This is a story about parking. Hear me out.

Lisa stops the car. I get in. We're off to a function celebrating San Diego NAMI's 30th anniversary. We get lost only once. We pull into a gated parking lot. Lisa grabs the ticket from a robo-dispenser. We park. We get out.

It's a warm San Diego evening. We're on a strip of land, surrounded by boats in their moorings. Outside the venue, Lisa immediately recognizes some friends and starts talking. She introduces me as her boyfriend.

Earlier this year,...