There are people who are, in most walks of life, extremely canny and highly able to look after themselves.
They may be shrewd in business, undaunted in social encounters, vociferous in defending their causes in public.
And yet, in other situations, these very same people can find themselves sharply and strangely unable to protect their interests.
The situations where these people become powerless, innocent, unworldly, and too pure for their own good are intimate ones.
It's in close relationships that the years seem to fall away from them.
They find themselves in a couple and lose any ability to imagine that their partner might be anything other than very nice and on their side.
Other people may spot a problem at once.
In their eyes, all is completely well, until it may be far, far too late.
They give their partners a huge amount of themselves.
They're tireless in administrations, even if the partner is running rings around them.
