Gone Before We Reached Forever
When my boyfriend, Caleb Steele, loses his family and everything he has, I walk away.
After he makes a comeback, I come to see him every year.
The first year, I hold my daughter, Claire Sutton, in my arms. Caleb throws fifty thousand dollars at me and tells me to stay away.
The second year, I bring my late-stage cancer diagnosis, and he doesn't even look at it. Instead, he gives me a hundred thousand dollars and tells me to disappear for good.
In the third and fourth years, I vanish just as he wants.
Then, in the fifth year, he gets a call from Claire.
"Mommy, when are you bringing me dinner? I'm hungry."