“Mr. Bennett, please. I didn't know it was you.”
Thomas looked at him.
“That is precisely the problem.”
Daniel lowered his eyes.
Thomas continued.
“If you thought I was poor, you treated me like garbage.”
Daniel shook his head.
“That isn't what happened.”
Thomas pointed toward the plate on the floor.
“You called me trash.”
“I was angry.”
“You were cruel.”
“I didn't mean—”
“You meant every word.”
Daniel went silent.
Thomas turned toward Emily.
“How long have you worked here?”
“Six years.”
“Six years?”
She nodded.
“I started when I was nineteen.”
Thomas looked surprised.
“You were here when I was gone?”
“Yes.”
“Then you probably know more about this place than I do.”
Emily gave a nervous laugh.
“Maybe.”
Thomas smiled.
“Tell me something.”
“What?”
“Why did you give me the hot dog?”
Emily looked down.
“Because you looked hungry.”
Thomas waited.
“That's all?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“What else?”
Emily took a breath.
“My father used to sleep outside.”
Thomas said nothing.
“He lost his job when I was a kid,” she continued. “Then he lost our house. For almost a year, he lived on the streets.”
She looked at Thomas.
“People treated him like he was invisible.”
Her voice became quieter.
“One night, a waitress gave him a bowl of soup.”
Thomas listened.
“He told me that bowl of soup kept him alive long enough to get another job.”
She wiped a tear from her cheek.
“So when I see someone hungry, I remember him.”
Thomas looked at her for several seconds.
“What was your father's name?”
“Samuel.”
Thomas's expression changed.
“Samuel Carter?”
Emily froze.
“Yes.”
Thomas leaned back.
“I knew him.”
Emily stared.
“What?”
“He worked construction for me twenty years ago.”
She looked stunned.
“He did?”
Thomas nodded.
“Your father helped build the second dining room.”
Emily covered her mouth.
“I never knew.”
“He was a good man.”
Thomas smiled.
“He once told me that a person's character wasn't measured by what they had in their pockets.”
Emily looked at him.
“He said that?”
Thomas nodded.
“And I never forgot it.”
Daniel shifted uncomfortably.
Thomas turned toward him.
“Unfortunately, some people forget.”
Daniel's face tightened.
“I made a mistake.”
“No.”
Thomas stood.
“You made a choice.”
He walked toward the kitchen.
Emily followed.
The kitchen was spotless.
Too spotless.
Thomas opened a cabinet.