I loved him the moment I saw him.
He was strong and helpless.
His aura of dream was irresistible.
You know: I had no longer dreams of my own.
I whispered: mother, you had no choice.
He was the only man you could marry.

Background: my father was, in many ways, very similar to my grandfather: strong yet helpless, a dreamer. A conversation between my mother and myself, years later.