Cooper Mall

His loyalty wandered as easily as his attention did.

He ran off with another woman, leaving Tanya, Phil Jr., and Angela behind.

In her guide to disappearing, this is the chapter where the safety net vanishes.

No partner to blend in behind, no ready-made family to make her look ordinary.

I was raised by a single mom, so I can picture what those years after Phil looked like.

The grind of odd jobs, the long hours, the constant moving to wherever the next chance at stability popped up.

Most single moms barely have time to shampoo their hair, let alone stop and take stock of how precarious everything feels.

Tanya eventually landed steady work as a plant secretary at a plastics factory on the other side of Ohio.

She packed up the kids and moved.

And that's when she met Joe Hudkins, the man who would become her second husband.

He was your classic tall, dark, and handsome, real easy on the eyes.

And unlike Phil, had steady work as a truck driver and three children he was absolutely devoted to.

They got a bigger spot to accommodate their blended family of seven and made room for one more.

Tanya was pregnant again.

Life with Joe had become something Tanya once thought was out of reach.

A real marriage, kids underfoot, jobs that kept the lights on.

One afternoon, Joe and Tanya met up at Woolworth's on her lunch break.

She worked next door at JCPenney selling insurance.

Leona.

You remember her from Agent Costas' adoption ruse.