When Laura opted to work extra hours to make ends meet, her boss handed her a bonus and a promotion, thanks to an unexpected group of visitors.
Laura Maxwell was always running. Running behind her three kids to get ready for school. Running to take out the trash just while the garbage truck was just leaving. And running to the bus stop to hop on to the bus just in time. Then at the Rainbow Children’s hospital, she was running from ward to ward, doctor to doctor, with file after file.
You would think that being an experienced nurse would warrant some extra perks during lunchtime, at least. But Laura didn’t even remember the last time she had her lunch sitting down.
“Slow down, Laura, or your feet might catch fire!” her mother kept saying. Laura’s mother, Denise, was the most recent addition to the household. Laura had no option but to bring her in from the village after Denise had yet another fall, injuring her knee again.
Laura had been on her toes since the day her husband Shane passed away. It had been five months since the morning she last kissed his face before leaving for work and since he pulled her back one last time into his warm, bear-like embrace before letting her go. Now, for some reason, Laura was always cold.
She would have worked herself to the point of collapse if she didn’t have the kids and her mother to look after. In this constant sense of rush and urgency that was Laura’s life, there were moments when her three children and ailing mom would slow her down and remind her that she was human.
Arthur, Haley, and Rachel were still toddlers. But they had their ways of knowing if their mama had a good day at work – she would always bring donuts from the cafeteria. Lately, those occasions had become rare, and the children were sad about both the lack of donuts and the stressed life of their mother.
But one day, when the power was out, and Laura hadn’t come home even after 8 p.m., the children got really worried. Grandma Denise was fast asleep in her room, as was evident from the loud rhythmic snoring.
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