What is a mother worth when she no longer needs to be paid for her work?
The answer, I had learned, was not a number.
By spring, my little house had changed.
Mr. Brandt installed a new screen door, and Todd helped me build two raised garden beds beside the porch. Michelle brought the children over most Sundays. Sometimes I cooked for them. Sometimes we ordered pizza. Sometimes we did nothing more than sit together while the children chased each other around the yard.
I continued doing the books at Brandt’s every Friday.
The work grew as more customers discovered that Mr. Brandt had finally found somebody who could make his accounts balance. He began sending a few small bookkeeping jobs my way, and I learned to use a computer well enough to prepare invoices and keep digital records.
My rent stayed at $400.
My income grew.
And for the first time in my life, I had money coming in that belonged entirely to me because of something I knew how to do.
