Select the correct answer.

Read the excerpt from the passage:

"I could have taken 'No' and gone away decently and never bothered her again. I told her so straight out in the first angry flush of my rejection—but this string business, with everything left hanging in the air, so to speak, made a fellow feel like thirty cents."

What does the phrase "string business" mean in the passage?

A. a humiliated man
B. an uncertain situation
C. a sewing company
D. an unfortunate breakup