Sometimes he needed to leave a gathering early.

He was allowed to be sad about the loss of a relationship he had once cherished.

What changed was that he stopped apologizing every time he felt sad.

One Sunday, while Rose brushed egg wash onto a pan of rolls, he said, “I thought ending it meant I had failed.”

“Not every ending is a failure,” she replied.

He sat down, considering that.

“I wish I hadn’t waited until our wedding to understand something important.”