He helped our elderly neighbor Mr. Foster drag recycling bins to the curb.
He collected sticks from another neighbor’s yard after a storm.
He reorganized my pantry for two dollars, although his idea of organization involved putting cereal beside canned beans because both came in “tall containers.”
I thought he was saving for a toy.
Then he started refusing little things.
At the gas station:
“Want a juice?”
“No, thanks.”
At the grocery store:
“You can pick one candy.”
“I’m okay.”
When his grandmother, Linda, offered him five dollars to buy something at the school book fair, he said, “Can I save it instead?”
I was impressed.
I was also suspicious.
“What are you saving for?”
“Something.”
“What something?”
“A surprise.”
I smiled and let it go.
That turned out to be a mistake.
Caleb’s elementary school still allowed younger students to pay cash for lunch.
Each morning, I gave him four dollars.
