How Two Extra Jobs and Forty Thousand Dollars Bought the Old Miller Farm

The envelope is thin and light.

At my desk job at the county hospital, I handle check stubs, payment vouchers, and property receipts every single day.

A cashier’s check has a stiff weight to it, but this envelope bends easily under my fingers.

I slide my thumb under the seal and pull out the folded card inside.

It isn’t a check.

It’s a bluebird greeting card with two shiny glittered birds printed on the front.

I turn the envelope over twice, checking the empty corners in case a check stub or a folded check had slipped down into the bottom seam.