"OK," She said. She watched him go out of the door, saw him wave before he stepped into the elevator. She had never felt so close to him, never so much in love and if someone told her she would not see Michael again until three years passed, she would not have been able to bear the anguish of it.
- Mario Puzo in The Godfather, just before Michael Corleone goes to the hospital to check on Don Corleone, setting off the series of events culminating into Michael's killing Sollozzo and McCluskey.

Kay doesn't see Michael for another three years. She lives, and does pretty well for herself.

How well we exaggerate the importance of what is in front of us...