"I can't really trust anyone," she said. "It's a small town and word gets around. Especially for someone like me."
"Because you're a public figure?"
"Everyone is always looking at me, judging me," she said. "I can never have close friends. Even if they were loyal, my enemies would try to compromise them."
"You've chosen a lonely road."
"I never wanted this. I thought I was fighting the good fight, that I could do something good. Instead I'm isolated from everyone."
"So what do you do then?"
"Talk to you I guess," she said, "you're not going to leak this convesation are you?"
"I'm not supposed to."
"My allies say one thing to my face, then betray me in public. It's infuriating and embarrassing. Makes me want to scream. Yet I can't. Not in front of them."
"You're preoccupied with a lot of things unrelated to the issues."
"You bet your shiny ass I am!" she said. "It makes me feel guilty because I can't devote time to real work. It hurts when my former activist friends think I'm just doing it for glory."
"Are you?"
"Of course not! I think I'm going to resign at the end of the year. Get back to my activist roots, when things were easier. When no one would question the purity of my dedication."