“The first instant I saw you I fell in love. It’s not right that I did. I don’t deserve it, and nothing can or should come of it. I’m three times your age. My own child is much older than you. I’ve always had contempt for men who reach for life through the agency of a young woman. It’s understandable that they would as their lives are rapidly vanishing. But it’s unmanly, I’d even say cowardly. Better to tie yourself to the mast of your convictions and loyalties and receive your death without trying to escape in the arms of someone as fresh and beautiful as you, because there is no escape.
