Why does Reza say 'the truth was complicated' rather than explain the coat?

The coat was borrowed from a shelter and the story is hard to tell quickly (The coat was borrowed from a man at the shelter, a story too involved to share with the receptionist.)

What does Reza realize the gift truly was?

Permission to be seen as deserving of a chance (He understands it was 'permission to be seen as someone worth a chance,' not about the wool.)

Here, 'resolved' most nearly means

firmly decided (Reza 'resolved' that the coat would go back and he would pay the kindness forward, meaning he made a firm decision.)

According to the story, what did the man at the shelter say when he gave Reza the coat?

A person walks taller in good wool (The man pressed the coat into Reza's arms, "saying a person walks taller in good wool," words Reza later understands were about dignity, not warmth. The thirty years belong to the receptionist's father, not to the shelter man.)

The Borrowed Coat: Level 4 Reading Comprehension Questions

When Reza arrived at the interview, the receptionist glanced at his coat and her face softened into recognition. "That's a Dawson coat," she said. "My father wore one for thirty years." Reza only smiled and thanked her, because the truth was complicated.

The coat was not his. He had borrowed it that morning from a man at the shelter who had insisted, pressing it into his arms, saying a person walks taller in good wool. Reza had nearly refused.

Now, sitting in the warm lobby, he understood the gift was never about the wool at all. It was permission to be seen as someone worth a chance. He resolved that whatever came of the interview, the coat would go back that night, and one day, somehow, he would pass the same kindness forward.

Comprehension questions