Chapter 15 - The First Star
-15-
Spring arrived in Chicago with an explosive burst of color, green shoots breaking through the thawed earth, and a brilliant, unclouded blue sky stretching out over Lake Michigan. Rory’s Table was busier than ever, serving as both a world-class culinary destination and the operational headquarters for the Sterling-Carter Foundation, which now protected workers' rights across three states.
Inside the back office, the morning sunlight poured through the clean glass windows, illuminating the walls lined with photographs of families, community leaders, and ordinary people who had reclaimed their lives from the shadows of corruption.
I sat at my oversized desk, officially seven years old—and as I reminded anyone who asked, that half was still the most important part. I wore a brand-new red hoodie, neatly zipped to the top, holding a fresh, sharpened purple marker in my hand.
My mother sat across from me, reviewing a stack of building permits for a new community education center opening on the South Side. She looked up, caught my eye, and smiled—a bright, radiant expression of pure, unadulterated freedom.
The heavy brass bell above the front entrance chimed, echoing pleasantly through the bustling dining room.
We didn't look up right away, knowing that whoever walked through those doors—whether it was a federal judge, a grateful worker, or an old friend—was walking into a room built on truth, justice, and uncompromising resolve.
I turned to a completely blank, snow-white page in my brand-new notebook.
I held the purple marker firmly in my fingers, pressing the tip against the crisp paper.
I drew the first line. Then the second. Then the third.
Until, right in the center of the page, a small, perfect purple star bloomed brightly against the white background.
My mother leaned across the desk, kissed the top of my head, and whispered softly:
May you like
“That’s right, baby. Count every single one.”
And down in the bustling streets of Chicago, beneath the towering skyscrapers and the endless concrete grid, the city hummed with life—safe, honest, and forever changed by a little girl who knew exactly how much her mother was worth.
