I thought about the years he had spent quietly repairing things, saving money, growing food, and helping people who might never have known how much effort he had put into it.
“Do you think you’ve made up for your past?” I asked.
Ray shook his head.
“I don’t think life works like a bill you pay once and forget.”
He looked at me.
“You keep doing better. You keep taking responsibility. And when you make another mistake, you admit it and try again.”
Then he smiled faintly.
“Tomorrow, the garden will need watering. That’s a good place to start.”
The following spring, I found him kneeling beside the same patch of soil where I had watched him plant his first seeds as a teenager.
He held a small seed between his fingers.
I lowered myself beside him.
“What are you planting this time?”
He smiled.
“Something that takes a while.”
