Subsection 1
First, a teenage love that didn’t last your first trimester. The loss of him was hard, but common. No one was surprised when he got in his buddy’s Toyota Corolla and crossed state lines, not even you, and after he left, you erased him from the story you tell yourself, the story you would tell your eldest daughter. Then there was your true love, the man who willingly fathered all three of your daughters, even the one who wasn’t rightly his. This man was gentle with his voice and hands, maybe even a little fragile. It wasn’t his fault, what happened to him. He didn’t mean to get swallowed whole; he didn’t mean to get trapped in the belly of the casino. He just wanted to make friends. This is how he explained it: at the craps table, even strangers acted like friends. If it wasn’t his fault, you wonder, was it yours? The loss of this man has been irreparable. (Return to section B).