They dated for a year and when he proposed to her, she was already living with him and despite their many discussions about getting married, always at her prompting, she reacted to his proposal with disbelief and after he rose from his knee and started kissing her, she seemed to be in a trance, unable to return his affection.
Though in all fairness to her, during the three months leading up to their engagement, in his mind she’d been suffering secret comparisons to Kate, which cast a diminished light on everything she did.
Their first date was in October. He took her to an Italian Restaurant on St. Clair Street where an old accordion player in a red vest sang at their table. The song he sang was O Surdato Nnamurato. He played the accordion only at the beginning and ending of each verse a
