“The chicken lady,” he says impatiently. “The woman who sold us—”
“I know who you’re talking about. I just don’t know if she’d love being called a chicken lady.”
“Not the point,” he says, crouching in front of me as if he’s about to give me a pep talk, which he sort of does. “Stay with me, Al, okay? This is important.”
I rearrange my face into a more serious expression. “Okay.”
“So,” he says, shooting up again. His bare feet make shallow indents in the plush carpet as he walks back and forth in front of me. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that all day. Or obviously all night.”
“Itwasreally good chicken.”
“I’m not talking about the chicken, you ding-dong. I’m talking about the tip. It felt really good to be able do that for her, you know?”
“I bet,” I say with a smile, because I do know, of course I know, and it’s such a relief to see it in Teddy now too.
“And here’s the thing: it wasn’t just about the money. It’s that I got to hear her story, and I know exactly what that money could do for her. And the best part is that she had no idea. She wasn’t some jerk leaving a thousand messages asking me for cash, or my idiot teammates wanting handouts. And she wasn’t some big, faceless charity—”
“Yeah,” I say before he can go on, aware of the defensive note in my voice, “but big, faceless charities get money to small, helpless people.”
Teddy holds up his hands. “I know,” he says. “I do. They obviously do amazing work. But ever since I got this money, I’ve been having a hard time getting excited about a cause. Because I know I’m supposed to give a bunch of it away—”
I raise my eyebrows.
“And I alsowantto,” he adds quickly. “I mean, this is more money than I ever dreamed of. And more than I know what do with. And besides…” He sits down next to me with a smile. “You’re the one who bought the ticket, and I know how important this stuff is to you. So of course I want to use it to help people. Of course.”
I nod, my heart swelling, because this is what I’ve been waiting to hear, and I was starting to doubt it would ever come. “So what’s the idea?”
“I want to give it to people like her. People who need it but aren’t expecting it. Can you imagine what her face must’ve looked like when she saw all that money? I would’velovedto see that. I know it’s not life-changing the way other things can be. But there’s something pretty cool about giving people a boost when they need it, just a little here and there to make their lives easier.”
“Random acts of kindness,” I say, and he smiles.
“Exactly.”
It seems obvious now that he’s saying it. Teddy is a people person; he lives for connection and thrives on being around others. He wants everyone around him to be happy—he always has—and now that he’s armed with such a crazy amount of money, that instinct could actually make a real difference.
I think again about that woman, and how unlikely it was that we’d be the ones to step up to her booth at just that moment, when so many people probably could’ve used a helping hand in that crowd and so few were probably in a position to offer it.
As soon as the thought flashes across my mind I feel a quick spark of excitement.This could work,I think, struck by the possibilities of it, the potential. Because right then it doesn’t feel the way it so often does, like an inheritance or a legacy.
It feels like something closer to magic.
“So?” Teddy asks, sitting down with a hopeful expression. “What do you think?”
“I think,” I say quietly, “that it’s brilliant.”
His face lights up. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“But?”
“But it would be a lot of work,” I say. “A lot to figure out. It couldn’t just be you wandering around giving out really big tips.”
“I know,” he says, though the way he says it, so uncertainly, I can tell that’s exactly what he had in mind. “I haven’t worked everything out yet.”
“Right,” I say, nodding. “Like, would you have a team out there looking for people, or would they write in to ask for help? And would it be a nonprofit? Would all the donations come from you, or would you make it a foundation so others could get involved too? And would—”
“I don’t know,” he says, slightly irritable now. “I literally just thought of this tonight.”
