“Yesterday he was sitting on his bedroom carpet with a fully packed suitcase, Peter, asking me if running away to Columbus would keep this house from foreclosure,” I told him, letting the harsh truth crush him.

Peter flinched hard, his bottom lip trembling as he stared at me in horror.

“He really asked you that?” Peter whispered, his voice breaking.

“Yes, Peter, because he honestly believes his being here is destroying his family,” I said coldly.

“And do you know why he brought every bit of his birthday savings down to this table yesterday morning?”

Neither Peter nor Gretchen dared to breathe, both of them staring at me in frightened silence.

“He offered me every dollar he had to buy just one more month in this house, because he was worried my stitches still hurt too much for me to look after the twins by myself,” I told them, tears running down my cheeks.