I was seven months pregnant, exhausted, and broke when I first saw him—the frail old man with sad eyes, hunched shoulders, and a scruffy dog that clung to his side as if it were his only tether to the world.
That day had already drained me. My back ached, every step across the grocery store felt like climbing a hill, and the list in my hand mocked me with more items than I could afford. My husband, Tyler, had been laid off, and my part-time call center job barely covered rent. Every dollar mattered.
