In front of him, an older man held one end of a white envelope.
Evan held the other.
“Give it back, Cal!” cried my son.
“No.”
“It’s mine!”
“Exactly,” Cal said. That's why I'm not going to accept it.
Mr. Alvarez saw me near the entrance.
“Ma'am... thank God.”
Evan turned around.
The instant he saw me, he released the envelope.
“Mom?”
“What’s going on?”
No one answered.
I pointed to the envelope.
“That’s your salary?”
Evan stared at the ground.
“Yes.”
“Why was Cal holding him?”
Cal threw the envelope over the counter.
“Because your son tried to give me every penny.”
I turned to Evan.
“What?”
“Not so,” he murmured.
Cal crossed his arms.
“Then tell him how he is.”
Evan's head was suddenly raised.
“Stay on the sidelines.”
“Evan,” I said abruptly.
He was silent.
I picked up the check.
“Evan, why did you give Cal your money?”
His response came immediately.
“Because I owed him a favor.”
Cale hit the palm of his hand against the counter.
“There it is! That’s what he keeps saying.”
“I owed you a favor,” Evan said.
“What for?”
“For helping me.”
“You helped me load 12 boxes of potatoes last month. Am I supposed to give up my Social Security number?”
Evan looked at him in fury.
“That’s different.”
“Why?”
“Because it is.”
I looked at Mr. Alvarez.
“Can anyone tell me what’s going on?”
The owner leaned on the cash register.
“How much do you think Evan has saved for that bike?”
The question caught me off guard.
“I don’t know. He keeps saying he’s almost here.”
Mr. Alvarez nodded slowly.
“That’s what he tells us too.”
Evan's expression changed.
“No.”
Mr. Alvarez ignored him.
“Do you know how many paychecks it’s been in six months?”
I waited.
“One,” he said.
For a moment, I thought I heard him wrong.
“One?”
Mr. Alvarez nodded.
“The first.”
I turned to Evan.
Where did the others go?
“Mom...”
“Where?”
He didn't answer.
That silence worried me more than the overturned dishes.
Evan had been wanting that second-hand mountain bike for almost a year. The first time he taught me, I offered to help him pay for it.
“No. I want to earn it myself, Mom.”
At the time, I was proud of him.
Evan was 10 when we lost Jeremy. After that, he almost never asked me for anything.
