Three years passed before Daddy finally got his divorce. It felt bittersweet; not the dramatic, fiery ending Mama had dragged out with all her delays, but a quiet, tired closing of a chapter that had already ended long before...

Months went by without Mama, each one stretchin' longer than the last, like time itself was tryin' to teach me how to live without her. I wrote her letters, page after page, pourin' out my little heart in crooked...

After Mama left, the house felt different, quieter, but not empty. There were back‑and‑forth phone calls between lawyers, folks bein' nosy, and whispers floatin' around town like smoke. Still, Daddy kept movin' forward. He didn't crumble. He didn't fall...