Update

I finally spoke with Andrew last night, for the first time since he called last week. He was very down: they buried his mother one year ago today. There’s not much other news, except that he’s managing about as well as you can expect. Marcus will be cremated this weekend, and there will be a memorial service on Monday. Andrew’s taking a few things to be cremated with Marcus: a teddy bear, a photo of their cat Spookie, and a photo of them taken just after Marcus proposed last year. Marcus’s parents have been staying in their (Andrew & Marcus’s) home, and Andrew was staying with his brother & sister-in-law. On Tuesday, everyone returned to their own homes. Fortunately he’s got many good local friends who are taking care of him.

In trying to make arrangements, Andrew expected to get a lot of grief from police officers and other officials because he’s technically not “family.” But he’s been pleasantly surprised in that regard: he figures people are a lot more accepting now that the law in England has changed.

He’s told me again how much it means to him to hear from each of you, and he truly appreciates it. Thanks for keeping him in your thoughts.