 Elsie, Eddie s friend from the building, has sneaked into his room looking for refuge. She asks Eddie not to tell anyone she s there, and to be helpful to his friend, he tries to keep everyone out of his room to protect Elsie s sanctuary. Eddie figures that Elsie needs help, so with some hints, Eddie infers to Tom that Elsie is hiding in his room. After Tom talks to her, she tells him the reason for her running away: she found out that she s adopted, and her parents do not yet know that she knows. She found out by prying open her father s "secret box" where he keeps all his important papers. Elsie puts it into Eddie s head that perhaps he too is adopted and that Tom is hiding such information in his own secret box. Tom indeed does have a secret locked box in his desk. Elsie preys on Eddie s fears and convinces him to break into the box. Mrs. Livingston catches Eddie and Elsie in the act. Eddie and Tom ultimately have a discussion about what is hiding in his secret box. To be open to his son, Tom tells Eddie where the key is as well as what is in the box: a bunch of run of the mill papers such as insurance, but also what Tom calls his life miracles. The latter includes his marriage certificate, a wedding photo, and Eddie s birth certificate. Adopted or not, Eddie and Elsie understand that their respective parents love them. Eddie tells Tom that he too has a secret box, and because of Tom s openness, Eddie no longer wants to keep his a secret. Included within Eddie s box is an old discarded possession of Tom s. Seeing this, Tom thinks it s time for Eddie to have a personal possession of his mother s to keep in his secret box: a chain and locket.