Chapter 18 - Tabitha’s DebtTabitha finished repayment obligations slowly.
She sold jewelry.
Apartment.
Luxury car.
Took an ordinary job in retail management.
At first, relatives called it humiliating.
She corrected them.
“Work isn’t humiliating.”
That sentence made me think she had changed.
One day Juniper visited the store with me.
Tabitha was stocking shelves.
Juniper whispered:
“Aunt Tabitha works?”
“Yes.”
“Everybody works.”
“Grandpa didn’t.”
“Grandpa worked a lot.”
“Badly.”
I nearly choked.
Tabitha heard and laughed.
She knelt.
“Accurate.”
Juniper showed her a school project.
Tabitha listened.
Their relationship rebuilt around ordinary time.
No unsupervised caregiving yet.
Maybe someday.
Maybe never.
Trust can grow without returning to original form.
That was okay.
Afterward Tabitha told me:
“I used to think losing money was the worst thing that could happen.”
“And?”
“I was wrong.”
“What is?”
She looked at Juniper walking ahead.
May you like
“Becoming someone a child is afraid of.”
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