I looked at Caleb.
He explained that Martin had repaired the shoes that day without knowing whether Caleb could pay.
“Come back when you get the job,” Martin had told him.
And Caleb eventually did.
A few weeks later, he finally found work.Source Fabrics
His first paycheck wasn’t much, but he returned to Martin and paid for the repair.
Then he asked Martin to restore both shoes completely.
“Why?” I asked.
Caleb looked embarrassed.
“I wanted to wear them on our anniversary.”
“For what?”
He looked directly at me.
“To tell you the truth.”
I felt my chest tighten.
“You were going to tell me?”
He nodded.
“I was going to tell you everything. That I’d lost my job. That I’d been pretending. That I’d been terrified.”
Martin chuckled.
“He talked about confessing for twenty minutes.”
Caleb groaned.
“I was nervous.”
“You were exhausting,” Martin replied.
