Hmm, this doesn’t make much sense on its own. What is Ben’s impetus for breaking it off? A life threatening disease that he doesn’t want to subject her to or something. You didn’t really overdo it too much, but this story could do with about half of the “says so-and-so” parts. Once you indicate who’s talking you don’t need to use “said” to carry the dialog. Especially in such a short story where the repetition is off-putting. Not sure why I always have to point this out; I think it’s a character flaw.
John is correct, there doesn’t I would like to add that the use of the word “Um” in written dialog should be minimal…although it’s pops up alot in normal conversations, people have a tendency to ignore it when spoken, but not when written. I might suggest you look at Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” for a good example of writing dialog.
John Perkins
Krulltar
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