He always thought of himself as someone who didn’t ask for much — not out loud, anyway. The kind of man who learned early how to tuck his wants neatly behind his smile, who believed he could weather anything so long as he kept moving forward. But on days like this, when tenderness caught him off guard, he was reminded that even someone like him longed to be chosen first — not for the world to see, but just quietly, gently, by the one who mattered most.