.
I was
ready to pay for my bananas at the grocery one night, when fear
seized me. My wallet was gone. I could only have left it on the G9
bus, which was now speeding in the dark to some
16 station.
The
17
moment was quickly followed by mental math.
How much time and money would it cost to replace the
18
of
that little wallet? The credit cards, the driver’s license, the
cash, all lost to the bus.
Two hours
later, back at my house, I heard a knock on the door. My
husband 19
it
while I was on the phone in the dining room. “Does Jennifer live
here?” I heard a lady say. In my husband’s hand was my wallet, with
not a penny 20
. She left before I
could 21
make
it to the door to offer my thanks.
After
sharing the story online, I heard from someone, who
22
the
lady as Erin Smith. Without 23
, I called to thank
her. She said she 24
my
wallet on a bus seat. She 25
that
going to a stranger’s house was a 26
move, but she decided to take the chance. “If
I were in that 27
, I would want someone
to try to find me,” she said.
This one
stranger responded beautifully to my small 28
, but she actually
wasn’t the only one. Right after Erin 29
my
wallet on the bus, she posted a picture of my driver’s license to
an , trying to see
30
anyone knew me. No sooner did she leave my
doorstep than I had emails from two women whose kids go to my son’s
nursery and who recognized my face. I’ve never
31
words with those moms beyond small talk, but
they wanted to help. I read that people are more divided than ever,
but that’s not how the people I 32
tend
to act.
33
, I feel blessed
someone had wanted to help a stranger. Erin had
gone 34
what almost anyone
would have done, finding my house on a bitterly cold night, and for
that I was extremely 35
.