I’d never been introduced to anyone in Jonathan’s family, but he’d met my parents and siblings. My family lived in the Chicago suburbs, so we could see each other easily without traveling, but when Jonathan went back to Michigan to see his family over the Christmas holiday, an invitation wasn’t extended to me. He made excuses that he needed time to talk to them about our relationship and ease them into the fact that he was gay. He did tell me before he left that he loved me and asked me to give him more time to deal with his family situation, so I did. I told him I loved him, too and backed off.
* * * *
When 2021 rolled around, Jonathan and I were still living in isolation and working from home. Things were good between us and I was optimistic about our future together. Then, in Septembe
