The sound carried across the terrace.

Then he looked toward the gardens again.

For a while, we remained there without speaking.

The mansion behind us glowed in the evening light.

The hospital project continued.

The trust operated under the terms we had agreed upon.

And tomorrow, there would be more work waiting on my desk.

I no longer resented that.

Because the fortune I’d wanted had finally given me something I never expected to earn.

Not the freedom to do nothing.