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There on the coffee table stood a bunch of flowers in a vase And against it leaned an envelope She looked back at Steve, surprised "But it’s not my birthday"

"I know Go on, open the envelope"

She took it and pulled out the card inside When she unfolded it, a piece of paper fell out She caught it A check For fifty thousand dollars

In disbelief, she stared at her brother "What is this?"

"The money you lent me"

Her heart beat faster "But you need that For the loan shark What if he--"

"He waived my debt"

"What?" Had she heard correctly? "That’s iave me my IOU back and told me the debt is repaid"

She shook her head "But that’s not possible So like that doesn’t just happen out of the blue"

"Apparently it does Maybe he realized that it was unfair to demand the money back from me since it wasn’t ood word for me" He pointed to the check in her hand "So I won’t need your money anymore I don’t kno to thank you You’re always there for me when I need you"

She put her ars are for"

"And so you know that I’m not as much of a loser as you always think, I’ve taken your words to heart and gotten a real job"