Several significant things happened after the article appeared in the newspaper. The first was meaningful for just Derek and Emily. His picture and name had been in the paper and the next morning when he dropped Serena off at school, instead of the stares of curiosity and concern like he got back in October that made Derek feel ashamed, the parents at the school came right up to him and shook his hand and told him how absolutely wonderful he was. Despite all of Derek's healing and moving forward, he still maintained a level of discomfort around their acquaintances, still felt like when they looked at him, they associated him with Robert Foster. But after the article, that feeling went away. People he didn't know well had a different, more positive connection to make with him now.
Suppliers of constructions materials, from counter tops to windows and everything in between, contacted Derek and said they would sell him whatever he needed at cost for any of his projects in the future. Some even offered to donate supplies. And since Derek had already purchased the house for his next project, he was able to get the ball rolling and order the initial supplies and materials he needed at a significantly lower price.
The owner of Hatfield Construction, who contracted and built town homes and condominium complexes throughout Virginia, sent an email to Julia Spencer who forwarded it to Derek. He wanted to come meet the teens at the house, and was willing to offer them all full-time jobs that summer and see where things ended up after that, when the kids started college. He intimated that he'd be willing to discuss a long-term plan for employment after Derek's teens finished a project with him.
The two quieter members of the five teenagers, Philip and Karina, who trusted the least and were most hesitant about all the goodness, started really believing the possibilities within themselves after that, and blossomed quickly to join the other three in their confidence in hope and a future.
And then, eight days after the article appeared in the paper, Julia Spencer surprisingly showed up at the house with distinguished looking man in a suit. Emily was there since it was a Monday. The inside of the house was done at that point, and they were working on the sprinkler system, getting ready for sod and plants to be delivered that Wednesday. Derek was slowly letting go and saying goodbye to the teens in his mind, because he was thinking they only had a few days left together at the house before they were officially done and the house went on the market. The next week, they would graduate from high school and the week after that, they'd start their jobs with Hatfield Construction.
The group was out front and pretty dirty and sweaty when Julia arrived that day. The man with her didn't seem to mind. He stuck his hand out towards Derek and said, "Derek Morgan? I'm Fletcher Wilson. It's truly a pleasure to meet you."
Derek shook his hand, a little perplexed, and then Fletcher shook hands with Emily and the teens, recognizing them from their individual pictures in the article and calling them by name. He addressed the group, "Can you show me around the house? I'd love to see what you've done with the place."
Julian nodded and said, "Yes, sir. Come on in."
Derek and Emily hung back with Julia while the group led Fletcher into the house. They both raised their eyebrows at Julia wondering who this man was, and Julia laughed with tears in her eyes. "I'm not going to spoil the surprise for you. We better get in there."
All the the teens were eager to share what they'd done to the place, what they'd learned and how the house looked when they started. They showed him where they did their schoolwork, and told them about Serena and the team and all the changes in them in the past few months. They had no clue who this man was, but he seemed important and eager to hear their stories.
Fletcher Wilson smiled at the group and said, "I'm very impressed with all of you. So impressed that I canceled some meetings and took the day off work in order to come meet you. I missed your article when it first ran, but an old friend of mine from when I was practicing law named Aaron Hotchner gave me a call to make sure I saw it. I think you know him pretty well. I have a similar background to you five, and it took a very loving foster family with an army of grown and amazing kids to get me moving in the right direction. Your army was a bit different, but the results are the same. And I think you could make something of your lives just like I did. I'm the president of Virginia Commonwealth University, and it would be our pleasure to have you come attend our school starting in the fall. Full scholarships, including on-campus housing and a dining plan. You'd have to complete a certain number of units each semester with a good grade point average in order to maintain your scholarships, but I believe you all could do it."
Five stunned faces stared at him for several seconds. And Emily and Derek, standing in the background, welled up with tears.
"You're serious?" whispered Angela.
Fletcher nodded, "Totally serious."
"But it's all the way in Richmond," said Julian, glancing at Derek and Emily. And they knew the reason for his hesitation. Those five had made plans to stay close and keep riding the wave of support they'd received from their family and the team.
"Richmond is a two hour train ride, Julian," said Derek thickly. "You could still see us. You have to take this opportunity."
Julian still looked hesitant and Fletcher stepped in, "You know, when Aaron first called me and I read the article and then called him back, I told him I might be able to swing one or two scholarships since it was already May. But Aaron said it needed to be an all or nothing thing. That you five were a family and you needed to stick together in order to have the best chance at making it. I know it's not everyone you've come to rely on, but part of growing up is leaving your nest. You'd be together, and I'll be there to keep an eye on you."
"We could do it together," said Karina, "I think we really could."
"A real university," said Michael quietly.
Ruben laughed, "Man. You remember when Julia told us that there was an opportunity to work on a house back in December and we all thought about how the pay was good and that was it." He laughed and shook his head again, looking at Derek, "You got some crazy magic juju in you, Derek Morgan."
"We're going," said Angela firmly with tears in her eyes. "We're going to do this together, and I'll kick all your butts if you don't toe the line. We'll take the train home some Saturdays and get our tutoring and see everyone, and we're going to blow everyone's minds at that college. If Serena was here she'd tell us she knew we could do it, and we'd believe her. We can."
Julian nodded with tears in his eyes. "You're right. We're going." He stepped forward and shook Fletcher Wilson's hand and said, "Thank you, sir." Then he turned to Derek and Emily and wrapped his arms around both of them, and the other four teens joined in that hug. There were tears at first, but they quickly turned to elation and excitement.
Derek got the group focused on their work in the front yard again and then he joined Emily, Julia and Fletcher near Julia's car. They had a quiet conversation.
"I wasn't kidding when I said I could probably swing one or two scholarships at this point in the year," said Fletcher. "I got through law school on scholarships and love from my foster family. And after, I quickly became a powerful defense attorney. I made more money than I knew what to do with and realized I had it all wrong, defending the people I despised. That's when I started teaching instead, and worked my way up to the position I'm in now. I'm actually funding three of those scholarships for the next year. It will be some of the best money I ever spent. If those kids keep up with their school work, they'll roll into the university's scholarship program their sophomore year."
Derek replied, "I don't know how to thank you."
"You just keep doing what you've been doing. I talked to Julia and she's going to send you kids entering their senior year in the summer and fall. I can't do this for up to fifteen or twenty kids a year. But they've got a good shot if they get their act together and apply for a scholarship on their own. Not just at VCU, but other universities and colleges. I know a lot of people. We can make this work. If they're motivated, I'll help you find them a way, I promise."
Emily was relatively quiet through all of the exchanges that day. She just soaked it in. This was Derek's triumph. He'd had help, but this was his idea and she just watched him being what she knew he was: the most beautiful human being on the planet.
That night, Derek and Emily had a conversation with Serena. They told her about the scholarships, which made Serena practically take flight in joy. And then they had a serious conversation with Serena about her own future.
"There are kids your age who were smart like you who started college, Serena," said Emily.
"I know," said Serena, "I've read all about them. I don't want to do that."
"Why?" asked Derek.
"Because everything I could learn in college is going to be there when I'm older, and I only have one chance at being nine or ten or eleven or older. I don't want to be a teenage heart surgeon, or a twelve year old college graduate. I want to be me, with both of you and Caleb. I'm so happy. I love my family and I love my life. If I went to college, I wouldn't have time to play with my friends, I wouldn't have time to help Daddy with his teenagers, and that's what I want to do. I know I could go to college, but all I want to do is be Serena. And I'm happy with the Serena I am right now."
Emily gave Serena a hug and kissed her cheek. "I love the Serena you are, every minute of every day. And you'll tell us when you need something more?"
"I promise, Mommy."
Derek wrapped his arms around both of them and whispered in Serena's ear, "There is nothing in this world that could make me forget to remember you, my amazing girl."
That night, after Caleb and Serena were asleep, Derek locked their bedroom door, but Emily could tell by the look on his face that this wasn't about sex at all. He started taking off his clothes, and Emily did the same. When they were both naked, Derek spooned up behind Emily in the bed and wrapped his body around hers.
"How did we get here?" he asked in wonder.
Emily paused for a few seconds, thinking before speaking. "You know what I think? I think we were two unique human beings born with innate resiliency and a tremendous capacity for love. We got to put our resiliency to use through the years, but we didn't have an outlet for all of the love until we found each other. So it was all bottled up, and then we let it loose. That's how we got here."
Emily could feel Derek starting and stopping what he wanted to express a few times before he smiled against her shoulder blade. "OK, Em. I can go with that."