32 Oak Street
Love & Heartbreak

Keeping the Number

by FoxgloveChoir5 · 2mo

Driving home from a tuning job, I stopped for gas and dropped my wallet in the parking lot. Didn't notice until I got home.

Two hours later, a woman knocked on my door. She'd driven forty miles to return it. Everything untouched.

Inside the wallet was a motel notepad from 1983. On it, a phone number I'd scribbled from a pen pal named Margaret.

We wrote for years after my brother died. She was the only one who understood what it was like to lose half of a pair.

Eventually the letters stopped. I kept the number, though. Never called. Never threw it away.

After the stranger left, I picked up the phone. An old woman answered. It was her.

We talked for two hours. She said she'd always wondered if I would call. I said I'd always wondered if I could.

Now I drive to her town every other Sunday. She's a widow now. I'm a twin learning to live solo.

Some kindness starts a chain you never see coming. I'm just glad I finally answered.

Sign in to leave a warm reaction.

Save

Responses

Gentle replies only. One thread deep, on purpose.

Sign in to respond.

Keeping the Number — 32 Oak Street