Stepping onto the cracked pavement of the unfamiliar bus terminal, Olivia was running on fumes. The long ride to her late fiancé’s hometown had drained whatever energy she had left. Since Andrew’s death, her world had collapsed, and only the thought of their unborn daughter kept her moving forward. This child was the only tether holding her back from complete despair.
They had met two years after Olivia aged out of the foster care system. By day, she was taking classes at the community college; by night, she worked the line at a local manufacturing plant. It was grueling, but she needed the money for tuition and rent. It was at that factory that she met Andrew, an engineer sent by corporate to oversee the installation of new automated lines.
The plant had recently been acquired by a large investment firm, and a massive overhaul was underway. The mood on the floor was tense—everyone was worried about layoffs or safety on the aging machines. Like her coworkers, Olivia kept her head down, anxious about what the new management and their fancy equipment meant for her paycheck.
One night, the visiting engineer had to stay until dawn to troubleshoot a glitch in the system. The local maintenance crew was struggling with the calibration, so Andrew stepped in to run a hands-on training session. As fate would have it, they used Olivia’s station for the demonstration.
Once the machine was humming perfectly, Andrew kept finding reasons to check on Olivia’s station, making polite conversation that left her flustered but charmed. He disappeared just before the shift change, and Olivia felt a strange mix of relief and disappointment. He was out of her league, she told herself. When the whistle blew, she clocked out and headed for the exit, eager to sleep.
