We were married the fall after he graduated and I quit college. I'd had the abortion the previous March and we stayed stuck together undoubtedly succumbing to the influence of my stepmother. She truly believed no one would become pregnant unless she was in love and a wedding was the logical conclusion. I left him near the anniversary of that abortion, taking little except a set of dishes and a little silver pitcher, wedding presents. He kept the apartment and I moved to a room near Columbia.
We had lunch last summer when he came up to visit his daughter. He and the woman he lives with run an inn in the country, pewter, crystal, and candles. His life is very different from mine, but he's a nice man, sensitive and kind. I never would have known that all those years ago.