[Poor guy. She has a lifetime of rejections built up to relate to this kind of experience, and Manuela knows that it never feels any gentler or easier. She pats his calf, which seems like a relatively safe and unbruised place.]

Yeah... and we all blew a lot of sunshine up for you both, didn't we? [By the end of their discussion, many of them had seemed so certain and confident. It had been much easier once the group delusion...no, once the group hope really started gaining steam.] For what it's worth, you two really seemed to be getting along.