“They believed me when I said it was hard.”
I asked what I could do to support her next meeting.

She said, “Just be home with Liam.”
That was easy to promise, and I made sure to keep it.

The group eventually asked whether Maya would design a simple invitation for a community gathering.

She made a drawing of three hands holding a small plant.

The organizer loved it and insisted on paying her modest professional fee.

Maya placed the payment receipt on our kitchen table and stared at it for an absurdly long time.

“It’s not the money,” she said.