were no shortcuts and you had to find your own way through it, and all anyone else could do was to listen and offer support.