Everything hard came afterward — the money, the lawyers, the exhaustion, the fear — but the decision itself was the easiest one I have ever made, because it wasn’t really a decision at all.

It was just the only thing a person could do and still be a person.

I have never once been able to imagine the version of that morning where I made two coffees, read that note, looked at that boy, and walked back out the door.

That man is a stranger to me.

I’m glad I never had to meet him.

Chapter 4 — An Uphill Battle