A boy who lives alone with his hard-working single mother finds a wallet filled with money. He returns it to the address he finds in it and it changes his life.
Jimmy Weston used to dream he’d find a $100 bill on the sidewalk while walking home from school. He’d take that bill and run home and give it to his mother just to watch the worry smooth away from her face.
Of course, Jimmy was just 10 and he didn’t realize that $100 wasn’t nearly enough to make the life of a single mom who juggled two jobs any easier, but his heart was in the right place.
One day, his dream came true — almost.
Jimmy was crossing Gillespy Street and wondering if he could slip out later to Hal’s house to play video games when he noticed something had fallen into the gutter by the sidewalk.
He stooped down and picked up an old brown leather folding wallet, the kind old people used to carry around. He looked around, but he couldn’t see anyone to whom the wallet might belong, so he flipped it open.
Honesty is the greatest of virtues.
“Holy MOLY!” cried Jimmy, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. There was a lot of money in the wallet, loads of $100 bills! He hurriedly tucked the wallet in his backpack and ran off to Hal’s house straight away.
“Look!” whispered Jimmy, and he pulled out the wad of cash. The two boys counted it and it came to $1,700.
“That’s a lot!” said Hal, whose parents were doing quite well, “That could really help your mom!”
But by then Jimmy was busy looking onto the other compartments and he found an ID and a photo of a cute Scottish terrier. He read on the ID: Heather Finnegan, Forman Road, 33…
“Hey,” said Jimmy. “That’s just around the corner! This belongs to one of those old ladies who have tea at the café on Gillespy Street! She’s probably this really poor pensioner. She needs the money more than I do.”
“Listen, Jimmy,” Hal said. “If you didn’t know the woman’s name you couldn’t take it back. Couldn’t you just pretend…”
“NO!” cried Jimmy. “I couldn’t. My mother said you can lie to the whole world, but you can’t lie to yourself, and you can’t lie to God. I’m taking this back.”
Jimmy set off for Forman Street, and before long, he was knocking on the door of #33. A slender old lady on a walker opened the door. “Yes?” she asked. “What is it?” Behind her, a dog peeked out and gave Jimmy a friendly grin.
“Hi,” Jimmy said, holding out the wallet. “Are you Miss Finnegan? I think this is yours.”
“Oh my goodness!” cried the woman. “Where did you find it?”
“It was in the gutter on the corner of Gillespy and Horton,” Jimmy explained. “You must have dropped it.”
Miss Finnegan shook her head. “It’s Bob!” she exclaimed. “It’s so hard to take him out for walks with the walker, and he jumps around so much! That’s how I dropped it…” Miss Finnegan opened her wallet and reached in to pull out a $100 bill.
“You are a good honest boy, and I want you to have this as a reward,” she said, handing the boy the money. But Jimmy put his hands behind his back and stepped back from the door, blushing furiously.
“No M’am!” he cried. “I don’t want a reward for doing what’s right!”
Miss Finnegan, who was a shrewd woman even if she was 85, quickly noticed Jimmy’s scuffed shoes and his carefully mended clothes. She said gently, “What’s your name?”
“Jimmy Weston,” he said.
“Well, Jimmy Weston, if you can’t accept money, how about some chocolate milk and cookies?” Miss Finnegan suggested. Jimmy accepted and while he was busy eating, Miss Finnegan was busy extracting every last detail of his life.
By the time Jimmy finished his cookies, he and Bob were the best of friends and Miss Finnegan had an idea. “Listen,” she said. “I’m getting too old to take Bob for his walks, so how would you like to do that for me? I’ll pay you for it. $100 a week and you walk Bob every day.”
Jimmy was delighted and he immediately agreed. “I’ll have to ask my mom,” he said. “And she’ll probably want to come to talk to you — she’s one of those moms! — But I’d love to!”
Jimmy’s mom did come to see Miss Finnegan and the two women liked each other immensely and became close friends. One day, when Mrs. Weston was visiting, Miss Finnegan said, “Listen, Rachel (that was Mrs. Weston’s name), I’m on my last legs and I need help.
“I could bring in a caregiver to sleep here in case I feel ill during the night, or you and Jimmy could move out of that awful little apartment and come live with me. The house is huge and empty, you’d save on the rent and I’d pay you…”
Mrs. Weston shook her head firmly. “Heather,” she said, “if you need help, I’m here for you, and saving on the rent would be great, but I don’t want your money.” Miss Finnegan looked at her and smiled.
“Alright, Rachel,” she said. “Whatever you say.”
Two weeks later, Jimmy and Mrs. Weston moved into Miss Finnegan’s house and everyone was very happy, especially Bob who now had two new full-time playmates.
When Miss Finnegan passed away peacefully two years later, Jimmy and Mrs. Weton were grief-stricken. They had grown to love the old lady, but they were in for a final surprise. Miss Finnegan had left them the house, Bob, and her life’s savings in the amount of $1.8 million.
From that day on, Jimmy and his mother never had to worry about money again.