Washington

Her instincts always kick in when such situations arise. It's not in her DNA to stand by and do nothing when some young mother is in tears in a grocery shop, even if she privately rolls her eyes at people who think that cashless is the only way to do things.

As for the hotel, she doesn't have a second card as backup. She hates having to have the one, although she realizes that these days, it's better to have one that you don't like than none just to prove a point. But she knew that if it had been absolutely necessary, either our daughter or my sister would have found a way to put whatever they were doing on hold and go help her. If neither were available, a call to Dallas form me would quickly have our New York office scrambling to help her out. But I hate pulling rank like that. It neither their job nor their fault if my wife is in need of help and happens to be in town. "In case of emergency only" is our motto, and she solved it without hitting the panic button.