He Made An Exception For Her, But Never For Me

I can see the number of times a person has broken their own rules for someone of the opposite sex.

The number hovers above their head.

Every time they make an exception, it goes up by one.

The number above my father's head had climbed eleven times for his first love.

After the eleventh time, he pulled the plug on my mother's ventilator.

So I promised myself I would find a man who would never break his rules for another woman.

Later, I married Adrian Bosworth.

A man whose number stayed a permanent, ice-cold [0]. The most disciplined gentleman on the Upper East Side.