After the news of the breakup had broken, a surprising number of concerned friends had shown up to offer condolences and emotional support. As breakups go, it wasn’t a bad one. Sometimes, these things just do not work, and when both parties agree about it, breaking up is just the proper thing to do. But the sheer amount of friends made him feel like a traffic cop from those old movies – move along, nothing to see here, circulate.

While he was touched and moved by the sheer volume of emotional disaster preparedness displayed, he was also struck by how misdirected it was. Somewhere in his mind was a suspicion that he might be conflating needing and deserving, but, for the time being, he had more pressing concerns. What did you even do with half a dozen casseroles?