Sometimes we laughed together.

Sometimes we disagreed and needed a day before trying again.

Paisley grew in the middle of those ordinary efforts, surrounded by people learning to show up reliably.

We ultimately agreed to sell the large house.

The decision was financially sensible, and neither of us wanted its walls to determine whether we could heal.

Through our attorneys we settled the division of the proceeds and the accounting issues from the joint account.

I signed a lease for the sunny two-bedroom apartment Naomi and I had visited months earlier.