Well, my thread finally locked sometime yesterday morning.

I'll begin with a short exchange that was in a movie I saw recently. Knowing this exchange would not ruin the plot or movie-watching experience, but I will keep it nameless and generic anyway.

Scene (just the basics): Conflicted woman is about to walk away. Significant Other man shows up unexpectedly. They exchange a few words. Non-hostile. She, unconvincingly determined. He, expressing (and insisting upon) truth.

She: "It would be easier if I just left."
He: "Yes, it would be. Easier."
She: "I'm afraid."

The core, the essence, the gist, the in-a-nutshell version of the mystery of my old marriage's reality.

The minimalist version of my situation as I begin a new thread.

Gardener

"My soul, be satisfied with flowers,
With fruit, with weeds even; but gather them
In the one garden you may call your own."
Cyrano deBergerac