We stopped dining out on Friday nights, bought store brands at the supermarket, and placed every crisp twenty-dollar bill into an unmarked envelope.

We hid the cash inside a clean freezer bag behind two packages of frozen green peas in the basement refrigerator.

Noah never suspected a single thing during that long year of quiet penny-pinching.

When his twelfth birthday finally arrived, Owen and I carried a heavy, velvet-lined hardshell case into the living room.

Noah stared at the latches for nearly half a minute before his trembling fingers managed to flick them open.

I will cherish the look on his face for the rest of my days on this earth.