Page 76 of Even After This
“I didn’t come all this way to miss the fun part. Let’s do this.” After unloading the final container, he moves the cart aside and closes the back of my SUV. “But I am going to need some help maneuvering this thing.” He shifts his hands to the right side of the cart’s push bar and nods at the open spot he created for me.
“Wow, you really are a good actor. Your movies make you seem so strong and manly. I didn’t realize you’re such a wimp.”
Harlan’s gaping mouth turns into a knowing grin. “Yup.” He shoves my shoulder with his. “Poor little ol’ me needs some help.”
Once we enter the store and approach the Coinstar machine, the anticipation takes over. I clap my hands and rub them together. “Are you ready?”
He chuckles. “I think so.”
Our two-person system works well. He pours the coins on the metal shelf, and I put my hands on them to even the layers out as they slide into the machine. The raining coins clink melodiously down the shaft. As our treasure falls, the digital display tallies our bounty.
Turning to Harlan, I nod in the direction of the total. “What did I tell you? Isn’t this fun to watch?”
His intense gaze doesn’t leave mine. “Yes. It is.”
I gulp and turn back to pluck at coins lodged in the crevice.
About three-fourths of the way through, I cannot believe what I’m seeing. I jump up and down on my toes. “Stop. Stop dumping coins.”
Harlan pulls back the jar in his hands. “What is it? Are you okay?”
“This is amazing.” I reach into the pile of change lined up forthe chute to oblivion. “Look!” I shove a silver hoop earring in his face.
“An earring?” Harlan scratches a spot above his eyebrow.
“I’ve been looking for this earring for five months. Do you know what a find this is?” I draw the earring up and survey the damage. A little polish will go a long way.
Harlan squints. “Meredith, you’re acting like you won the lottery.”
I glance around, and sure enough, an older couple at the customer service desk is staring at us. The coin machine happens to be next to the lotto machine.
“I did win the lottery. It’s my lost earring.”
The woman at the service desk holds up her phone and takes a picture of Harlan and me.
“That woman just captured you trading in coins for cash,” I say, “and I’m a little worried that picture is going to go viral with some post about a destitute actor collecting coins.”
He glances at the woman and back to me. “Good. Keeps them guessing. Tell me more about this earring.”
I hold it close to his face. “I thought I was losing my mind. I couldn’t find this earring anywhere. I never replaced it because I refused to believe it was gone.”
I rub it with my shirttail while Harlan finishes processing the coins. As I float on the clouds of my earring victory, we take our receipt from the machine to the customer service desk.
“I can’t believe it. Can you believe it?” Gliding to the car, I cradle the treasured jewelry in my hand.
He opens my car door for me. “Sweetheart, how much did that earring cost you?”
“Well, the pair was $20.” I hold it out for him to take another look at my precious commodity. “So not cheap.”
He glances down at the earring. “Uh-huh.”
“What?” I ask as he closes my door.
He rounds the car and gets into the passenger seat. “Refreshing.”
I put the key in the ignition and start the car. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“We just traded in coins for $527.45 worth of cash. Mind you, not a shabby amount. But you are doing the happy dance because you found the lost half of earrings costing $20. A pair you refused to replace five months ago when you noticed it was gone.”
