Hiding in the Advice Column

2.

Dear R.
How can I reconnect to my partner? They are distant from me. I feel they are hiding something. He makes me feel like I'm alone, he doesn't care.
Lonely Partner

I went to the next letter.

Dear R.
I accused my wife of having an affair....

Nope. Just answered a similar one yesterday.

Dear R.
My best friend is in a harmful relationship. He has pressured her in to drugs and alcohol abuse, she started getting marks on her skin she lies about. I feel like I'm losing her, how can I talk to her without it sounding like I'm jumping down her throat?
K. Whyte

I cracked my knuckles. I felt the pain of her losing her best friend to an addiction and before I knew it, my fingers flew over the keyboard. I pulled up some known numbers for addiction help and added that in too, letting her know that they are also a supporting company on people who suffer emotionally.

I heard a knock on the door and I peeked over my glasses at the door. Sasha stood by the frame holding a bag.

"Just a sec, Sash." I muttered with a pencil hanging out off my mouth. I quickly finished it and saved the article before swinging my chair to Sasha.

"Lunch." She purred as she sat down, her hand in the bag and pulling out a salad role. I greedily took it and unwrapped the roll, sinking my teeth in. "How's the advice going?" She asked casually.

I shrugged. "I'm getting there. A lot are estranged husbands and wife's lately." I took another bite. "How's your article going?"

Sasha was what we called a mood reporter, a little in house joke that started before I was an employee. She, with six others, write the main articles of everyday people. How someone's baby was their miracle, how someone survived the worst holiday ever, a woman marrying her ex's brother to keep the surname.

The magazine company, Soul, also has articles about health for your body and soul, a lot of adverts, diet tips, a clairvoyant section and healthy recipes.

Sasha grinned. "I just finished typing up my new one for next fortnight. I reckon it will make the cover!"

My eyes widened. "Really?" I smiled at her. "That's great." These reporters get a small bonus every week that their article is on the cover. "So, any hints?"

Sasha shook her head before fixing up her bob hair cut. "No. I don't want to jinx it."

"Fair enough." I agreed before putting the rest of the roll in to my mouth. The reporters work a couple weeks in advanced to me. The article Sasha just finished won't appear in the magazine for up to another three editions yet. The only time when something gets bumped up is when they manage to snag a one on one interview with a politician or a local hero.

"Well, I'm three letters down. Two more to go, I might get to squeeze a sixth in this week." I told Sasha as I piled the letters up. I like to answer the hand written ones, I feel more emotionally connected to those ones.

Sasha took a letter and read it. "What about this one?" She asked me as I watched her eyes scroll across. "Dear R. After my wife left me..."

I groaned. Another male one.

"I feel alone. She left me to be with someone else and claims I've lost my spunk, as she puts it. I do feel I'm losing my personality, but that was after she left." Sasha raised an eyebrow at me over the paper.

"I would tell him in the nicest way to get a pet."

"I feel I'm no longer connected to the world and feel socially isolated."