Ahh, glad the angst didn't make you quit reading. We were hoping that the cheerful moments would shine through all the hopelessness and make the happy times all the sweeter.
As for the complexity - I am suspecting now that we are simply incapable of writing shorter stories. It's a pattern by now. Even the simplest plots tend to grow hydra heads and expand from planned short story to nearly a novel size. Not that I'm complaining.
Thank you very much for reading and for sharing how you felt. :)