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After Carter left, I stayed in my office for a while.
Some colleagues came to draw blood, but I told them it was okay, that I had just received a moving news story.
I stayed there, flipping through the notebook again.
Reading every line I had written about me.
About my twins and their hope for our safety.
It seemed impossible that someone I barely knew could have carried that memory for so long.
Some colleagues came to see how he was.
***
That night, I came home and sat in bed with the bill in front.
Mae was on the couch in the living room, wrapped in a blanket, resting after another long day.
Lily walked up and stood by the door, arms crossed. Mae was still recovering and staying with me, so her sister had insisted on coming home to help her.
“Mom,” Lily said quietly, “what’s wrong?”
I slipped the check.
Lily blinked. — Is it serious?!
I slowly nodded.
“What’s going on?”
Lily quickly called her sister, who joined us.
Then I told them everything.
About that rainy night, about Arthur and about the notebook.
When I finished, Mae was crying.
“All this… for only 10 dollars?” he whispered.
I denied with my head gently.
“No,” I replied. For seeing me. I told them everything.
***
The following weeks flew by.
For the first time in years, I didn’t have to choose which bill to defer.
I paid the medical debt and watched the numbers finally drop to zero rather than increase.
Mae’s treatments continued, but now she could breathe easy.
***
One morning, I sat on my desk, looked at the final statement and realized something I hadn’t felt in decades.
He was free.
No debts, no lost payment notices.
Now he could breathe easy.