Claire kept trying to remind herself that when all of this had first started on that cold and windy winter night two years ago, that David had never promised her anything.
He had been honest from the start with her, telling her about the marriage breakdown he had just gone through, the painful and expensive divorce and his resolution to never marry again. At the time it had hardly seemed important to her – she had been caught up in that wonderful rush of finding somebody new and the future had seemed irrelevant when there had been so much to discover today.
She hadn’t thought about marriage when they had been planning their third date. Claire hadn’t considered having children with David when they’d gone on their first vacation together. No, the thoughts about building a future with David hadn’t come until several months later, after Claire had fallen in love and it was too late to walk away.
David had never treated her badly. He was loving, kind and gentle. He gave her independence when she needed it, and protection when she needed that. David never let her down, never bailed on dates and was never rude to her friends.
He just didn’t want to get married or commit to a life with anyone.
Claire hadn’t realised how much she’d wanted marriage, children, a house in the suburbs and all that came with it until it was no longer in her reach. She hoped that David would change his mind, but as the weeks turned into months and the months into years she knew that she had to face facts. David wasn’t going to change his mind. If she wanted to realise the family unit she had in her mind, it would have to be without David.
Walking away from David was a difficult decision to make. He couldn’t give her marriage, but he could give her friendship, support and above all love. Another man might give her marriage, but would he also give her all of those other things that David could?
In the end, Claire decided that although David couldn’t give her everything, the things he could give her were enough.