As Life Goes: Elementary

"Every new beginning starts from nothing. Understanding that you can have everything in the love of one person, isn't that worth the risk of personal capital? Isn't that kind of love worth it?" - Diane Wakeford "Have I ever told you, you're the nicest boy I've ever met?" - Melissa Bancroft "I will have the friends I want. I don't care what boy likes me or what boy I like. You're an awesome friend. I am not giving you up because we're going to different schools or for any one person either." - Elizabeth Wellsworth Mark Sanford returns to his hometown with his son Matthew in tow to rebuild their lives. Recently divorced, and with the mother totally abandoning her parental responsibilities, both father and son are beginning their fresh start together. Matthew begins to make new friends in the neighborhood and at school while he tries to find his place among people that have been friends with one another for years at elementary school. Mark takes over the reins of the former family corner store with the help of a young woman looking for work. The ability to love and trust that woman entering his life is difficult for him because of all he has lost. For Matthew, that "first love" is difficult to understand without a motherly influence and with a father that has been deeply hurt.