George sighed and set his hand over Muriel's, fingers clasping gently and turning the touch into a hold. A halfway embrace that felt like it grounded him. Held him together.
"I wanted to save it," he said after a moment. "Maybe I still do. I love her, you know... I mean... I try..."
His gaze dropped to the flames again for a long moment before he turned and the halfway-hug became real. "I've tried and tried," he whispered against her hair. "But maybe I'm not meant for this. Maybe she's not meant for me. Or maybe I'm not meant for her..."
It wasn't like he hadn't loved her desperately to begin with, but maybe that was the problem. Maybe it was the fast, hard fall into love that made it just as easy to fall out?
His arms settled around Muriel, fitting perfectly around the soft, gentle shapes of her, and he tugged her a little bit closer, breathing in the scent of her hair, the soft flowery scent she wore, the soap she used.
"Is that the problem, do you think? We fall in love, and it's so easy to fall back out? Instead of growing to love someone you've known forever...?"