At best, I was only a marginal man
to her. I was there,
to be sure, but only a man on the margin,
a temporary solution,
a place-holder of sorts.
I did not know,
until I came up against the essentials,
the constants of her life:
her husband, estranged since forever, but oh so important;
her admirer, deranged and obsessive, who hurts her, the stalker.
Then I learned: They have to stay.
I had to go.