Just last week you told me how much you loved me.”

“I still do love you, David.”

I took a moment to try to work it out in my head. “You seemed fine on the phone Tuesday. You talked about taking Jessie to the concert Wednesday night, and I did what you said, I stayed away so you wouldn’t see me. And I know Jess had a wonderful time.”

“It’s not about the concert. Jessie’s great. We had the best time ever.”

“Then…it’s about our anal session last week.”

“No. I mean…in a way, yes, but it’s more than that.”

“Honey, I know I hurt you last week, and I’m so sorry. I told you then that you taught me a valuable lesson about love, and it’s true: you made me a better person. You’ll remember I offered not to do it, but you insisted and said our relationship would suffer if we didn’t. And even so, I tried as hard as I could not to hurt you.”

“I know. You were wonderful. You’ve been wonderful the whole time. But we need to stop.”

“Why?”

She sighed. “I feel compelled to mention you’re breaking the rule about walking away when one of us says it’s over.”

”All due respect, I don’t give a flying shit about the rules right now, Nicki. I love you, and I’m fighting to save us.”

”Let’s not end things on a sour note, David. We’ve had a great run. I think you’ll admit it’s been a lot of fun.”

“No doubt. But—”

“And surely you knew it couldn’t last forever.”

Suddenly it became clear to me: this is what Nicki does! It’s what she did to Michael over and over. She breaks up, takes some time alone, then comes back. Sure, she explained that away by saying she kept going back to Michael to be with me, but what if it’s more than that? What if she just gets overwhelmed by relationships after a few months and needs a break?

She says, “Did you really think this was going to last forever?”

”I hoped it would. And I still believe we can get it back.”

“We could, but you won’t want to.”

“Of course I want to! I’m not the one trying to end things. I love you, Nicki! You understand that, don’t you?”

“You say that now, but things change. Except for my love for you. That will never change.” She sighed. “I’m gonna miss our time together, David. Not so much the sex part, but all the attention and love you gave me. That’s something I’ll never forget as long as I live.”

I took a deep breath. “Something obviously happened to change your mind. The only thing I can point to is the anal situation. I know you hated that, and when I left last week I felt just awful.