Getting no answer, Rebecca tried her son. "Jordan! Hey, one of you kids had better get in here, or I won't have time to fix supper before I need to leave." From the silence that ensued, she knew Jordan hadn't heard. That wasn't surprising—he'd had his nose in a book and music blaring from his new iPod as she passed him on the couch. Rebecca didn't see the appeal of an iPod, but all kids lately seemed to need one. And Jordan had done odd jobs to earn the money for his. Rebecca just hoped the book in his hand was homework.

Gathering up the errant oranges, she dumped them in a fridge drawer. Thank goodness I can multitask, she thought as she stacked canned vegetables on an upper pantry shelf while she filled a large pot with water to boil for spaghetti. Finding ajar of commercial tomato sauce tucked behind the beans, she wrenched it open and poured it into a smaller pan.

Being a single mom who'd worked two jobs for what seemed like forever, Rebecca had long since stopped beating herself up over using shortcuts. She did whatever it took to keep a roof over her family's heads and food on the table. Not to mention clothes on the body of a teenage boy who grew an inch a month.

It was lucky Lisa waited tables a couple of afternoons a week and the occasional weekend. She babysat, too, for Darcy Blackburn, one of Rebecca's co-workers at the restaurant. It wasn't easy, but every penny helped build the college fund Lisa and Rebecca contributed to every week. Lisa