They hugged tightly.
“I thought you couldn’t come.”
Her mother whispered,
“I wanted to surprise you.”
Nia cried into her shoulder.
“You scared me.”
“I know.”
Her mother pulled back.
“And there’s something else you don’t know.”
Nia looked at her.
“Your scholarship was almost canceled six months ago.”
Nia’s face changed.
“What?”
“Your financial aid situation became complicated after Micah was born. You were close to losing the funding.”
Nia remembered those weeks.
She had been terrified.
Her mother continued.
“That’s when I contacted the university.”
Nia stared at her.
“I asked them to look at everything you had accomplished.”
“Mom…”
“I didn’t have enough money to solve your problems.”
She smiled.
“But I knew people who could help.”
Nia hugged her again.
After the ceremony, Nia’s phone wouldn’t stop ringing.
