Chapter 12 - The Family We Almost Lost
Years passed.
The boys grew.
Ethan became an extraordinary student.
Evan loved animals.
Caleb loved music.
Their personalities were completely different.
But they were inseparable.
Sometimes I watched them playing and remembered the country road.
The twenty-dollar bill.
Maren's pity.
The version of myself who drove away.
I hated that man.
But I also forgave him.
Because he had become someone else.
Someone better.
The Bellamy company became stronger than ever.
We established a family foundation.
Maren became its director.
She helped women leaving abusive relationships.
She helped mothers who had been financially abandoned.
She created a program for children who had lost parents to incarceration.
Her work changed lives.
One evening, she came home exhausted.
I kissed her.
“Long day?”
“Yes.”
“Successful?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
She smiled.
“A woman came to me today.”
“Who?”
“Her husband had left her with two children and no money.”
I frowned.
“And?”
“She reminded me of myself.”
I held her.
“Did you help her?”
“Yes.”
She leaned against me.
“That's why I do it.”
I kissed her forehead.
“I'm proud of you.”
“I couldn't have done it without you.”
I smiled.
“You could have.”
She shook her head.
“Maybe.”
Then the boys ran into the room.
“Mom!”
“Dad!”
We laughed.
Family.
May you like
The word once meant reputation to me.
Now it meant this.
