Three weeks later, I got a call from Ellsworth & Park.
"Ms. Vance," said Eloise Marsh, in a voice that had been carefully assembled, "we would like to offer you a full apology for the incident in October, along with a written statement and a credit for the full value of the item in question."
"That won't be necessary," I said. "The item was never mine."
"We would also like to inform you that we have terminated the regional director who handled the situation and revised our identity verification procedures."
I thought about the store, the gray Saturday afternoon, the woman with my face on an iPad screen. I thought about how close I had come to just leaving, to letting them keep my coat and my name and my silence.
"I don't want store credit," I said. "I want a donation made to the Vance
