For six months, thirteen-year-old Evan told me he was saving every paycheck for a mountain bike. I believed him, even though the bike never appeared. Then he started hiding his pay envelopes and becoming unusually quiet whenever I asked how much he had saved. I assumed he was simply being a teenager until his diner boss, Cal, called me one afternoon and asked a question that made my stomach drop: “Do you know what he does with every paycheck?” I immediately drove to the diner, expecting to discover something terrible.

Instead, I found Evan arguing with Cal while clutching his newest paycheck. Evan insisted he owed him money, but Cal refused to take it. The owner explained that Evan had kept only one paycheck during six months of work. Then I saw what Evan had been hiding—a bus map covered with circles, addresses, and dollar amounts. The places included a tire shop, a barber, a grocery store, and several addresses connected to people who had once helped our family after Jeremy died…