Yet... There was a part of him that knew that this time it would be different. The situation was different and so were the women involved.

Besides, he finally realised how right Lisa had been all those years before. They simply weren't meant to be. They were too different, they wanted different things out of life. Even if they did love each other, they'd never make each other happy. Not really.

He also realised that if he had married Lisa, not only would they both be one happy now, he wouldn't be with Ainsley.

Ainsley. Even the thought of her made him smile. He didn't know when it happened or how, but he did know that some where along the line he had fallen head over heels in love with the 'blonde Republican sex kitten'.

And he honestly believed that this time it was the right thing. Ainsley and he might disagree over politics, but the both wanted the same things in life. Lisa and he hadn't. That's why they had broken up, because their lives were taking them on two separate paths.

Though even now that he had accepted that it could never have worked out, it was still hard to let go. Lisa had been a big part of his life and he knew that a part of him would always love her.

Just then he was distracted out of his thoughts by his cell phone ringing.

"Hello?"

"Hello Sam." A voice from his past said softly.

Sam just about dropped the phone. Of all the people in the world, she was the last he expected to hear on the other end.

"Lisa?" He asked incredulously. He couldn't believe it.

After all these years, she had called him. Why?

"Yeah, I called to say congratulations." She told him.

He didn't have to ask what for. She had seen the announcement.

"Thanks." He said hesitantly, unsure what else to say. After a minute he decided to say what he had been thinking before the phone had rung. "Lisa..."

"Don't." She interrupted. "It's ancient history. You've moved on, I've moved on, let's leave the past where it belongs, okay?"

He realised that it was right. The past was the past, why dig it up now?

"Alright." He agreed. "It's good to hear from you."

"It's good to hear from you two and I really am glad that your happy, you are, aren't you?"

"I am." He said, smiling as he thought of the woman who made him so happy. "She's great."

"Good, I'm glad." She told him and he knew that she was sincere. "That's what I wanted for you Sam, to find happiness, I just knew it wasn't going to be with me."

"I guess not." He agreed, then he was aware of Josh standing at his door, and knew that he had to do.

"Lisa, I've got to go." He told her.

He saw Josh's eyebrow raise at the name and mouthed 'in a minute' to his best friend.

"Okay." She said softly.

"Bye, Lisa." He told her. "Maybe you could call back later and we could talk?"

"No." She told him. "There's no need. Good luck and be happy. Goodbye Sam."

With that she hung up and he realised why she had called. To say goodbye one last time, to truly let go.

He was glad that she had called, because he now knew that he had needed it to. He had needed to hear her voice one last time before he could truly move on with his life.

He was happy with the life he now. He had a job where he had the chance to try and make a difference, he had great friends, and he had a woman he loved more than life itself. And now that he had said goodbye to his past, he could embrace that without shadows of doubt hanging over him. He had been given the chance to let go for good and he had taken it.

"Lisa?" Josh asked as soon as Sam put his phone away. "What in the world did *she* want?"

Sam hid a smile. Lisa and Josh had never gotten along, they were just too different, so he wasn't surprise to hear the distaste in Josh's voice.

"She saw the announcement." Sam told him. "And she called to say goodbye."

"What?" Josh asked. "Goodbye? But you broke up years ago."

"I know. This was different. It was a final goodbye. It signified the end of one chapter in my life and the beginning of something new. I needed it and so did she, I guess."