Laurie had never felt a void being an only child. Her father had been present enough and supportive, and even when work deprived him of quality time with her, he still managed to make TV dinners and pizza deliveries exciting, filling the brief moments they had together with stories he would tell, fueled by a stifled imagination that found no outlets in his jobs, and on days when his aches and pains were not too pronounced, they would play tennis and he would always let her win. She knew that after his injury he had a lot of trouble engaging in even mild physical activity, and he never fully recovered after breaking his leg. No amount of physical therapy ever seemed to help, and she knew that it wasn’t only his leg that had broken, but his heart, upon seeing his dreams crushed and no longer being able to...

Please subscribe to keep reading.