PART 23
Over the next three months of unemployment,
Ryan didn't lose his temper once,
nor did he fall into despair.
Instead,
he used the extra time to fully immerse himself in his role at home.
He became the full-time homemaker,
ensuring Ethan was dropped off at school every day with a packed lunch.
He spent hours in the backyard with Ethan,
building a wooden treehouse with scraps of lumber they found around town.
He cooked intricate dinners,
learning new recipes to surprise Emma when she emerged from her studio.
The house was always clean,
filled with laughter,
and entirely devoid of the toxic stress that usually accompanies financial hardship.
One afternoon,
while working on the treehouse,
Ethan looked up at his father,
his face smeared with dirt from the yard.
"Daddy,
are we poor now?"
Ethan asked innocently,
having overheard some talk at school about the economy.
Ryan dropped his hammer,
kneeling down in the grass to look his son directly in the eye.
"Why do you ask that,
buddy?"
"Ben said his dad is mad all the time because they don't have money,"
Ethan explained,
shrugging his small shoulders.
Ryan smiled,
pulled his son into a warm,
tight hug,
feeling the boy's heart beating against his own.
"No,
we are not poor at all,
Ethan,"
Ryan said,
his voice thick with emotion.
"We have a roof over our heads,
food on our table,
and we love each other every single day."
He pointed to the half-built treehouse,
May you like
"And we have time to build this together,
which makes us the richest family on the block."
