sensible reply, but, as it turned out, a deep reach wasn't necessary. The answer was lurking right below the surface. But as the words formed in her mind, she was hit with a wall of emotion. Loss. Longing. Sadness. She tried to stop it, but tears began to well behind her eyelids. It took a moment before she could speak. "Because we both need some peace," she whispered. Even though her eyes were tightly closed, the tears threatened to drop onto her cheeks. "I don't want to fight anymore. I'm exhausted. All I want is to love my dog and have her be happy."  She opened her eyes and smiled at him. "I want to get rid of the garbage so there's room for happiness." When her words got no response from Eli, Roxie figured she'd made a fool of herself with her blubbering. With a nervous laugh, she swiped at her cheeks. "I must sound like Wayne Dyer on crack or something." That's when the strangest thing happened. Roxie was treated to a slide show of emotions playing on Eli's face. First, he looked stunned. Next, he seemed slightly amused. Then, he looked downright proud of her. The rest happened quite fast -- his smile softened and his green eyes darkened. His breathing slowed and his jaw twitched. And Roxanne swore she could feel him ripping her clothes off with his eyes. Her whole body began to tremble. OK, perhaps the part about undressing her with his eyes was