Still bedtime stories.
Still pancakes on Sundays—slightly burned, but made with effort.
Mark wasn’t perfect.
But he showed up.
Every single day.
The Dress That Started It All
One afternoon, Melissa came bouncing through the door, her backpack nearly slipping off her shoulders.
“Daddy!” she shouted. “We’re having a graduation!”
Mark smiled, setting aside the bills he’d been trying not to think about.
“Graduation? Already?”
She nodded excitedly.