I know you have a little life in you yet.
I know you have a lot of strength left.
I know you have a little life in you yet.
I know you have a lot of strength left.

I should be crying, but I just can't let it show.
I should be hoping, but I can't stop thinking

Of all the things I should've said,
That I never said.
All the things we should've done,
That we never did.
All the things I should've given,
But I didn't.

Oh, darling, make it go,
Make it go away.

Give me these moments back.
Give them back to me.
Give me that little kiss.
Give me your hand.

(I know you have a little life in you yet.
I know you have a lot of strength left.
I know you have a little life in you yet.
I know you have a lot of strength left.)

I should be crying, but I just can't let it show.
I should be hoping, but I can't stop thinking

Of all the things we should've said,
That were never said.
All the things we should've done,
That we never did.
All the things that you needed from me.
All the things that you wanted for me.
All the things that I should've given,
But I didn't.

Oh, darling, make it go away.
Just make it go away now.

Liz waited for Max to fall asleep. When his breathing became slow and steady, she found her plastic bag, wincing at the crinkling sound it made, and snuck into the bathroom. She opened the pregnancy test from the pharmacy and read the instructions. Simple enough; pee on a stick and wait.

Liz thought that when she read the + sign on the test she would faint. She didn't. Instead, she methodically cleaned the bathroom of all traces of the test. She didn't know how she was going to tell Max, but she didn't want him to find out until she told him. She opened the bathroom door and closed it as softly as she could.

"Liz? What's wrong?" She had awakened him anyway.

"Nothing." She took off her pants and slipped the bra from under her shirt. Then, after a moment's thought, she began to undress in the moonlight. Then she lifted the covers and slipped in beside Max and wrapped herself around him. "Make love to me? Please?"

Max was awakening quickly from his semi-nocturnal state. He could feel himself becoming hard and he knew Liz could feel it too. He rolled over and pulled her on top of him. She sighed, throwing her head back. She positioned herself and slipped over him.

He filled her perfectly, as usual. Liz dreaded the thought that sex had become something ordinary for them. She began to ride him as hard as she could, flying up and down. All of the last vestiges of sleep slipped from Max's mind. He grasped her hips in his hands and helped as best he could, but he couldn't keep up with her pace. When they came, it was nearly simultaneous. Liz screamed his name.

She finally fell to his side, exhausted. Max turned to her and touched her face gently. Her eyes were already closed. "Liz? What was that?"

She half-shrugged as she pulled the covers around her. "I just needed to feel you." Her voice sounded drowsy. "I'm sorry."

Max sighed and pulled her tight against him. She was already asleep.

"Goodnight, Liz. I love you," Max whispered into her ear. It was the last thing she heard before she drifted into oblivion.

****

Liz rolled over, but she didn't bump into anyone. Puzzled, she rubbed her eyes and stretched to look at the clock. Almost noon, which would explain why Max was gone. Damn, she had really overslept.

She rolled out of bed, pulling the raggedy Goodwill robe around her. She headed for the kitchenette, still bleary from her sleep. She opened the refrigerator and poured herself a glass of milk, wishing there was food. She was ravenously hungry.

It took her awhile to notice the folded piece of paper that lay on the tiny table.

Her entire body suddenly enveloped by fear, Liz stepped to the table and picked up the note. It was heavy, and when she tipped it the ring Topolsky had given them fell out. She opened it, dreading what it would say.

"My Liz,

I hope you can understand why I had to leave. There is no way I can ever be happy until I find out what happened to Michael and Isabel. You are my life, but they are my family.

I want you to have this ring. I know where it leads now. Maybe someday you can find me with it. If I can, I'll find you. If a year has passed and there's no sign of me, please go on with your life. I know that it's all I could possibly ask.

Love,
Your Max

Liz's knees collapsed underneath her. When the neighbors heard her scream, they called the police.

When the officer broke his way in, he found Liz crumpled into a ball on the floor, a continual whisper of "Nononononononononononono," emanating from her lips.

"Ma'am?" he said, trying to pull her from the fetal ball she had rolled herself into. "Ma'am, are you okay?"

"No," she whispered. "He'll never know. He'll never know."

She would never be the same again.