Naomi visited the exhibit with Malik and Zuri.
The children stared at the old steel piece.
For a moment, Malik looked amazed.
"That's what you caught?"
Naomi laughed.
"Part of it."
He walked closer.
"It's huge."
She nodded.
"Much bigger than I understood."
Zuri studied the old photograph of Ruthie.
Then looked toward Naomi.
"Grandma Ruthie knew about it?"
"Yes."
The little girl pointed toward the engineer.
"And that man helped her?"
Naomi nodded.
"He did."
For a moment, Zuri seemed thoughtful.
Then asked why the adults hadn't removed the dangerous machine earlier.
Naomi took a breath.
"Because sometimes people make decisions they think will solve a problem, but they don't fully prepare for what could happen many years later."
Zuri looked toward the black steel.
Then said seriously, "They should've written better instructions."
Naomi laughed.
"So should a lot of people."
Malik smiled.
Then he noticed the photograph of his mother in the muddy pond.
He stared for several seconds.
"Mom?"
"Yeah?"
"Why do you look so mad?"
Naomi laughed.
"Because I was trying very hard not to let go of that rope."
He grinned.
"Did the farmers really laugh at you?"
She nodded.
"They did."
Malik looked toward the photograph.
Then smiled.
"Bet they don't anymore."
Naomi laughed.
"Not about the pond."
Aaron visited the farm near the end of autumn.
He'd come to spend the weekend with Malik and Zuri, as arranged in their parenting schedule.
By then, the children had adjusted to life in Halbert County.
They loved their school.
Had friends nearby.
And spent afternoons helping with age-appropriate chores under Naomi's supervision.
Aaron stood on the porch looking toward the restored pasture.
For a moment, he seemed surprised.
"This place looks different."
Naomi nodded.
"A lot of work."
He smiled.
"I can tell."
They watched the children playing near the house.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Aaron turned toward her.
"I know I didn't make things easy when you first moved here."
Naomi looked down.
Their marriage had ended for complicated reasons.
Financial pressure.
Broken trust.
And years of disagreements that neither had managed to repair.
She wasn't interested in reopening every argument.
But she appreciated that he recognized the difficulty of her first year.
She nodded.