I read your story this morning and although I did enjoy it, your revisions made it much better for me. The problem that I had with the first one (aside from the concern with "continuing" another author's universe, as Wendy mentioned), was that in AAPA I had grown quite attached to Tom Warren. And so had Lois. Her love for Tom might not have held the same passion and intensity as she had shared with Clark, but it was a very real, deep and genuine love. She had obviously never forgotten Clark, and part of her probably longed to see him again, but I didn't have the impression that she was broken by the experience and just "making do". So when I got the implication from your story that she had been longing for Clark every single day - that even though she had been living a good life it not only wasn't the one she had originally wanted, it still wasn't the one she wanted - it seemed to minimize Tom's role in her life and heart.
But with Tom no longer there, this isn't a problem. You've explained that she married Richard, and that even though he was a good man, she never felt anything close to what she felt for Clark. I can easily believe that, and I never saw any interaction between her and Richard to make me doubt it.
Of course this fits in very nice with the whole soul mates concept - that the two of them couldn't be truly happy as long as they were apart. They each made the best of their lives, but continued to long for each other until the end.
I look forward to reading more from you.
Kathy
(Oh, and thanks for the new word - I hadn't heard "sigil" before...)
