The couple did not stiff me because the world is cruel.

They stiffed me by accident, in the middle of trying to hand me a fortune, because they got spooked and fled and fumbled the delivery.

The injustice and the gift were the same event, seen from two sides, twelve hours apart.

If they had not panicked, if they had left the file and the tip on the table as planned, I would have found a binder and four hundred dollars and been merely confused.

Because they panicked and dropped it behind the booth instead, I first lost my money and my dignity, and only the next morning gained everything.