For 4 years, I picked up my sister’s kids from school for free. One day I was 37 minutes late, and she screamed at me in front of them: “Not with my children!” Then she shoved me out of her house. I stopped picking them up. 11 days later, the school called me. Then my sister called 6 times. I turned my phone face down.

Her forehead wrinkled.

“You didn’t?”

“No, sweetheart.”

“Then why did you do it?”

I thought about four years of memories.

Waiting outside the school.

Reading books in doctor’s offices.

Singing songs in the car.

Helping with homework.

Listening to stories about her friends.

Watching Caleb grow from a little boy into a confident nine-year-old.

I smiled through my tears.

**“Because I love you. Spending time with you was one of the happiest parts of my day.”**

Ruby looked at the jar.

“So you did it for free?”

“Yes.”

Caleb crossed his arms.

“I told you she loved us.”

Ruby seemed to consider that.

Then she wrapped her arms around my neck.

I hugged her tightly.

After a while, I asked,

“Can I keep the jar?”

She nodded.

“Of course!”

“But I want you to keep the money. Your dad has his first Wednesday dinner with you tonight. Maybe you can buy some taco shells.”