This is a long build up.. I think it helps knowing all of the backstory here.
When I married my ex-wife almost 20 years ago, her maid of honor was her best friend Alyssa. Alyssa was 20 years old, and had a baby (Madison) when she was younger. Alyssa was a single mother, who desperately tried to find a man, any man, to stick around and help raise her kid. (mostly a money problem)
For the next few years, we did as much as we could to help out. We weren’t making much money ourselves, so we babysat while she was out fucking random guys.. or I’d pay an overdue electric bill she left open on the table for us to see.
Alyssa eventually got a guy to stick around, and moved a few hours away. We barely saw her and Madison for the next 17 years. The new guy seemed decent enough, and Madison grew up to have a somewhat normal life.