Name: Gary.
And tucked behind it… a small piece of paper with an address and phone number.
I stared at it longer than I should have.
Then I closed the wallet.
Locked it in my toolbox.
And tried to finish my shift like nothing had happened.
But something inside me had already shifted.
The Choice
That night, dinner was spaghetti.
My mom stirred the sauce while the kids argued over homework at the table.
My daughter ran up and hugged me the second I walked in.
“Daddy!”
I smiled… but my mind wasn’t there.
After the kids went to bed, I grabbed the wallet.
“I’ve got to go out for a bit,” I told my mom.
She looked at me, like she already knew it wasn’t just an errand.
But she didn’t ask questions.
The Knock
The address led me to a small house with a porch light glowing in the dark.
I sat in the car for a minute.
Just thinking.
Because part of me wondered…
What if I kept it?
Who would know?
But deep down, I already knew the answer.
I would.
And that would be enough.
So I got out of the car and knocked.
Gary
The man who opened the door looked exactly like the photo.
