Leaving the Mountains, The New Life

Summary

The day my mother packed her bags to chase her high school sweetheart, my father became the laughingstock of our small mountain town.

"His old flame is rich and cultured," the neighbors whispered. "No wonder she's dumping a redneck who can barely read."

"Imagine working yourself to the bone for thirty years just for another man to pluck your rose," someone else sneered. "The kid probably isn't even his. Poor bastard!"

I was ready to throw hands, but my girlfriend, Sadie, pulled me back.

"So