Chapter 13 - The Foundation of Tomorrow
By mid-summer, the Carter estate had truly transformed into a home. The sprawling gardens were bursting with life, tended lovingly by Clara and the three girls, who spent their afternoons digging in the rich soil and planting rows of tomatoes, sunflowers, and bell peppers.
Joshua had made good on his promise to the board. He limited his corporate engagement to two hours every morning via a secure home office, leaving the rest of the day entirely open for his family. He taught Lily how to ride a bicycle without training wheels on the long gravel driveway. He helped Rose build an impossibly tall Lego castle in the sunroom. And he spent hours pushing Daisy on the wooden swing hanging from the massive oak tree near the lake bluffs.
One evening, after the girls had finally fallen asleep upstairs, exhausted from a full day of swimming and hide-and-seek, Joshua and Clara sat together on the wooden porch swing.
The lake was calm, reflecting the brilliant orange and purple hues of a Midwestern sunset. A cool breeze carried the scent of pine and blooming jasmine.
Clara rested her head on Joshua’s shoulder, her fingers tracing the cotton fabric of his shirt.
"Sometimes," Clara murmured quietly, "I still wake up in the middle of the night and touch the walls, expecting to find myself back in that freezing hospital cot, or in the cramped Ohio apartment."
Joshua kissed the top of her head, his arm tightening around her shoulders. "You don't ever have to worry about that, Clara. That world doesn't exist anymore."
"I know," she smiled softly. "Because of three little girls who climbed up a freezing rooftop with a basket of dead roses."
"They weren't just selling flowers," Joshua said, looking out over the dark water where the first evening stars were beginning to twinkle. "They were delivering a message. They were reminding me of what I threw away in the name of ambition."
May you like
"You built an empire, Joshua," Clara reminded him gently. "You don't have to regret your drive. It brought us here."
"An empire is just glass and steel," Joshua said, turning to look into her brilliant blue eyes. "The only thing that ever mattered was you and the girls."
