“My company will consist of me, a pickup truck, and a toolbox for a while,” Nathan said, a small, genuine smile finally breaking through his exhaustion. “Just like when we met in that tiny apartment. I did it once, Grace. I can do it again.”
The next three weeks passed in a blur of medical consultations, wire transfers, and legal filings. Nathan worked through the nights to ensure the Capitol Hill project was safely transitioned to a trusted competitor, ensuring his remaining crew members kept their jobs. He didn’t care about the profit margins or the loss of status. Every hour spent signing away his assets felt like a victory, because each signature brought Grace closer to the operating room.
On the morning of the surgery at the medical center in Baltimore, Nathan sat by Grace’s bed in the preoperative holding area. She was dressed in a hospital gown, her hair covered in a blue surgical cap. The monitors beeped softly in the background, a stark contrast to the heavy silence that had filled their home just a month prior.
The surgeon, a calm man with graying temples, stepped into the room. “It’s time, Mrs. Brooks. We’re ready for you.”
Grace looked up at Nathan, fear flashing in her eyes for a brief second. Nathan leaned down, kissing her forehead, then her lips.
“I’ll be right here when you wake up,” he whispered. “We have a lot of houses left to build.”
She nodded, a brave smile touching her lips as the orderly began to wheel the bed toward the double doors of the surgical suite. Nathan watched until the doors swung shut, leaving him alone in the corridor.
He walked to the waiting room, took a seat in a vinyl chair, and pulled a worn pocketknife from his pocket—his father’s knife. He began to clean his fingernails, a nervous habit from his days on the job site, settling in for what the doctors said would be an eight-hour wait. He didn’t have his company anymore, his bank account was nearly empty, and the future was entirely uncertain. But for the first time in a year, Nathan felt completely at peace. He knew exactly who he was, and he knew exactly what he was fighting for.
