Pāhonoa te oro

I didn’t start dating again because I felt “ready.” I started because my friend shoved his phone at me one night and said, “Dude, you need to get out of the house.” I’d been single for a few months by then, settling into a normal routine, not thinking about Claire much unless something reminded me of the mess she left behind. I made a dating profile mostly as a joke. I didn’t expect anything from it. I wasn’t trying to “heal” or “move on dramatically.” I just wanted to feel like a person again