The apartment wasn’t large, but to Laura, it was a palace.
It had a real kitchen. A bathroom with warm running water. A twin bed for her and one for her mom. Gregory even brought over a secondhand bookshelf and filled it with books. Laura spent hours curled up reading—fairy tales, mysteries, poetry.
Gregory continued to visit, always showing up with something thoughtful: apples, crayons, a pair of gloves. He never treated them like a charity case. Just… people.
He helped Lucy enroll in a job training program at the community college. Found a counselor to help her work through her grief. And when he learned Laura hadn’t been formally in school for nearly a year, he reached out to a private elementary school—offering to sponsor her full tuition.
“She’s got a spark,” he said. “We should give it every chance to shine.”
Laura flourished. Within months, she was acing spelling bees, writing short stories, and making friends.
One afternoon, she came home waving a flyer. “They’re having a career day! We get to dress up as what we want to be.”
“What’ll you go as?” Gregory asked, sipping tea in the kitchen.
“A lawyer,” she said confidently. “Like you.”
He chuckled. “That’s a good choice. We’ll find you a blazer.”
“Will you come?” she asked. “To school? I mean, you could talk to the class.”
He paused. “You want me there?”
Laura nodded. “You believed in us. You changed our life.”
He set down his cup and smiled. “Then I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
