I’d almost given up hope, and but I am officially employed—a UPS man. My friends were never going to believe this shit, and it would take time for it to truly sink in for me too. “Can we start looking for an apartment?” I asked. “I want you all to myself, and we can afford it now.”

“I’d love that. We don’t have any furniture or anything, but we’ll figure it out,” she said, a smile creeping across her face.

I hung my head low, “I’m sorry, Sophia. You deserve nice things,” I said. I wanted to give her a beautiful home, but I lost everything and didn’t have a dime to my name. She stood by me and believed in me every second. I know I’d disappointed her in the past, but my life, our life, had turned around. Her hand grazed my cheek before grabbing my chin pulling my eyes to her deep brown eyes.

“Baby, they’re just things. I’ve had plenty of things in my life… they aren’t important. All I care about is having you in my life,” she said.

I slouched in my chair, looking around the apartment. We finally had a place of our own. I watched her move around the space, putting away our few items we owned, I felt like I was on cloud nine. “Why do you love me, Sophia?” I asked. I couldn’t understand why she loved me as hard as she did.