Give As You Receive

He almost didn't see the old lady stranded on the side of the road. But even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of herr Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.

Despite the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe; he looked poor and hungry.

He could see she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was a chill which only fear can put in you. He said: "I'm here to help you, ma'am. Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm? By the way, my name is Bryan."

Well, all she had was a flat tyre, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car to look for a place to put the jack; he skinned his knuckles once or twice. Seen he was able to change the tyre. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.

As he was tightening the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She was from St Louis and was just passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid. Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. She asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been alright with her. She had imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped.

Bryan never thought twice about money. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were many who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way. He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, Bryan added, "...and think of me." He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed home, disappearing into the twilight.

A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy-looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The cash register was like the telephone of an out-of-work actor - it didn't ring much.

The waitress came over and brought a clean towel for her to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet the whole day couldn't erase. The lady noticed the waitress was heavily pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan.

After she finished her meal, and the waitress had gone to get change for her hundred dollar bill, the lady slipped out through the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress was wondering where the lady could have gone when she noticed something written on the napkin, under which was four $100 bills. There were tears in her eyes as she read what the lady had written:

"You don't owe me anything...I have been there too. Somebody helped me out, the way I'm helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you can do: Do not let this chain of love end with you."

Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home and climbed into bed, she thought about the money and the lady's words.

How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard. She knew how worried her husband had been.. As he lay sleeping beside her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low: "Everything's going to be all right. I love you, Bryan."

There is an old saying: "What goes around comes around."

Sent to Starmag by Daphne Eng