Seems to me Ben's been paying for his mistake for quite awhile now, and will continue to pay. (Which was what you were getting at, I'm guessing.) It makes sense that Ben would consider his emotional payment to be insufficient, since he's held his own feelings to be of little worth in every other respect. And the check is something he can still give. Besides, his wages are probably just piling up in the bank-he probably has very little else to spend them on, where he is.

Great job, very effecting. (OneTraveler goes to Memories to find something happy to read. Hmmm....Porn Challenge.)