Tom and I are sitting at a small cafe, the kind that’s always buzzing with people and the smell of coffee. As always, he never gets exhausted with things to talk about.

“It’s been too long,” Tom says, looking off into the distance.

“It has,” I agree, taking a sip of my coffee. “I feel like I’ve missed so much of your life.”

“Me too,” he says. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a proper conversation.”

I nod as my eyes go to him again. I’ve seen pictures of his baby. His partner, Heidi, is constantly posting about him and their baby. “Your partner knows about you meeting me?”...