[MUSIC]
Anna Martin: From The New York Times,
I'm Anna Martin.
This is Modern Love.
And this week's essay is about a relationship
between two people who aren't technically related,
but still they're family.
And just like with family,
they've got issues.
It's called 'Our Bond Was Thicker Than Blood,'
read by the author Brandon Kyle Goodman.
Brandon Kyle Goodman: I was trying to think about the first time I met my godfather,
but that would be like asking me to remember the first time
I met my mother.
From the time my brain was able to hold memories,
my Uncle Ronnie was there.
He had been my mother's best friend
since she was in college.
As a child,
I didn't understand the depths