It was an early Monday morning in the Bay Area. I was flipping up pancakes on my little stove and piled a tall stack of them on a plate. When the batter in my mixing bowl was out, I called my kids for breakfast. In a rush, they sprinted to the messy dining table that was covered with yesterday’s mail and the last two months’ bills. I placed their share of pancakes on the table and we all devoured our breakfast in just a few minutes. After I cleaned up, I checked my watch and pushed my kids out the front door with their backpacks and lunches.
     “Don’t be late for school!” I yelled as they met at the corner with their friends to walk to school. Right when I shut the door, I heard my phone buzzing in my back jean pocket.
     “Hello?” I answered.
     “Ummmm…. is this Dr. K?”
     “Yes, who may I ask is this?”
    “This is the chief of the Nor Cal Police Department, and I am calling to inform you that your optometry practice has been robbed late last night.”
     Thoughts were racing through my head. Business at my practice hasn’t been doing so well for the last couple months. Now that eye glasses and contacts can be bought on the internet, I’ve been losing patients. If this kept up, my business would be closed down for sure. I was already behind on bills, and I had three kids to take care of. I didn’t need another thing on my mind.
     “What was stolen?” I managed to ask.
     “Oh, well… just a few pairs of glasses. I don’t think you have too much to worry about.”
     “Oh, ok, I’ll be there soon,” I sighed with relief. I was just panicking for no reason, or so I thought.

     When I arrived at my practice, I saw the police wrapping bright neon caution tape around the small office building that was surrounded by bright orange cones. I shut the door of my car and saw an officer approach me.
     “Ma'am? Are you Dr. K?”
     “Yes.” It was the police chief. I continued, “Are you looking for the thief right now?”
     “My team and I are working on it. It may take some time, but the security camera got a glimpse of the robber’s face. We’ll see what we can do.”
     That didn’t seem to convince me.
     “So... can I see the damage?” I asked him. He led me to through the back door.
     When I entered, I saw officers sweeping up the shattered glass that laid across the floor into a small dustpans. Others started pounding a wooden board across the doorframe. I noticed that all the expensive sunglasses that used to be in its display cases were gone, but that seemed to be it. I guess the chief was right, not a lot was stolen.
      I was still observing the damage, and I slowly walked behind the front desk. To my surprise, I saw all my drawers open and a bunch of papers that scattered the floor. I crouched down to collect the fallen papers and  glanced up. The desktops were empty. It was like I stumbled across my worst nightmare.
     The computers were stolen.
     The computers had all my patients’ information on it and it was easy to access. If the thief was smart, he would sell or use the identities to hack into their private information. This would close my business down for sure. No one would want to come to an office that had identities stolen. A couple of stolen glasses seemed like nothing compared to this. If I didn’t find this thief, I would have to close up and find a new way to support my family. Just thinking of that added more fuel to my fire. I had my mind set on finding this thief and nothing would get in my way.

     Frustrated, I headed back home and sat on a nearby chair by the kitchen table. I grabbed my laptop and opened the screen. My eyes were glued on the screen. My fingers were scrolling up and down to find computers that were on sale.  Once an hour passed, I heard the door swing open.
     “Mom! We’re home!” My kids came back from school. They walked in, dropped their bags on the floor and came to see me sitting in my chair looking tired and lost.
     “Are you okay? What happened?” they asked.
     I sighed, and I told them all about my morning. My daughters had a shocked and sad look on their face and immediately began spitting questions at me.
     I tried my best to answer all of them, and finally, when I began feeling dizzy, I said, “If the police don’t find the thief, I don’t know how I can pay for this house and take care of you.”
     “That’s okay, we know they’ll find him,” they encouraged. And they walked out of the room. I could hear them whispering in the back, wondering if I’ll be okay.
     I kept thinking to myself, “It’s okay. It will all be better once we catch the bad guy.”
     Then I received another phone call.
     “Dr. K?”
     “Yes, that’s me. Uh, is this the chief?”
     “Yes, and um, this time I have some good news.” I became anxious.
     He continued, “We know you were looking for the computers, and we are too. We are also very concerned about identity theft. With our new technology, we found the thief. Unfortunately, we are going to need more proof that he’s the robber for the judge, so we organized you to meet with him to retrieve the computers. You’ll be posing as a curious buyer who is willing to buy the computers. We’ll give you the details tomorrow.”
     I hung up and a huge smile spread across my face.
     The next day, I met the officers at their headquarters. The chief led me into a big meeting room. There was a large oval table guarded with black leather swivel chairs. I took a seat. The chief clapped his hands together to focus everyone’s attention and started the meeting.
     “So, you’re going to meet this guy at around 8:00 tonight. Ask him for the details for the computer, including the price. Uh….” he flipped through his notes. “When you feel the meet is over, just say the code words, ‘We have a deal.’ and then the officers and I will move in for the arrest.”
     The chief continued to talk and give us more information. He gave me so many details that all I could do was nod in agreement. I was so excited, but nervous at the same time. What if it doesn’t go well? Will I be able to keep my practice? Questions were filling my head, but I knew the only way to get answers was to see how it all went tonight.

     That evening, I shut the front door of my house and left my kids with the neighbors. I was ready. The chief told me to go to Fifth and John street to meet the thief. The officers hooked me up with a mic earlier so they can hear my conversation. As I pulled up to the curb, I spotted a figure dressed in dark colors leaning against a wire fence. I found myself surrounded by dead grass and old, abandoned brick buildings. The area seemed kind of shady and I felt uncomfortable being here. I slammed the door of the car as I felt a strong gust of wind blow by. Butterflies filled my stomach.
     “Just get it over with and everything will fine. Nothing bad is going to happen,” I thought to myself.
     I walked to the person against the fence. He was covered head to toe in black, and I was surprised I even saw him.
     “Uh, are you the one selling the computers?” I asked nervously.
     “Yeah, and you’re the one buying them.” he replied. He had a deep voice that gave me chills on the back of my neck.
     “Yes. Let’s make this quick, how much do you want for the computers?”
     “Fifteen hundred dollars.” he said.
     “Whoa. Why so expensive?” I said, trying to act shocked.                                                                              
     The thief lowered his voice so I can barely hear him. “There are people’s identities on them. Believe me, you can make a lot of money with these things. 
     I widened my eyes. “Really?”
     “Dead serious.” he replied showing a slim smile. 
     “Ok,” I shrugged, “We have a deal.”
     At that moment, the police officers came rushing in from their hiding spots.
     “Put your hands behind your back!” the chief yelled.
     The thief had a  shocked look on his face and swore, but he still surrendered and obeyed.
     When the officers shoved the robber in the back seat of the car, the chief came up to me.
     “Thank you for helping us. We couldn’t have done it without you.”
     “No problem. And thank you, for finding him.” We shook hands and walked away.
     On my way home, I thought about what just happened.
     “Wow. I can’t believe I just did that.” I thought to myself.
     The next day, I opened up my practice. I didn’t do many exams, but throughout the day, I’ve been getting more and more appointments scheduled. By the end of the week, every slot for an exam was filled. Business was booming. Soon, all my bills were paid for and I had another thing off my hands. I guess people heard what happened that night.
     On Saturday morning, I was making pancakes again for breakfast and I began to think. If the thief didn’t break in, my business probably would’ve closed down anyway. But because he did break in, I had the opportunity to find him and get my practice back. Now that everything is recovered, I could care for my family and my business. It was then that I realized that I should be thankful that the robber stole the two computers, because if he didn’t, I could be living on the streets raising three kids. Now, I am more appreciative for the opportunities I have and I don’t take anything for granted.