The day my mom started chemotherapy was the same day my father packed a suitcase and walked out of our lives. Years later, I found him again in a place neither of us had ever expected. I was 14, and my brother Jason was eight, the day our father decided he wasn’t built for sickness.

My mom was upstairs in her bedroom, bald and shaking under three blankets after her second round of chemotherapy (chemo). Stage 3 breast cancer. Jason and I sat halfway down the staircase, our backs pressed to the railing.

We weren’t supposed to be listening, but the house was quiet enough that every sound carried. Then we heard it. Zzzzip.

The sound of Dad closing his suitcase.

Jason grabbed my arm. “Kelly… is he leaving?”“I don’t know,” I whispered, even though deep down I already did.

Dad’s voice drifted down, calm and cold. “I didn’t sign up for this.”

Mom said something weak from upstairs that we couldn’t hear clearly. Dad’s voice grew louder.

“I want a partner, not a patient. I AM NOT A NURSE!”

Jason’s eyes filled with tears. Before I even thought about it, I ran upstairs to our parents’ bedroom.

Dad stood by the door, wearing his expensive gray coat. His suitcase rested beside him. He looked annoyed to see me.

“Kelly, go back to your room.”

“Please don’t go,” I said, grabbing his sleeve. Dad didn’t answer. Instead, he adjusted his silver Rolex watch as if he were checking the time for a meeting.