This is such a beautiful story, both the way you paint it and the thinking behind it.

Open relationships among gay men have been common (at least more common than among straight people) since I came out in stages in the very early 80s.

Neither of my two permanent relationships was closed. We had ground rules about centering our partner's needs, but we weren't into tropes about "the one," "love conquers all," etc. When I was young, non-monogamy was kind of the gay zeitgeist.

We couldn't get married anyway, and not too many of us seem to be anxious to duplicate what we would call heteronormativity today.

Then legal same-sex marriage arrived. Idealized, monogamous gay couples seemed to take over the public imagination. "See, they're just like us. Love = love."

Of course, I fully support anybody who wants to pursue any kind of romantic ideal, including a monogamous one if that's what they want.

But I'm glad to see stories like yours. Stories that highlight the loving potential of more open kinds of relationships, that highlight our freedom to explore beyond presumed norms.

Thanks, and here's to September!