What mattered was whether he followed through.

The next month he arrived early, brought tools and cardboard, and sat through two hours of careful instructions from a boy who could have easily decided not to trust him again.

When Terrence left, Wyatt placed the new telescope on the shelf above his desk.

It was not perfect.

Neither was the man who had helped make it.

But the telescope existed because a broken promise had been acknowledged and repaired with time, attention, and actual effort.

PART 19