I rebuilt my own life alongside his.

I used part of what I’d saved to earn an advanced certification in neurological rehabilitation, and then I went in with two colleagues and opened our own home-care agency, for people recovering from strokes and trauma.

We started with three families.

Then seven.

Then more than a dozen.

One bright afternoon I was going over our schedule on the patio when Garrett finished a hard session, walked several meters on his cane, and lowered himself into the chair beside me, breathing hard.

“Do you remember our first night?” he asked, smiling.