Chapter 37

“Kate went ballistic and broke off all contact with me. She eventually calmed down and allowed me to see Courtney after she was born, but our relationship never fully recovered. When Courtney was about a year old, I moved to Chicago to take a job and I’ve been here ever since. I have no role in Courtney’s life, other than to send monthly child support payments through the court and provide other monetary gifts to her via Kate. But my parents see her often, visiting her in Maryland or having her come to upstate New York to visit them during the summer. Courtney actually has a great relationship with my parents and they adore her.”

“So that’swhy you kept me away from your family.”

“It wasn’t because they’re homophobic or anything. I just wasn’t ready to share everything about Courtney with you, and if I had taken you to New York to meet my parents, the cat would have been out of the bag. They have pictures of Courtney everywhere and she looks just like me.”