Yesterday my daughter Baby Gurl called her dad in tears. She’d left her wallet on the bus. We were all worried, and when she asked if it would come back, I didn’t want to make her feel worse, so I said, “It’s probably gone.”
Later that evening we pulled up to the house and saw a young guy knocking on the door. The kids were excited and a little loud. I walked over and asked if I could help.
He said, “I’m looking for AK. I found her wallet on the bus and wanted to bring it back.” He added that everything was still inside—even the cash. He told me the same thing had happened to him a few weeks ago and he remembered how awful it felt.
I was so touched I pulled some money out of my pocket and tried to give it to him. We chatted a little more and he just kept being so kind, so I opened the wallet, took out the twenty dollars that was in there, and handed it to him too.
Turns out his name is Baxter, he’s nineteen, goes to school in New York, and—get this—he’s the son of one of my coworkers! Small world.
His kindness melted away all my usual doubts about people. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Perkins raised an amazing young man. He’s officially part of our family now, whether he likes it or not!