ON THE DAY I MARRIED A MAN FOUR DECADES OLDER THAN ME, AN ELDERLY WOMAN PULLED ME ASIDE AND MURMURED, “BEFORE YOU LEAVE FOR YOUR HONEYMOON, LOOK INSIDE THE BOTTOM DRAWER OF HIS DESK… OR YOU MAY REGRET IT FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.”

Then one evening, things shifted.

I was venting about something trivial—my daughter refusing to eat oatmeal anymore and demanding expensive cereal I couldn’t afford regularly.

“I only bought it once,” I said with a sigh. “Now she expects it every day.”

“You don’t have to live this way,” Richard replied.

I let out a small laugh. “That would be nice.”

“I mean it,” he continued. “Not just about breakfast.”

Before I could react, he reached across the table and held my hands.…continue reading …