He stands just inside my front door, the cold still on his face and hands and coat. Cold doesn't affect him the way it does me. Is it because his body produces so much heat (and this, even when standing still!)? I don't know or care. All I know and care about now is that he's here, hugging me, bending down to accommodate the height difference.

He hugs the way I've always wanted to be hugged. Big, snug, and with his whole body -- as if he means it (and he does). Hugs like sighs. He is, indeed, a "keeper"!