Having the Keys Doesn’t Mean You Own It

“I remember every one of them.”

His breathing had gone ragged.

And then he asked the question that proved he had understood nothing at all: “How much money do you actually have?”

I almost laughed.

Instead I felt only a tired sort of sadness.

“That stopped being any of your business,” I said, “the day you decided my worth was a matter of how much I needed from you.”

And I hung up.