Why I fell in love.
In the early days, Ethan felt something like magic. In the middle days, it still felt like it could last forever. When Ali complained, he sometimes wondered whether she was simply trying to make space for her own needs. What he wanted, what he still wants, when he’s honest, is for two people to work as a team, to meet her needs and his needs together, without either person having to disappear.
He remembers one moment clearly now. He disappointed her when a date was missed because of a miscommunication about whether it was happening. Ali had every intention of going. Ethan feels the weight of that, and the regret. If he could, he would trade almost anything for one more date—one more ordinary hour with her that he would treat as sacred.
If there’s a lesson he wants to carry forward, it’s this: assume best intentions before insecurity writes a story. Ask. Clarify. Choose best intentions. And in his future relationship, he wants a ritual, once a week, a protected moment, to say out loud what made him fall in love, and what he is grateful for now, while it’s still happening.
What Ethan had with Ali was unique to them. He will never have that exact experience with anyone else, and he doesn’t want to pretend he will. He wants to honor how rare and special it was that their lives crossed at all. Whatever comes next, he hopes they both move forward with tenderness, for what they had, for what they learned, and for whatever challenges life brings.
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