“You do not have to answer now,” he added. “Take all the time you need.”
And I did.
For two days, I wandered through my house, touching photographs and remembering the life I had built with Malcolm. I spoke to him out loud more than once, asking questions I knew could never be answered.
In the end, I came to a simple realization.
Loving someone new did not erase the love I had lost. It did not diminish it. The heart does not work that way. It expands. It makes room.
When I called Graham and said yes, I felt something settle inside me. It was a quiet certainty that this was not a betrayal, but a continuation.
Our children were delighted. To them, Graham had always been family. The transition felt natural, even joyful.
We held a small ceremony in my daughter’s backyard. There was nothing extravagant. Just close family, laughter, and a sense of something beginning again.
I wore a simple cream dress. Graham looked proud and slightly uncomfortable in a suit he clearly was not used to wearing.
We smiled. We laughed. We made our promises.
