I Tipped An Exhausted Waitress One Hundred Dollars Until I Found Something In My Takeout Box

counting money is unremarkable. The note was what stopped me.

I know it’s not the full amount, but this is all I have. I’m sorry, but I can’t do this anymore.

I read it twice. I set it down on the kitchen counter and looked at it from a short distance, as though the physical space would help me find the ordinary explanation I was trying to generate, continue reading …