She said it wasn’t just an apartment, it was her life’s story, and without that life story, she would’ve never crossed paths with Reese and me.

Thank goodness for a person’s life story and how it sometimes intermixed with others.

“Hey, darling.” She gave me her sweetest smile. She was decked out head to toe in vibrant forms of yellow. Her silver hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and her glasses hung on a chain around her neck. She also held a box in her hands. “I thought I’d stop by with some extra doughnuts I had for dinner last night. I had a craving and couldn’t eat a whole dozen on my own, so I thought I’d leave the extras for you two.” She opened the box for me to see the sugary treats.

She never knew it, but her door knocks were always right on time.

“Doughnuts!” Reese hollered, hurrying over to the door and taking the box of miracles from Abigail’s hands. I knew most people wouldn’t consider a box of doughnuts a miracle, yet when the refrigerator was empty and payday was still a few days away, a box of doughnuts was a gift from the heavens above.

Reese dashed off toward the living room sofa to dive in, and I called after her: “What do we say, Reese?”

“Thank you, Abigail!” she hollered, her mouth stuffed already with the sugary goodness.

“Only eat one, Reese. I mean it.”

Those doughnuts would be enough to get us through until my check came in tomorrow night.

I turned back toward Abigail and narrowed my eyes. “For someone who had a craving for doughnuts last night, it’s odd that there is still a full dozen in that box.”

She gave me a sly smile. “They must’ve put an extra one in the box.”

Yeah, sure.

Just a good woman doing good things.

I shifted around a bit and crossed my arms. “Thank you for that. You have no clue how much we needed that this morning.”

She frowned a bit. “I think I have a bit of a clue.” She pulled a piece of paper from behind her back and handed it to me. “This was placed in my mailbox instead of yours by mistake.”

I took the folded sheet of paper from her and read the notice.

Rent was late.

Again.

I’d been behind for the past two months, due to losing my job and Reese having a few health issues, and luckily the apartment manager, Ed, had been nice enough to let it slide, but by the wording of his letter, it seemed that I was dangling from the end of his hospitality rope. I couldn’t blame him, really. He had a job to do, and the fact that he allowed me to be two months behind without eviction was baffling to me.

I’d seen Ed send people packing for being a few weeks behind. He was a cutthroat kind of guy, all bite and no bark. Except for when it came to Reese and me. I was completely aware of the murky legalities here, and I knew the situation couldn’t go on forever. Plus, there was no worse feeling than knowing you owed a person something. I wanted no debt against my name, for me and for Reese. For the time being, I was thankful for Ed’s generosity. He had a bit of a soft spot for Reese, and he always said that I reminded him of his own mother. She had been a single mother, too, so perhaps Ed saw himself in Reese.

He couldn’t take pity on us much longer, though, and I had to come up with a way to get him almost $2,000 in two days. I wouldn’t have the money until Friday, and even then, rent would take up most of our check for the upcoming two weeks, leaving little room for gas and food.

I took a deep breath and tried to keep from breaking. It felt like an everlasting battle. If I caught up on one thing, another was falling out of place.

“If you need money, Emery—” Abigail started, but I shook my head quickly.

I’d taken a loan from her in the past, and I couldn’t bring myself to do it again. I couldn’t keep relying on others to give me a break in life. I had to stand completely on my own two feet. I just wished I knew how to walk better.

“It’s okay, really. Everything will work out. It always does.”

“You’re right, it does. But if you ever need an extra inch to get yourself to tomorrow, I’ll be here.”

Just like that, my heart cracked and healed all at once. The tears I’d fought daily to keep from falling began sliding down my face, and I turned away from Abigail. I was ashamed of myself, embarrassed by our struggles.

Yet Abigail wouldn’t allow any such thing. She wiped away my tears, shaking her head. Then she said five words that were so simple, yet so meaningful. “You’re not weak; you’re strong.”