Meanwhile, Lou was eyeing the mountainous stack of paperwork Babs had just deposited on his cluttered desk. She appeared unfazed that the carpeted floor inside his cramped cubicle was already serving as an auxiliary workspace. In the span of less than a week, the usual pile of documents and paperwork had multiplied like rabbits. Lou stopped multitasking so he could give Emily his undivided attention, not that she needed it. He had seen his daughter take up the banner of a cause before, and knew what an unstoppable force she could be.

He thought back to the time her computer crashed, and with it the term paper she had finished less than a day before. There were no tears. No throwing things. No rants. She did not talk about asking for an extension. What she did instead was to berate herself for not making a backup, then vowed never to repeat the mistake again. Finally, after a bowl of her favorite mint chocolate-chip ice cream, she gathered her reference books and rewrote the entire eleven-page paper in one marathon session.

A+.

In the game of life, divorce or no divorce, Lou’s money was on his kid.

She was just four when Renee decided that Lou’s amphetamine addiction was bigger and stronger than their marriage and, quite understandably, bailed. For a couple of years, it was hard going for all of them. But gradually, understanding, flexibility, and communication took the place of anger, and Emily became a tribute to what was possible when a husband and wife refused to allow the failure of their marriage to mar their commitment to their child and the strengthening of her self-esteem. Now, a byproduct of that commitment had been the reestablishment of the friendship and mutual respect with Renee that years of Lou’s self-serving drug use had destroyed.

Mental … Physical … Spiritual—like water from a pipe leaking in the attic, Lou’s alcoholism and other addictions had seeped down and destroyed the fabric of all three aspects of his being. Now, recovery and hard work had restored them, and in doing so, had stabilized the life of a kid who was already making a difference in the world.

“I think what you’re doing is great, Em,” Lou said. “You’ve got my full support.”

“I don’t need support. What I need is a hundred and fifty boxes of brownie mix.”

“Hey, I thought we were trying to raise money, not spend it.”

“We are,” Emily said. “I’m looking for donations.”

“Donations? Who are you soliciting? Betty Crocker?”

Emily got quiet.

“Well, actually…”

“Hey, wait, I was kidding,” Lou said. “You really did solicit Betty Crocker?”

“It’s General Mills,” Emily replied, “and yes, I’ve been in touch with the public relations department. I put together a PDF of all of Cap’s good deeds and got testimonials from some of the kids he’s helped get off the streets.”

“A PD-what?”