Absolutely.
The frightened old man trying to repair what he had destroyed?
No.
I loved that man.
And he loved me.
Imperfectly.
Complicatedly.
Too late in some ways.
But truly.
Sometimes that is all a life gives you.
Not a perfect beginning.
Not a painless middle.
But the chance to choose a better ending.
And ours, against every reasonable expectation, became one.
**THE END**
