[Prudence]

What's romantic is the notion that one can't live without the other. I don't look at this story, or Romeo and Juliet, and think, "how romantic that they committed suicide," but rather "how romantic that they love each other so much that one can't live without the other." In reality, this can be extremely NOT romantic (twisted versions end up as murder-suicides). But this is fiction, and one of the things I look to fiction to do is bring forth an emotion.

For this particular story, it's not a new concept, but what I did like was the ambiguity in the man's intent. It's not clear how conscious he is that he *is* committing suicide. And if he's not conscious, is that because of the whiskey or because of toll three lonely years have taken on his mind?