Unexpected Kindness

Lucinda sat silently in the crowded gate area, a son on each side. They were encapsulated by grief. Lucinda felt guilty not staying with her husband, but they had to get back to work and he had to deal with the estate of his father. It is just more expedient to take care of some things in person. His sisters were of no help, they were too grief stricken, as if he had no feelings. Part of Lucinda had expected this, the man was well into his eighties, not quite a shock. The sisters were behaving as if he was struck down in his prime. Her own mother had been only sixty-seven when she died, that was a shock. What she would have given for just five more years with her, let alone seventeen more years. Those were all inside thoughts.

Memories of her mom took over her mind, she didn’t even realize that her son had gone off when he appeared in front of her with a treat. “Happy Mother’s Day, mom.” Both her sons embraced her and she started to cry a bit.

“I didn’t even realize it was Mother’s Day. Thank you, I love you both so much.”

“We knew you forgot with Gramp’s funeral and all, but we wanted you to know that we didn’t forget.” The boys exchanged a knowing look.

They were such good men, she was so grateful for them. She also hated that they lost their last grandparent. Christopher outwardly grieves while Patrick keeps it in. He’s the one that causes the most concern to her, those bottled up feelings tear him apart.

She checked her phone for the time and was getting a bit antsy wanting to board the plane and get home. As she did, she saw the gate agent make his way to the PA. Relieved she started to gather her things when she tuned in to what he was actually saying. Everyone quieted down to listen. He started by wishing all the travelling moms a very Happy Mother’s Day and he spoke of his own mom and how she brought him up to respect people, appreciate them and be grateful for what he has. His shoulders slumped as he shared that she was no longer with him. In her honor, he wanted to give every, single mom in the gate area a gift. He walked around with a huge duffle bag and a bucket full of roses. He went to every female and gave them a flower and the most beautifully wrapped small box from his duffle. It seemed as though he had an endless supply. When he got to Lucinda and handed her the box, she admired it. It had a satin ribbon tied perfectly, it was the kind of package you truly did not want to open for fear of spoiling its’ beauty. Lucinda looked into this generous man’s eyes. She took in all of his features.

“Your mom would be more than proud of you, how beautifully you have honored her. Your generosity means more to me than you could ever guess.” She hugged him and wished him a happy day as well. When she looked at her sons they too had tears in their eyes. They settled back in their seats.

Lucinda admired the rose and inhaled its’ comforting scent. The woman across from her dug right into her box. She was happy to find chocolates and popped one right into her mouth. Lucinda tucked her box into her carry on and smiled to herself thinking it would be a nice treat when she got home. Several minutes later they were boarding the plane for their journey home.

When they opened the front door, the house was dark and cold. Lucinda shrugged it off and plopped her bags down in the foyer. Patrick kissed her goodbye. “You good mom?”

“Yes, I’m good, go home.” Patrick half smiled, “Happy Mother’s Day, love you” and he bounded down the steps to his car. Christopher hugged his brother in the driveway, ran up to the door and kissed his mom goodbye.

“Love you mom, Happy Mother’s Day, sorry it has been such a crappy time. Maybe next year will be amazing and we will all take a great vacation together!”

“Sounds like a plan to me Chris, I would like to feel happy again.” She hugged him and he was off too.

Lucinda made a cup of tea, and drank it at the counter. She let all the thoughts of the past week wander through her brain as she sipped her tea. The funeral and how everyone waiting for her and Eddie to arrive to do everything. She couldn’t help but resent the sisters just a little for being incapable of doing anything without their brother. They literally just waited for him to arrive before they so much as made a call to the funeral home.

Lucinda had to set everything else up. Flowers, food, where they would host everyone afterward and hotel arrangements for the out of town family. The two sisters were absolutely useless and Lucinda was a little relieved that they would not have to visit as much as they did now.

Lucinda’s mind drifted back to the airport and that unbelievable act of kindness she experienced. She decided to write to the airline to let them know how amazing their employee was and how deeply she was touched by his kindness. That’s when she remembered the box. Should she really eat chocolate right before bed? She went to her bag to retrieve the box and set it on the counter. She decided to wait until tomorrow and went to bed.

In the morning she unpacked her bags and put on a load a laundry. She started going through the mail from the past week. Her neighbor was bringing it in and watering the plants. She divided the piles of junk mail and bills. She threw out the junk and placed the bills in date order and put them by her desk. She went into to the kitchen for something to eat and saw the box.

“I deserve a treat.” She reached for the box opened it, careful not to destroy the bow. As she removed the lid she was surprised by what she saw. There were no chocolates in this box, it held a little, black book. She removed it from the box and looked it over, front to back, top to bottom. The cover felt satiny like the bow, as if it was made from the finest material. Lucinda opened the cover, there were unlined pages within and writing as well. The first page was a beautiful quote:

Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly and most underrated agent of human change. Bob Kerry

Then there was just a number underneath. Twenty-three. Several pages later another quote:

Kindness begins with understanding we all struggle. Charles Glassman

Another number too. Forty-five. A few more pages another quote and another number.

The Earth laughs in flowers. Ralph Waldo Emerson Eleven.

When joy is a habit, love is a reflex. Bob Goff Forty-nine.

There were six in total. Lucinda examined the book more closely, each quote handwritten in perfectly swirly script. Each number written out in words. She wasn’t sure what she should make of it. She read the quotes over and over but could not figure out how the numbers related. She would show Eddie when he got home, see what he thought. She placed it in the drawer and left the kitchen. She turned back and retrieved it from the drawer and placed it in her purse. She couldn’t explain why, she just did it.

Weeks went by and life returned to relative normalcy. Her and Eddie were out to dinner and Lucinda was searching through her purse trying to find her hand sanitizer when she pulled the little, black book out.

“Oh my goodness, I forgot all about this.” She was handing it to Eddie.

“What is it?” Eddie started to flip through the pages and Lucinda told him the whole story.

“So, what do you think? Just random numbers? It was driving me crazy trying to figure out the significance of the numbers and how they correlate with the quotes. Eddie laughed. “Maybe they’re the lotto numbers, you should probably play them.” Lucinda snatched the book back. “Fine, don’t try. I am going to figure it out one day.”

Lucinda was in charge of picking up a coworker’s birthday gift and she stopped at the local card store. She was paying for her purchases when she saw the lottery machine. She pulled out the little black book, grabbed one of the tiny pencils and the number selection form. Page by page she filled in the numbers on her lottery card. She handed the card to the clerk along with the money. She checked the date for the game and went to work. two mornings later as Lucinda sipped her tea she looked up the lottery results on her phone. She compared them to the numbers she picked one by one.

This just can’t be right she thought, Lucinda could not believe her eyes. She matched one, then two, then three, four and finally five numbers. She was smiling ear to ear. She had no idea how much money she won because she was not in the habit of playing but she was so excited. She scrolled through the webpage to find the payout information.

She yelled out. “Holy Crap! Eddie, Eddie.” She was running through the house before she realized he left already. Lucinda ran back to the kitchen and could barely swipe to unlock it; her hands were shaking. She hit Eddie’s number and when he answered it she was shouting.

“$20,000, we just won $20,000, I can’t freaking believe this.” She was breathless.

Eddie held the phone away from his ear for his own protection. “What are you talking about hon?”

“I played the numbers from the little, black book and we freaking won Eddie, we WON!”

Eddie was the one shouting now, “no way, you actually played them?”

“I sure did. Pick up some Prosecco on your way home, we are having a celebration tonight.”

Her next call was to the boys. She told them that absolutely needed to come to dinner that night. They celebrated and made plans for their family vacation. Lucinda always wanted to rent this amazing lake house she had seen on one of those vacation rental sites for the summer, but it was really expensive. The cost was no longer a worry, this was the summer they were going.

Lucinda thought about the man from the airport again. She was determined to track him down, she had to not only thank him but ask him about the mysterious, little, black book. She had all the information she needed she thought. She had the flight number, date, airline, airport and time. How hard would it be? Impossible apparently. After numerous calls and emails, he could not be identified by any personnel. She described him in great detail from her memory, all to no avail. No one could identify the mysterious man.

Lucinda looked to the sky, “thank you.”

It was the greatest mystery as well as the greatest act of kindness she had experienced.