That mattered.
It didn’t make him responsible for rescuing Lauren from her own fears or repairing our relationship.
A husband can support his wife without becoming her moral supervisor.
Likewise, Lauren could love Ethan without needing his family to approve every detail of her childhood.
Those were lessons they were learning together.
Margaret took longer.
For several months, we were polite but distant.
Then she invited me to a small fundraiser at St.
Mark’s.
I didn’t immediately accept.
She called.
“Marilyn, I hope the invitation doesn’t feel uncomfortable.”
I considered.
“What is it for?”