T he Whites live in Arlin, a small farming community, population 2500, in central Illinois, about forty-five minutes south of Champaign, the “big” city. Claire had moved here when she was seventeen years old, shortly after the birth of her only child, Chris. She had gotten pregnant when she was only sixteen years old. Chris' father, who was eighteen at that time, abandoned Claire before Chris' birth. Claire dropped out of high school and gave birth to Chris. Her Mother and Father disowned her when she refused their wishes to put her son up for adoption or abort. Having just turned seventeen with a newborn son to take care of, and no job, Claire should have been depressed, mad, or something along those lines, but she wasn’t. Just holding her newborn baby in her arms and looking into his eyes filled her with nothing but love and a determination to let nothing stand in her way. He would grow up happy, safe and surrounded by love.
