“You have enough responsibility.”
“That sounds familiar.”
He laughed.
“I can’t stay.”
“You can stay three nights.”
“Martha…”
“Three.”
He looked at me.
“Why?”
“Because once someone helped me when I was drowning.”
He frowned.
“Who?”
“No one.”
I smiled.
“That’s the problem.”
He stayed three nights.
Then three weeks.
During those weeks, he became part of our little household.
Lily taught him how to play a card game.
He pretended not to understand the rules so she could beat him.
She caught him cheating on the third day.
“You’re terrible at this.”
“I am seventy-four.”
“That doesn’t excuse cheating.”
He laughed.
Albert helped me repair the loose kitchen cabinet.
He showed Lily how to fix a bicycle chain.
He told stories about Estelle.
And slowly, the house stopped feeling empty.
Eventually, the shelter helped him apply for senior housing.
He found a small apartment not far from us.
Lily helped him move.
