One Kind Gesture

My mom taught us that one act of kindness can brighten a person’s day. “You never know what a kind gesture can mean to someone. Even something as simple as a smile or a ‘Hello’ can change someone’s entire day.” What she did not teach us was that a kind gesture can change someone’s entire life, maybe even save it.

Working part-time at a barbecue restaurant was not the most glamorous job but it gave me something to do after school and put money in my pocket. Plus, I got a fifty percent discount on my meals which was the best perk as a teenager. This restaurant had a drive-thru, walk-up and dine-in. The dine-in side was a cafeteria style order line. Customers would grab a tray and walk through a line where they would pick from a variety of foods that were laid out behind a glass barrier. My job was to serve the plates as they ordered and ring up the order on the register at the end of the line. Once they received their plates, they would move down the line to the register, picking up a dessert and a drink along the way.

One weekend, during my lunch shift, a woman in her late 40’s to early 50’s dressed in a gorgeous business casual pant suit came through my line. Her hair was an unnatural auburn color, curled to perfection and I could smell her department store perfume from my side of the food line. Her makeup looked as if she spent ours getting ready that morning. As she looked over her options and carefully chose each item to add to her plate, I couldn’t help but to wonder what it was that she did for a living. Did she work in a bank? Was she a secretary for some VP of some big company? Was she the VP of some big company? I even imagined myself with my own office, wearing heels and a pant suit everyday instead of the worn jeans and disgusting black slip resistant shoes that was part of my uniform.

“Let me have some of that brisket, a piece of sausage….hmmm… some of that potato salad, green beans… and… hash browns. Yeah, hash browns.” I tried to hide my astonishment as I added each item to the plate. “She’s so thin! Where does it all go?” I was impressed that she was ordering such a hearty meal. I passed her the plate and she moved down to desserts as I grabbed her drink and moved on to my register. When she finally reached my register, I saw that she added a slice of pie and some brownies to her tray.

“That will be $15.95 ma’am.” She did not look happy to me. Maybe she was having a bad day.

She began digging through her bag searching for her method of payment. With every second that passed, her panic grew. “Oh no. Oh no. No. No. No. No. No. Oh my gosh! I can’t believe this!” At that point, I knew she was not going to pull anything out of the bag. “I’m so sorry. I seem to have forgotten my wallet at home.” She looked so embarrassed to even have to tell me that she could not pay for her meal. “I’m not going to be able to take it after all.”

“It’s ok ma’am.” I reached into my pocket to pull out my own lunch money. “You don’t have to skip your meal today. It’s on me” I said with a smile.

“No, don’t do that…” the woman started.

“It’s ok. If you don’t eat it, I have to throw it away. I would much rather see you enjoy your meal than to see it go to waste.”

“Thank you so much!” Her face gleamed with happiness.

“Enjoy your meal ma’am” I said with a smile. She did. She sat there and enjoyed her meal, and her smile grew with every bite.

Months later, my manager called me away from my post at the drive-thru station and to the dine-in station. “You have some visitors” she said with a big smile.

I looked over the dine-in line and saw her. The woman I had helped a few months back. She was with a younger girl possibly in her 20’s and they both looked so happy to see me.

“Hello Stephanie. Do you remember me?”

“Yes ma’am, I do. How are you?” I replied.

“I am doing very well, thanks to you.”

“Thanks to me?” I was confused. What did she mean by that?

“Attention everyone. I want everyone to hear this,” she announced to my co-workers. “A few months ago, I came into this restaurant and ordered a meal from this young lady. When I got to the register, I realized I had forgotten my wallet at home and I wasn’t able to pay for my meal. BUT I did not go hungry that day because she pulled her own money from her pocket and paid my bill for me. I could not believe that a perfect stranger would do that to help someone. She truly restored my faith in humanity. But she did more than that. What no one knew was, I came into this restaurant to have my last meal. I was severely depressed and had planned to end my life that afternoon after I ate. Her kind gesture made me want to seek help from a professional.”

The young girl spoke up, choking back tears, “She saved my mom’s life that day.”

By the end of her story, the whole staff had tears rolling down their cheeks. I walked around the dine-in line and gave her a big hug. She then handed me a $20 bill and a small gift bag. “Here is the money I owe you for the meal and I got you a little something too. Thank you for being such a nice person.” She gave me one last hug and she walked out arm in arm with her daughter.