Huge oak trees guarded the small park like soldiers guarding a small nation. Leafy overhanging branches offered seclusion from the hustle and bustle of the airport, only blocks away. A couple, smartly dressed in business attire, sat on a bench beneath the most prevalent tree, sharing private moments of intimacy.

     Even from a distance, an amateur photographer was taken aback by the couple's tender displays of affection. They were unaware there was a whole world going on outside of their own. He zoomed in with his camera and began to freeze their intimacy in time.

     He knew what he'd captured was magic. He rushed back to his dark room and developed the film immediately. Even through motionless silence the images ignited in him precious memories of a time in his own life when being in love was the breath of his existence. Everyone who saw the images claimed that same feeling.

     He entered the images in an amateur photography contest in a city near his hometown. His entry was accepted. He knew it would be. No one could've looked at those images and escaped a sensation of romance that most people searched for all their lives, but only a blessed few ever found.

     At the contest, his images drew a crowd. He stood at the back of the banquet room and watched as people pointed and guided others to see his work. When the votes were tallied, he'd won first prize by a unanimous decision. He collected $500 in cash and a free trip to accompany his work in a more prestigious exhibit in a cultured big city.

     He called her Ronni, short for Veronica. When you say a name that long a thousand times, you begin to search for something that requires less breath. She called him Jeff. It wasn't short for anything. Not Jeffrey, just Jeff.

     Jeff and Ronni were newly weds married only a year-and-a-half. They enjoyed going to theatrical plays, dining in luxurious restaurants, and admiring art. They'd heard about a photography exhibit coming to their city that featured brand new talent. They were intrigued by such a prestigious showing for newcomers. Investing in amateurs who had the potential to become legends appealed to Jeff and Ronni's sense of financial well-being. They immediately bought tickets and cleared their calendars so that date would be completely free.

     Jeff and Ronni walked through the doors of the exhibit hall and plucked long-stemmed glasses like roses from the waiter's tray. They smiled at each other, clinked their glasses toast-style, and sipped champagne as they looked around the room. They were in awe of the images captured by the first-time professionals; amateurs really. Beautiful displays appealed to their individual tastes, luring Jeff and Ronni breathlessly in opposite directions to take a closer look. Jeff stood admiring nature scenes. Ronni was drawn to the other side of the room where life-sized images of people captured in various scenarios hung on the massive walls.

     Jeff was startled by the sound of glass breaking. He turned around and saw Ronni standing in front of an exhibit, her mouth agape, and her glass shattered in a million pieces on the floor, sparkling all around her new shoes. Jeff abandoned the nature scene and raced toward her.

     Ronni composed herself just in time to turn and intercept him before he reached the exhibit. She grabbed his arm and quickly spun him around toward the door, pacing him steadily, moving fast to outside.

     Jeff stopped and halted Ronni before they reached the door. He asked what had startled her so. She told him the exhibit reminded her of something detrimental from her childhood; something she'd had nightmares about since she was ten years old. Jeff was even more intrigued. But Ronni begged him not to turn back. She didn't want him to know her pain--what had plagued her for so many years.

     Jeff insisted on going back and Ronni couldn't stop him. He flung himself from her grasp and walked toward the exhibit with caution, as if it would magically come to life and confront him. When he saw it, his mouth flew agape, his glass fell to the floor and shattered in a million pieces, sparkling all around his newly polished shoes. Jeff couldn't believe his eyes.

     Life-sized images of Ronni and a smartly dressed gentleman hung on the wall for all to see. They'd been captured in an unmistakable embrace on a park bench beneath a huge oak tree. They were kissing, caressing, and staring into each other's eyes. Jeff could feel the unbridled passion of his wife and the dapper stranger radiating through the images just as everyone else had who'd seen them. He recognized the string of birthday pearls he'd given her only a few months earlier. Devastation stabbed at his heart like an ice sculptor stabbing at ice.

     Ronni, by then, had left the building. She was outside trying to hail a taxi. She didn't want to ride home in the same care with Jeff--not even if he wanted her to. Besides, she was sure he didn't. She had betrayed their marriage and now he knew of her deceit. He would never trust her again. Tears streamed down Ronni's face. She realized she'd just lost Jeff.

     She had no future with her forbidden love either. For he, too, was married. She wondered if his wife had been exposed to the images, somewhere in some other city, and dropped her glass on the floor, shattering it into a million pieces that sparkled all around her shoes.  ?