Doris Dakkar learned early that love couldn’t always keep a family together—but it could rebuild one. When her husband Robert abandoned her and their seven-year-old son Nicholas without warning, Doris chose not to collapse, but to rise.

Their tiny apartment became a haven of resilience. Doris worked two jobs to provide for Nicholas, packed his lunches with loving notes, and never missed a school play or baseball game. “We may be a family of two,” she often said, “but we’re a strong family of two.”

Nicholas, devoted and kind, returned her love wholeheartedly.

He brought her wildflowers, helped around the house, and declared proudly, “I don’t need a dad. I have the best mom in the world.”

Doris believed their bond could withstand anything. But years later, when Nicholas abandoned his own child, just as Robert had once abandoned him, she was left to wonder: had she loved him too much? Had her devotion taught him to expect love without responsibility?

In those early years, though, all she saw was a boy who needed her—and she gave him everything.