“I discovered his secret when I spotted him struggling to haul heavy shopping sacks down the sidewalk one afternoon, knowing full well his monthly pension check had already been spent on medication,” I said.

“He broke down in tears on my porch, confessed that he had been taking food from the store without paying, and begged me to protect Rebecca from ever finding out.”

Rebecca was weeping openly in the gallery now, holding her slumbering boy against her collarbone while shaking her head at the elderly man she had tried so hard to protect.

“Clarence, you foolish wonderful man, I never wanted you to put yourself in danger for us,” Rebecca sobbed from the wooden pews.