“Then that person,” I said, “will have to understand that loving me means respecting you, and respecting your mother, and honoring the life we had before we ever met them.” Hannah thought about that.

“Would you really cancel another wedding for me, Dad?” she asked, timidly.

And I gave her the honest answer, which was better than a promise.

“I hope,” I said, “that I become observant enough that neither of us ever gets close to another wedding before we’ve found out the truth about the person.

I failed at that once.

I do not intend to fail at it twice.” Her small smile carried far more relief than amusement.

She had needed, I understood, to know not only that I would protect her, but that I had learned how.