I held it outside the pharmacy for only a moment, but in memory that moment has become a small, still place within a very loud and frightened year.

I remember the rain.

The awning.

The smell of the diner across the street.

I remember Walter asking whether I could spare the money, and I remember telling him he needed it more.

What I understand now is that we were both wrong about certain things that night.

He had enough money to buy his own soup.

I had more to offer the world than the balance in my pocket.