Money had bought two safe nights at an inn and later helped with deposits and transportation.

Those things mattered enormously, and he would never dismiss them.

But they had worked because Hannah made choices, Elena knew the systems, Ruth made introductions, employers offered opportunities, and other people kept showing up when the story was no longer new.

He thought about Caroline too.

There were still mornings when he reached for the other side of the bed before remembering.

Grief was not a task that could be completed.