The following weeks moved fast. For the first time in years, I wasn’t choosing which bill to delay. I paid off the medical debt, watching the numbers finally go down to zero instead of up. Mae’s treatments continued, but now there was room to breathe.
Then one morning, I sat at my desk, looked at the final statement, and realized something I hadn’t felt in decades. I was free. No debt or overdue notices.
A few days later, I went looking for someone. Same neighborhood, different coat of paint on the building. I stood outside the door and knocked. When it opened, I almost didn’t recognize her. Older, slower, but the same eyes.
“Mrs. Greene?” I said.
She looked at me for a second. Then her face softened. “Nora?”
