Warren refused.

“She made choices that were not hers to make,” he told me.

“I have to stop outsourcing the difficult parts of my life.”

I appreciated that he said it without asking for applause.

In the early months, June and Warren met in familiar places.

He accompanied us to a nature center and a library.

He attended one school event after June agreed she wanted him there.

He learned which foods she disliked and how she liked her hair brushed before bedtime, though he did not attempt that last task himself for quite a while.