” I replied. “Good deal. That is awesome. Make sure you and your team are set with passports and any other information you need. The conference is...in 3 weeks.” Adam was excited to know this dilemma was handled. I was excited to get the opportunity to shdow SAdam I could handle any issue both nationally and internationally. I was also super excited because this conference was in Vancouver. Rob lives in Vancouver! As the conference quickly approached, I decided to keep this a secret from Rob. I. ? She had already hung up.I sighed and hung the phone on the hook. She was always like this, and her whistleblower case was just the excuse of the year. Last year it was job applications, and the year before that it was too much schoolwork. I couldn’t blame her this year, however, it being our first Thanksgiving alone. Without her father around, I had no idea how I was supposed to retain a relationship with my only daughter. She was always closer to Henry than me, and to be honest, I kind. ‘Sure’ I replied, still wondering why she had called me. Before I could question her, she said, ‘Okay, Sweetie, I’ll see you in about half an hour,’ and the phone went dead. Not knowing what to expect, I hurried through my left-over meatloaf and headed for the bathroom to wash up a bit. I had just finished shaving when I heard a knock at the door. As I worked my way through the house to answer it, I pulled a T-shirt over my head and stuffed the tail into the waist of the clean Levis I had. I’d forget what I’d lost. I’d forget the woman I had left on the outside. Prison was bad, but not having her beside me was the worst price I paid for my stupidity. It was a daily fine that was collected piece-by-blessed-piece, like Shylock carving the pound of flesh… ripping little pieces from my soul. With my half-butt safely stored in the Marlboro box and tucked under my pillow, I turned to the wall as “Lights out!” echoed through the cellblock. I pulled the rough, tattered blanket up under.