***
I held the box for a long moment before I could make myself lift the lid.
"He left something for you."
Inside, on top, were photographs.
Dozens of them.
The first one made my chest tighten before I even understood what I was looking at.
It was me. My first day. Sitting across from Charles at that table by the window, holding my lunch bag, smiling the nervous, grateful smile of someone who'd just been thrown a lifeline.
I had no memory of anyone taking that photo. I didn't even know Charles had a camera back then.
Inside, on top, were photographs.
Then I remembered him pulling out his old phone. Maybe he'd taken those shots while I wasn't looking.
I kept going.
A photo from the day I got promoted, holding the gas station cupcake, grinning like it was the best thing I'd ever received, which, in a way, it was.
