After cancer took my husband, debt left my little girl and me facing homelessness. I married my elderly boss for security—then his lawyer exposed his deepest secret.
My entire life seemed to be a series of misfortunes.
I grew up in foster care. Nothing tells you that you’re not wanted like being tossed around between families.
“You’re like a stray kitten.”
The shelters where I stayed between foster care placements gave me nightmares. I didn’t know that in a few years they would grant me hope.
At one of the shelters, I met my future husband.
I never knew why Tom failed to find a family. Despite difficult circumstances, he beamed with joy. The workers at the shelter adored him.
And yet, he seemed to be out of luck, just as I was.
At one of the shelters, I met my future husband.
He would chuckle.
“Maybe that’s the reason I like you so much.”
We stayed in touch until we aged out of the foster care system. One date shortly after, and we knew we couldn’t spend another day apart.
We got married in three months.
“It just feels like I’m dreaming”
We didn’t reach for the stars. I was a store clerk, Tom worked as a mechanic. But we had dinner on the table, a soft bed to sleep in, and a person who finally cared—and that was more than we dreamed of in foster care.
When we welcomed our daughter Emily, we were over the moon.
One morning, I smiled at Tom.
“It just feels like I’m dreaming. One wrong move, and I’ll wake up without you.”
I did wake up.
A month after that morning, I watched a stern doctor fix his glasses and sigh.
“Your husband has cancer. It’s very aggressive.”
For a moment, the room became perfectly still. I heard the ticking of the clock behind him and the faint rustle of paper as Tom shifted beside me.
“How aggressive?” Tom asked.
I was afraid when the telephone rang.
The doctor hesitated, and that hesitation terrified me more than any answer could have.
