I Asked the Waiter to Split the Check

out an envelope.

“I was going to wait,” she said. “But since tonight’s already a mess.”

She handed it to me.

Inside was a cashier’s check.

Three thousand dollars.

I stared at it. “Mom.”

“I sold my jewelry set.”

“What jewelry set?”

“The one your father gave me on our twenty-fifth anniversary.” She lifted one shoulder. “Turns out diamonds are more useful when continue reading …