He made mistakes.

Once he complained that her boundaries sounded like office rules.

Another time he asked her to persuade me to take his call.

She reminded him of the agreement, and he apologized instead of arguing.

Progress was slow, imperfect, and visible in small things.

He asked about Paige’s work.

He remembered Daniel’s birthday.

He offered to help when their refrigerator broke, then accepted their refusal without sulking.