That was who Ray was.
He didn’t make big speeches.
He didn’t promise things he couldn’t deliver.
He just kept being there.
When I nearly failed chemistry, he stayed beside me at the kitchen table until almost midnight.
“You realize you’re making this harder, right?” I joked.
“Probably.”
“Then why are you still helping?”
He shrugged.
“Parents don’t quit before their kids do.”
He said *parents* without even noticing.
I noticed.
A few months later, he married Mom.
Not long afterward, they opened a college savings account for me.
There wasn’t much money to spare.
Some months they could contribute a little.
Other months almost nothing.
Ray had his own children to support, household bills to help with, and plenty of expenses of his own.
