The Sea She Never Saw

The day my daughter was fighting for her life, my wife, Shirley Hartley, was busy helping her childhood friend Oliver Burke get married.

I called seventeen times.

On my eighteenth try, she finally picked up.

"Shirley, Nyssa's getting worse. The doctor says she needs life support now. They want twenty grand upfront. Where's the money?"

Her voice turned ice-cold.

"I used it. Oliver's wedding is coming up, and that stuff costs money. I'm not letting his fiancée's family look down on him.