Sophie reached over and touched Marcus's arm. You deserve good things, too. Not just Lily. You. Marcus looked around the table at the faces watching him.
Lily, who had stopped eating to listen with wide eyes. Maya nodding encouragingly. Sophie, her hand still warm on his arm. Harrison waiting patiently for an answer. These people, these strangers who had become family in the span of a few weeks.
They saw something in him that he'd stopped seeing in himself a long time ago. Worth. Okay. He heard himself say, "I'll talk to them." The interview was the following Thursday.
Marcus wore his courtroom suit, still the nicest thing he owned, and sat across from a man named Gerald Torres, who owned a high-end auto shop that specialized in luxury vehicles. the kind of cars Marcus had only ever worked on when wealthy clients brought them to Patterson's for basic maintenance. Harrison speaks very highly of you, Gerald said, reviewing Marcus' work history. Says you're the best mechanic he's ever met. He's never seen me work on a car. No, but his daughter has.
Gerald smiled. Sophie told him about that night on the highway, how you diagnosed her Mercedes in the middle of a thunderstorm without any tools. That takes skill. Marcus shifted uncomfortably. It was just a bad battery connection.
Anyone could have spotted it. Anyone could have kept driving, you mean? Gerald closed the folder. Look, Marcus, I don't care about your resume. I care about character, and everything I've heard tells me you're the kind of man I want working in my shop.
He slid a piece of paper across the desk. That's the offer. salary, benefits, the whole package. Take a few days to think about it. Marcus looked at the number on the paper and felt his heart stop. It was more money than he'd ever made in his life.
More than both his current jobs combined. With benefits, health insurance, dental paid vacation, things he'd only ever dreamed about. I don't need a few days, Marcus said, his voice barely above a whisper. I'll take it. He started the new job the following Monday.
The work was challenging luxury vehicles required precision and expertise that pushed Marcus' skills to their limits. But he was good at it, better than good. Within a month, he was handling the shop's most complex repairs. Within 2 months, Gerald was talking about making him a senior mechanic. And for the first time in 3 years, Marcus was home for dinner every night.
Daddy, you're here. Lily would shout when she heard his key in the lock running to throw herself into his arms. Every single day, the same greeting, the same joy, like she still couldn't quite believe it was real. Marcus couldn't quite believe it either. They ate dinner together at the tiny kitchen table.
They did homework together on the couch. They read bedtime stories that Marcus didn't have to rush through anymore. stories that stretched and wandered and sometimes turned into hour-long adventures that left them both laughing. On weekends, they still went to the Caldwell House, but now there were other outings, too. Maya took Lily to the zoo one Saturday while Marcus was at work. Sophie helped her study for a spelling test.
Harrison taught her to play chess, claiming she was already better than both his daughters combined. That's not saying much, Sophie retorted. Maya still doesn't know how the knight moves. I know how it moves. I just choose to ignore the rules.