The eight dollars and forty-two cents
The card was declined the first time, and the woman tried to smile as if nothing had happened. The second time, the small screen flashed red again, and her smile vanished. Behind her, a man wearing a camouflage cap let out a long, loud sigh. Further down the line, someone whispered, « This is unbelievable. » One of the babies strapped to her chest was crying so loudly that its little face had turned as red as a strawberry. The woman looked at me. Her lips were trembling.
“Sorry,” she whispered. “Can you take the diapers off?” I looked at the screen. She was $8.42 short. And without knowing it yet, that number would change my life forever. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me start from the beginning of this day, because the beginning matters. It always does. This Friday had started like
