Gregory’s mother was never the same after his father died. His father and mother were high school sweethearts, and married just out of high school. For about 20 years they were happily married, but just before turning 50 his father had an affair. Gregory’s father briefly moved out of the house. The other women was a friend of the family. Gregory was only 17 and reacted with anger and resentment for his father. He was angry not only because he felt betrayed by his father, but also because he was the last to know. Everyone, it seemed, knew before him. The night he left the house his parents called all his siblings into the kitchen. Even his older sister, who now lived in her own house, came over. His parents calmly announced they had been having problems and they would be spliting up. After the talk his father went to his bedroom and packed a small bag of clothes. It all went very well until my father physically walked out the door. This where his mother had her break down. She ran after his father crying, begging him not to leave. His father was barely ten feet out the door. Gregory and his sisters had to pry their mother off his father. “Let him leave mom,” Gregory pleaded. It killed them all to see her like this, their mother, having grown up with an abusive mother had always been strong for her loved ones around her. “Don’t leave, please don’t leave,” was all he could remember he saying. There he stood in the patio of his childhood home, holding his mother as she continued to cry and calapse into a broken version of someone he had never seen before. It was very surreal, a few days prior he thought his life, his family, and his parents were perfect. Both parent were the eldest in their own families and there was certain pride Gregory had always felt knowing his parents were respected and admired by his entire family. This was now over 20 years ago, but every detail has been burned into his memory. His father eventually came back to the house, but Gregory always wondered why he came back. Did he come back because he loved his mother? Did he come back because he loved his family, or did he come back because financial it was impossible for Gregory and his brother to stay in private school and their father live separately? Maybe it was a mixed of all three, but Gregory always felt his fathers love for his mother was not the main reason. He was happy to have him back, but on some level his family was never the same. Sadly his father died of cancer two years later. It was not almost fourteen years later and his mother now had cancer. Just like that night she still leaned on Gregory heavily for many things. Gregory was not spending his evening, and every free moment he had at the hospital with his dying mother.