I would not pretend otherwise, and to his credit, he did not ask me to.

But I did not close the door on him either, and for two people who had both grown up learning that doors mostly stay shut, that leaving is what people do, that no one comes back, the simple act of leaving a door open, uncertain, unforgiven, but open, was no small thing.

It was, in fact, the bravest thing either of us managed.

We did not resolve our story that spring.