I had asked my ex-boyfriend if I could spend the night at the house he owned in his hometown while on my way to meet friends for a camping trip. When he realized he would be late getting to town, he told me to wait for him at his parents’ house. I didn’t ask about his new girlfriend, and he didn’t bring her up.

A few months earlier, his sister-in-law had told me he was seeing someone, but at that point I didn’t know anything about her.

When I arrived at the house of my ex’s parents, his father opened the door and bellowed, “Delace!” before crushing me to his chest in a bear hug. “You’re a sight for sore eyes.”

Ushering me into the living room, he shouted to his wife, “Honey, look who it is.”

Back when their son and I were together, I think they had hoped we would marry, have children and settle down into a traditional life. But it didn’t work out that way.