DEAR ABBY: "Clyde" and I dated as teenagers. After we separated, he married someone else. We met up again and had an affair, which resulted in two children. I ended it because it was going nowhere and raised the children alone.
Clyde and I have now come full circle. After separating from his wife, he sought me out. I have loved only him my entire life. We have been living together for several years now, and I have an engagement ring with no hope of marriage. He keeps telling me his wife is holding up the divorce.
Abby, how long can one person hold up a divorce? I have waited 25 years for this man, and I don't know if I will wait forever. -- TIRED OF WAITING IN NEW JERSEY
DEAR TIRED OF WAITING: Clyde may not have been completely honest with you. I ran your letter by a family law specialist who informed me that here in the U.S.A. no one can be forced to stay married against his or her will. A divorce is a court proceeding. A spouse can stall signing an agreement -- the division of property would be an example -- but not a court process.
As for your being unwilling to wait for Clyde "forever" -- you have already done that. Twenty-five years of waiting for a man who's unavailable is forever.