It was there I listened to the words of Hardy’s poem, there I pressed my hand to my heart, vowing to somehow bring my family together. Not just Clara, but Neil, too, and perhaps a child of our own, raising them all as brothers and sisters, joined not only by blood but by love. I’d been so blind. I’d thought love meant settling and perhaps even boredom, but the reality was so different. It was kindness and patience and steadfastness. It was knowing what the other person needed and doing it with a glad heart, not for any sort of reward other than love itself.
