My Brother’s Wallet

Recently I met up with some of my family in Tucson, Arizona. The mix included my younger brothers and sister. Anyone who has read my life-inspired novel, Tiger Drive, knows that my love for my three younger siblings motivated me during a time in my life when I needed motivation the most. When I was a teen, they were the reason I believed in a brighter future and pushed on. They are the reason I went to college—even when I was scared to death to leave them behind. They were—still are—my hope.

It’s rewarding being a big sister to three loving, kind, nurturing, and hysterically funny people despite their not-so-loving, not-so-kind, not-so-nurturing, and not-so-funny childhood.

Case in point (no pun intended): my brother K’s wallet.

On my last night in Tucson, we ordered a million pizzas at my brother and sister-in-law’s AirBNB. As we cleared the table, I picked up a … thing … wrapped in Duct tape. The object had been seriously repaired, over and over, with silver tape—very MacGyver-like. It was bulky, awkward, and it was my brother’s wallet.

I asked him, “And you’re saving this wallet because …?”

He explained that his lifetime partner, the love of his life (rightly so because she is fantastic), made the wallet for him twenty years ago. Summary: He will not give up his current wallet until she makes him a second one.

He clarified, “But I’ll always keep the first picture she gave me.” Nestled inside the Duct tape wallet, tattered and aged, is a picture of her that he has carried for multiple decades.

My heart about burst. His heart! His huge, loving heart! I gently set the Duct tape, priceless wallet down.

Do you have a story about a family member you can share? I’d love to read one.

Thanks for being you.

Teri

Click here to learn more about my novel, Tiger Drive