"Elizabeth? Is that you?"
"Maria?" Elizabeth had always felt a little bad about losing touch with Maria and her stalwart band of fundamentalists. At least they were resisting the tide that had borne Robbie away, even though she knew she would never, ever be one of them. "How are you?"
"Good! And you?"
Elizabeth sighed. "To be honest, not great. I had to kick Robbie out of the house. She just can't stop cheating, and I couldn't put up with it any more."
"Oh, I'm so sorry." Maria touched Elizabeth's arm gently. "Do you want to talk about it?"
The two sat down for coffee. Elizabeth told the story of how she had finally given up on her marriage, and Maria told the story of how she had finally given up on her particular brand of fundamentalism.
"I mean, how many years has it been? Everybody in church kept saying it isn't God's will, it isn't God's will, but maybe it is! I mean, God's not stopping this, is He? He did stop the winter, finally, but we've got a whole generation of kids growing up who have never seen a man. If that's the way God wants it, that's the way God wants it."
The two agreed to meet again the following evening. An hour after saying their farewells, miles apart, they were struck by the same thought.