![\"May](\"https:\/\/scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net\/v\/t39.30808-6\/877826167_122221213154767264_6732088221743996887_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_tt6&cstp=mx1122x1402&ctp=s640x640&_nc_cat=111&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=127cfc&_nc_ohc=OvLsxuSljtAQ7kNvwEvWPjg&_nc_oc=AdoUHmHAxCe7yOMRZ1OakUmqkRWiM3OFSnCjBM5tjZZ4Zox1WRXRM_C540nZn1xQXS4&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&_nc_gid=RESvmUagueVBNOrx7vFNcg&_nc_ss=792a8&oh=00_AQTaYUqtm07dj9_0Jdvl7e50_wMo4OLAoPHfiXrhiQ1uZg&oe=6AED5E4E\")
<\/p>\nHere\u2019s what happened to the rest of them. Karen kept the house in the separation. She sold Brian\u2019s watch and the Wolf range on consignment and put the $7,200 toward the second mortgage. She took a job as a receptionist at a veterinary clinic in Centerville for fifteen dollars an hour. She called and told me it was the first honest paycheck she\u2019d earned in twenty years. In the fall, she enrolled in the veterinary technology program at Sinclair Community College, taking classes at night. \u201cI\u2019m fifty-four,\u201d she said on the phone. \u201cI\u2019ll be fifty-seven when I finish.\u201d \u201cYou\u2019ll be fifty-seven anyway,\u201d I told her. She laughed.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The $61,000 comes back to me at $618 a month. By my math, it will take ten years, and I\u2019ll be ninety. I\u2019ve told everyone I intend to be here. The bank\u2019s legal department finished its review in January. Mr. Okafor called me into his office to tell me personally. Because their teller hadn\u2019t compared the forged signatures against my signature card on file, as their own procedures required for withdrawals over $10,000, First Miami Valley agreed to reimburse me $15,000 as a goodwill settlement. I signed a release, and Philip read every word of it first. I used part of the money to set up a small account at the bank for Ben, for college or for a fishing boat, whichever he decides he needs more.<\/p>\n
Diane still lives in her brick bungalow on Maple Street. She goes to counseling on Wednesdays, and to my private amusement, she\u2019s started volunteering at the church food pantry. She arrives at eight, leaves at noon, and sorts cans. The other volunteers tell me she\u2019s the most careful counter they\u2019ve ever had.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe counts everything twice,\u201d Gloria says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not surprised,\u201d I say.<\/p>\n
She sends the church a check for fifty dollars on the first of every month. She also sends one to me, though she doesn\u2019t owe me anything. Brian\u2019s restitution covers my money. Her note always says the same thing: \u201cFor the coat.\u201d<\/p>\n
I cash them and put every one into the food pantry fund.<\/p>\n
We sit together on Sundays, second pew on the left. She holds my hand during the hymns.<\/p>\n
I went to the bank last week.<\/p>\n
It was a Thursday in October, a mild, bright morning, and the maples along Kemp Road were turning red and gold. I parked in my usual spot and walked in on my cane, in a wool coat with a velvet collar that Karen bought me for Christmas. It\u2019s gray. I haven\u2019t owned a green coat since.<\/p>\n
\u201cMrs. Lane!\u201d Brittany came around the counter. \u201cGood morning! What can I do for you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d like to withdraw three hundred dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n
She smiled. \u201cFor Ben\u2019s birthday?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Ben\u2019s birthday.\u201d I handed her my ID. \u201cHe\u2019s eighteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
She counted it out in twenties with great ceremony, then compared my signature on the slip to my signature card, carefully, line by line, as she does every time now. My signature is small, upright, and firm, the way it\u2019s been for fifty-three years.<\/p>\n
I tucked the bills into a card with a drawing of a fish on the front.<\/p>\n
\u201cWill there be anything else?\u201d Brittany asked.<\/p>\n
I thought about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d I said. \u201cI\u2019d like to ask you a security question.\u201d<\/p>\n
She raised her eyebrows.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s my cat\u2019s name?\u201d<\/p>\n
She laughed, bright and a little wet. \u201cPickles.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what\u2019s his favorite food?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTuna.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what was my husband\u2019s name?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her smile softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHarold,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s Harold, Mrs. Lane.\u201d<\/p>\n
I tucked the card into my purse and picked up my cane.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you, dear,\u201d I said. \u201cI\u2019ll see you on the first Monday.\u201d<\/p>\n
When I got home, I sat down at the kitchen table, opened my green ledger, and wrote the balance in pencil, the way I\u2019ve done every first Monday for fifty-three years. It was smaller than it used to be, but it was mine.<\/p>\n
Then I closed the ledger, put the kettle on, and called my daughter. She answered on the first ring.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Here\u2019s what happened to the rest of them. Karen kept the house in the separation. She sold Brian\u2019s watch and the Wolf range on consignment and put the $7,200 toward … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3333,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,21,22,1,5,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aita","category-daily-article","category-reddit-stories","category-story","category-story-daily","category-viral-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7880"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7881,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7880\/revisions\/7881"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}