Two potential employers canceled interviews after searching her name online.
Then the court summons arrived.
The Hamilton family’s attorneys intended to pursue the matter aggressively.
Clara sat at her kitchen table holding the envelope until the words blurred.
She had eighty-three dollars in her checking account.
She could not afford a lawyer.
That night, she finally broke down.
She sat on the floor beside her bed and cried until her chest hurt.
The accusation was terrible.
Losing her job was devastating.
But what broke her most completely was the thought of Idan believing she had abandoned him.
Four days later, someone knocked on her door.
Clara opened it.
Idan stood outside.
A driver waited nervously near the curb.
“Idan?”
He threw himself into her arms.
Clara nearly fell backward.
“What are you doing here?”
“I told Thomas I forgot my schoolbag.”
The driver called from the sidewalk.
