The Walkie-Talkie That Exposed Everything I Gave Away

Through the thin wall, I heard Lila calling him home. We live right next door to each other in Skyridge Apartments—same hallway, same familiar creaks in the floorboards. Five years ago, when Lila was pregnant with Max, I helped them buy that place. I still remember how my hands shook when I signed the cheque.

“So our boy can grow up close to his grandma!” both Thomas and Lila had said with tears in their eyes. I gave them $40,000 from my retirement savings. It was a painful amount, but I didn’t hesitate.

I believed then that being close to family mattered more than money could ever measure. Most evenings, you’ll find me in the back of Murphy’s Diner, wrists deep in hot, soapy water. My hands are always cracked and raw, but bills don’t stop coming, not even for a second.