the time they spent together 
seemed so right — 

similar interests, 
easy conversation, 
and an unforced intimacy that 
turned red hot at the right moments 

but 

she kept losing the competition 
for his time to 
another woman, one 
she thought she could 
pry him away from — 

so she ended it

wondering how she lost a good thing, 
not to a supermodel or 
some sexual gymnast, but 

to a grown man’s

mother