Gemotions

"We just can't afford it," he'd said, his voice tight. “We’ll have to cut back.” He was talking about their daughter’s college fund. She had heard those words for years. The constant refrain of scarcity, of belt-tightening.

She sat at the kitchen table, staring at the paperwork spread before her. Trying, for the millionth time, to make the numbers work. She was exhausted.

She’d found it this morning, hidden in the back of his safe: a bankbook. In his name only. The balance was enough to pay for several years of tuition. She felt a profound sense of… what *was* this feeling? A physical ache.