Margaret smiled.
“There’s always room for another teacher.”
Noah shook his head.
“I think I should start as a student.”
She laughed.
It was a full, genuine laugh.
He realized how much he had missed hearing it.
Over the following months, Noah began teaching practical engineering classes at the workshop whenever his schedule allowed.
He showed teenagers how bridges distributed weight and how simple machines worked.
He helped build safer shelves and repair the roof.
But Margaret insisted that the workshop remain affordable, welcoming, and independent.
Noah agreed.
He provided support without taking control.
It was a new lesson for him.
Sometimes love meant giving.
Sometimes it meant helping someone preserve what they had already built.
That winter, Margaret turned seventy-four.
Noah arrived at her house carrying groceries, a birthday cake, and a small wooden package.
She looked suspiciously at the box.
“Noah, I told you not to spend a fortune.”
He smiled.
“I didn’t.”
She opened it.
Inside was a beautifully carved wooden sign.
EVERYONE IS WELCOME HERE.
Margaret ran her fingers across the letters.
Noah looked suddenly nervous.
“I thought we could hang it above the workshop door.”
She blinked back tears.
“Your father would have loved this.”
