At first he tried relentlessly to convince himself that everything had gone as planned, that he'd done nothing more than quickly and effortlessly excise Emily Laine from his life. When James Selwyn had phoned him the following day with news of her suicide attempt, he'd been startled to hear that she'd somehow managed to survive given that the last news he'd heard from Peterson was that she was brain dead. Neither Selwyn nor himself made mention of the demon attack, and Andy couldn't help but feel he'd dreamt the entire thing. He vaguely recalled doing a fair amount of damage to his house before making a failed attempt to drown his anxieties in a sea of whiskey; it was only a short stretch to imagine he'd kicked his own front door in as well.

The following weeks had been a surreal mix of meetings and contracts as he did his best to push away the onslaught of unfamiliar emotions that threatened to overcome him at every possible opportunity. She'd managed to saturate every aspect of his life; everywhere he went he found reminders of her at every turn. She waited for him in the sanctuary of his bedroom and in the refuge of his kitchen; she surprised him in his offices, lying in wait in places she'd never seen. After several weeks he concluded he had only a small number of options, and even fewer reasonable ones. In the end, he left for Hawaii after arranging for a near-total remodeling of his house in an attempt to completely erase all traces of her.

It didn't seem to be working.

Janet: "Mr. Stone, the midday mail just arrived."
Andy: "Anything interesting?"
Janet: "Aside from the standard mailings I've already sorted through, there was a personalized letter from Stephanie Winters of Winters and Winters Holdings, Inc."
Andy: "Doesn't ring a bell."

Janet: "You met with the company representatives before you went on vacation. You described them as 'creepy-evil'."
Andy: "Ah. Yes."
Janet: "Mrs. Winters says only 'Thank you for your consideration' and 'We'll speak again in the spring'. More or less, at any rate. I have the letter set aside if you'd like to take a look at it."
Andy: "Maybe after lunch. Anything else?"

Janet: "There's also an invitation to a wedding."
Andy: "Sent here? Who is it from?"
Janet: "A Dr. Brian Howell and Miss Laura Wayne."
Andy: "Can't say that either one rings a bell."

Janet: "Doctor Howell is one of the beneficiaries at Whidbey General, Miss Wayne is his fiancée. Our records show you've had no professional dealings with her."
Andy: "And they invited me to their wedding?"
Janet: "Yes, sir. Shall I RSVP in the resoundingly negative?"

Andy: "I've heard that somewhere before…"
Janet: "'Batman Returns'."
Andy: "Does he?"
Janet: "It's a movie, sir."
Andy: "Ah, yes it is, Miss Chan."

Andy slowly twirled his chair around in a complete circle, resisting the urge to spin it as fast as he could. He realized it was probably for the best that he hadn't been able to find the tennis ball he normally kept tucked away in one of the lower drawers of his desk; bouncing it off the windows would have done little to help keep up his illusion of normalcy. It took him a few moments to realize that his secretary was still standing awkwardly in his office.

Andy: "Do send my deepest regrets at having to miss sharing their happiest of days with them."
Janet: "If it's not overstepping any boundaries, your records show that Miss Wayne went to the same college as Emily Laine."

Andy stopped twirling his chair just as it was facing the large picture windows. Once again Emily had appeared as a specter when he least expected it. He shifted uncomfortably against a strange pull deep inside himself. He began to realize it was an unfamiliar desire to see her again, to have her presence in his life once more. It wasn't how he'd planned things, and quite frankly he wasn't sure what to do with it now that he'd begun to take notice of it.

Janet: "Sir?"
Andy: "Send my regrets."
Janet: "Understood."