Iris smiled. “Did you straighten right up?”

“Oh, yes, ma’am, I did. I didn’t doubt her a second. Still, it took a while for me to slow down my mind and listen for a while. I move a lot slower, but I have some things now that I was moving too fast to notice before. I have a better relationship with my wife and kids. I taught my grandson to play chess. My grandson thinks I’m a lot smarter than I am.” He laughed at himself again.

“You almost seem grateful for some of the changes in your life.”

“Let’s don’t go that far,” he said, but he smiled. “That young man of yours, I don’t know where he got it, but if I’d been in his shoes I never would’ve visited me even once, much less all the time.”

“I got the impression he felt really bad about the accident,” Iris said.

“I reckon. But he could’ve come one time, said he was sorry it all happened and never come again. He’s a strong boy, but he’s got a very kind heart. He kept coming back even though Flora and the kids didn’t make him welcome. Now, what makes a man do that?”

“I don’t know. But I admire it.”

“He’s a generous man. We’d’ve been lost without his help.”

“I thought he only visited every month or two?”

Oscar nodded. “True. And it was a good year before I’d even have a conversation with him. I made that boy work real hard. Even after the way everything turned out—the court battle and all. All the money that he gave us.”

“He must have felt some deep responsibility after losing the suit,” she said.

“Losing? Girl, he won. We lost that suit! Seth wasn’t driving safely, but no jury would agree it was his fault we were hurt. Mighta been, no one will know.”

Iris frowned. “He won? What money?”

“You don’t know?”

She shook her head.

“Girl, he set up a trust for our family. Gave us every penny he had.”

Iris scooted forward in her chair. “What money?”

“Well, all the way through his surgeries and rehab, he was pretty well taken care of—he had insurance, disability, plenty of support—he was a pro ball player. He also had some money set aside—a large sum he’d gotten for signing his contract. I imagine he could’ve used that to live on, to pay for college, that sort of thing. Maybe his father is mad about that—that the money didn’t stay in the family. I told Seth we didn’t want his charity and he just said it wasn’t charity. That I’d have to earn it every day. It beats me just how he thought I’d do that. He set up the trust so that when some of my benefits ran out, there would still be help. He told me, ‘Take care of this here, Oscar, because that’s all I got and there ain’t no more.’”

Iris was speechless.

“He didn’t tell you?” Oscar asked.

She shook her head. “I bet he didn’t tell anyone.”

“He’s got a big heart, that boy. And you remember, he was a kid then. Not a wise older man, but a kid whose dreams were destroyed. A kid who was gonna have a lot of work ahead just to get by.” He shook his head. “He’s going to make a good father.”

“Has he talked about that? About wanting to be a father?”

“Here and there,” Oscar said. “He mentioned that a couple of kids with the right woman would make everything he’s done in his life more meaningful.”

Iris felt her eyes well with tears. “What a coincidence. I feel the same way.”

* * *

It didn’t take Seth long to get those storm windows up and then he and Oscar got to that ongoing game of chess. Flora tended her dinner and then took Iris upstairs to show her some of her quilts and petit point—she loved needlework. And while Oscar and homemaking might be a lot of work, there was lots of time she could lose herself in sewing. Since Oscar couldn’t get upstairs, one of those bedrooms was dedicated to her quilting. When she watched TV with Oscar in the evenings, she liked to stitch. “Now that the kids are grown I have lots of quiet time and, don’t tell anyone, I enjoy it. The kids worry that I’m overworked and lonely and I think I’ll just let ’em think so. Keeps them on their toes. Keeps ’em coming around to help their father.”

They had a wonderful dinner together, though Oscar complained that he had to succumb to being fed, which he disliked in front of company. But Flora hushed him and had a very organized way of parceling out a bite for him, a bite for herself. They shared a plate, Oscar and Flora. And when the meal was done, she held his hand and they talked and laughed.

It was nine before Iris and Seth said goodbye and headed for a hotel.

“You did pick a nice hotel,” she said.

“I looked for one with the best breakfast,” he said. “We can relax in the morning before tackling that big drive. Thanks for coming with me, honey.”

“I love Oscar,” she said. “And I love Flora.”

Seth nodded. “Kind of an inconvenient way to find new friends, wouldn’t you agree?”

“They’re very grateful to you.”

“Not as grateful as I am to them. What happened to us changed everything. You never really know how much one small single act can change things. At the end of the day, I think I’m better off where I am today than I could’ve been. I think this is where I’m meant to be.” He smiled. “And when we get into bed, I’ll be in an even better place.”

“Seth, Oscar told me about the money. The trust you set up for them.”

“He has such a big mouth. That’s probably why I haven’t ever brought anyone with me to meet Oscar before.”

“Do your parents know what you did?”

He shrugged. “I didn’t tell them. I don’t know who the Spellmans told. It doesn’t matter, Iris. No matter what any accident report or jury says, Oscar and I were in it together. It was our accident. I tried to help because I could, that’s all.”

* * *

When Iris got to school on Monday morning she saw what she expected. Many of the teachers had been in the building over the weekend to get a good start on their personal holiday decorating. There were wreaths and garlands, Santas and elves, images of gift-wrapped boxes on doors and Christmas trees on windows.

She brought her two boxes of decorations from home and, for lack of a better idea, put them in the cubicle her student assistants used. The corridor that the school nurse, counselor, assistant principal and office staff shared looked like it could really use some cheering. But she had too much to do and it would have to wait until after school. She had phone calls to make, meetings to attend, paperwork to process and a couple of teachers to talk to about special presentations for students.