But they no longer needed to be enemies.
Daniel also began to find his footing.
He visited the bookstore regularly, sometimes helping Karen move deliveries or fix small things around the shop. He remained my best friend, although he took every possible opportunity to remind me that dating his mother did not exempt me from his usual insults.
If anything, it made him more creative.
Then, on a quiet Sunday morning, nearly eighteen months after that rainy night, I woke up with a decision.
I wanted to marry Karen.
Not because I feared losing her.
Not because I wanted to prove something to Daniel or Michael.
Not because I thought marriage would make our relationship more legitimate in the eyes of other people.
I wanted to marry her because I had seen her on her worst days and her best ones. I had watched her rebuild a life she once believed was over. I had learned that she could be brave without being fearless, independent without being distant, and loving without surrendering herself.
