I didn’t have enough awareness to realize it at the time, but what I thought was unconditional love was simply pain management. I didn’t want to hurt Angie or make her angry, so I capitulated regularly to her preferences and desires. In her lack of awareness, she was hoping to get from me something I could never deliver. A fellow human could not meet her quest for satisfaction and closure. Only God could satisfy the longings that seemed to overtake her, and even then, the satisfaction would be momentary.