Friends from her studio painted the walls pale green and assembled three secondhand cribs that met current safety standards.

Edward arrived with a small rocking chair he said his daughter no longer needed.

He refused to let me treat it as a debt.

“Furniture should be used,” he said.

“That is the only return I require.”

Between feedings and appointments, I watched the family-law case move along.

A temporary financial arrangement helped cover basic needs while the property issues were sorted out.

The orders were complicated and specific; nothing about them felt like winning a lottery.