Chapter 19 - The New Foundation
Winter arrived early that year, dusting the neighborhood in a pristine, glittering blanket of white before Thanksgiving even had time to settle into the calendar.
We had replaced the old wooden picnic table in the backyard with a sturdy cedar one James built himself, complete with deep-set anchors that could withstand the heaviest river winds. The garage no longer held an abandoned box of newborn clothes gathering dust in the corner; we had finally emptied it out, donating the extra baby gear to a local women's shelter downtown, keeping only the small blue leather shoes as a quiet reminder of the storm we had weathered.
On a freezing Sunday evening in December, with a roaring fire crackling in the hearth and the three boys fast asleep upstairs after a day of building snowmen in the front yard, James and I sat together on the living room rug.
Lily was crawling now—fast, determined, and entirely fearless—making a beeline for the television cord before James scooped her up with a laugh and tossed her gently into the air, eliciting a bright, ringing giggle that filled every corner of the house.
"You know," James said, pulling me close against his side as we watched her chase a rolling wooden block across the rug, "Eleanor called from the firm today. The final asset forfeiture auction for Doctor Evans's estate went through."
"Oh?" I looked up, resting my head against his shoulder. "What did they do with the clinic property?"
"The state is turning it into a community health and family resource center," James smiled, a genuine, unburdened expression that I hadn't seen on his face in years. "And they asked if we would be honorary board members representing family advocacy."
May you like
I smiled, tightening my arm around his waist. "I think we've had quite enough excitement with legal proceedings for one lifetime."
"Agreed," he murmured, kissing the top of my head. "From now on, no secrets, no federal agents, no underground clinics. Just us, the boys, and our girl."
