I have found almost everything ever written about love to be true. Shakespeare said, “Journeys end in lovers’ meeting.” Oh, what an extraordinary thought! Personally I have not experienced anything remotely close to that, but I’m more than willing to believe Shakespeare had. I suppose I think about love more than anyone ever should. I’m constantly amazed by it’s sheer power to alter and define our lives. It was Shakespeare who also said, “Love is blind.” Now that is something I know to be true. For some, quite inexplicably, love fades. For others, love is simply lost. But then of course, love can also be found, even if just for the night.

And then there is another kind of love, the cruelest kind. The one that almost kills its victims. It's called ‘Unrequited Love’. Of that, I am an expert. Most love stories about people who fall in love with each other. But what about the rest of us? What about our stories, those of us who fall in love alone? We are the victims of the one-sided affairs. We are the cursed of the loved ones; we are the ‘unloved’ ones. The walking wounded. The handicapped without the advantage of a great parking spot. Yes, you are looking at one such individual.

—Iris Simpkins, The Holiday