It is the face of the woman in the front rank of veterans — the one who lifted a gloved hand and wiped away a tear while Commander Hayes was speaking.

I never learned her name.

But I have thought about her a thousand times, because whatever Lucas did for her, or for someone she loved, it was enough that she put on a dress uniform and came to a stranger’s wedding and wept at the mention of it.

That is a kind of wealth my father could not have bought with all five of his dealerships.

You cannot purchase a person’s willingness to weep for you.

You cannot acquire, at any price, thirty people who will raise swords in your honor, or one who will get to a dock in the rain to save your escape.