Months later, the renovated pavilion reopened as Henry’s Workshop. The boys taught local children to repair donated bicycles every Saturday. Clara handled appointments, refreshments, and adults who arrived with complaints. A recovered Bubbles occupied Henry’s gardening hat beside her desk, accepting admiration while contributing absolutely nothing useful to the project.
Clara still crossed Hawthorne Park daily, although she no longer avoided the pavilion. Whenever unfamiliar teenagers gathered there, she approached before forming conclusions. Henry had been right that character could not be judged across a path. Clara had learned it frighteningly late, but not too late to let his kindness continue.