I thanked Hannah, said good-by and took the elevator to the first floor. As I stood at the door, the guard asked, “Was the old lady able to help you?”

 I told him she had given me a lead.“ At least I have a last name. But I probably won’t pursue it further for a while.” I explained that I had spent almost the whole day trying to find the wallet’s owner.

While we talked, I pulled out the brown-leather case with its red- lanyard lacing and showed it to the guard. He looked at it closely and said, “Hey, I’d know that anywhere. That’s Mr. Goldstein’s. He’s always losing it. I found it in the hall at least three times.”

“Who’s Mr. Goldstein?” I asked. “He’s one of the old-timers on the eighth floor. That’s Mike Goldstein’s wallet, for sure.He goes out for a walk quite often.”

I thanked the guard and ran back to the director’s office to tell him what the guard had said. He accompanied me to the eighth floor. I prayed that Mr. Goldstein would be up.

“I think he’s still in the day room,” the nurse said. “He likes to read at night...a darling old man.”

We went to the only room that had lights on, and there was a man reading a book. The director asked him if he had lost his wallet. Michael Goldstein looked up, felt his back pocket and then said, “Goodness, it is missing.”

“This kind gentleman found a wallet. Could it be yours?”

The second he saw it, he smiled with relief. “Yes,” he said, “that’s it. Must have dropped it this afternoon. I want to give you a reward.”

“ Oh, no thank you,” I said. “But I have to tell you something. I read the letter in the hope of finding out who owned the wallet.”

The smile on his face disappeared. “You read that letter?”

“Not only did I read it, I think I know where Hannah is.”

He grew pale. “Hannah? You know where she is? How is she? Is she still as pretty as she was?”

I hesitated.

“Please tell me!” Michael urged. “She’s fine, and just as pretty as when you knew her.”“Could you tell me where she is? I want to call her tomorrow.”

He grabbed my hand and said, “You know something? When that letter came, my life ended. I never married. I guess I’ve always loved her.” “Michael,” I said. “Come with me.” The three of us took the elevator to the third floor. We walked toward the day room where Hannah was sitting, still watching TV. The director went over to her.

“Hannah,” he said softly. “Do you know this man?” Michael and I stood waiting in the doorway¹.She adjusted her glasses, looked for a moment, but didn’t say a word. “Hannah, it’s Michael. Michael Goldstein. Do you remember?” “Michael? Michael? It’s you!”

He walked slowly to her side. She stood and they embraced. Then the two of them sat on a couch, held hands and started to talk. The director and I walked out, both of us crying.

“See how the good Lord works,” I said philosophically². “If it’s meant to be. it will be.” Three weeks later, I got a call from the director who asked. “Can you break away on Sunday to attend a wedding?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Yup, Michael and Hannah are going to tie the knot!”

It was a lovely wedding, with all the people at the nursing home joining in the celebration. Hannah wore a beige dress and looked beautiful. Michael wore a dark blue suit and stood tall. The home gave them their own room, and if you ever wanted to see a 76- year-old bride and a 78-year old groom³ acting⁴ like two teenagers, you had to see this couple.

A perfect ending for a love affair that had lasted nearly 60 years.