You know, 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 her Mercedes and
got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.
Even with 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 that she was frightened, standing out
there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that 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 tire, but for an old
lady, that was bad enough.
Bryan crawled under the car looking for a
place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to
change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.
As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled
down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St.
Louis and was only just passing through.
She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her
aid. Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk.
She asked him how much she owed him. Any
amount would have been all right with her. She had already imagined all the awful
things that could have happened had he not stopped.
Bryan never thought twice about the money. This was
not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were
plenty 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 that they needed, and 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 for
home, disappearing into the night.
A few miles down the road the lady saw a small
cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, 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. Her waitress came over and brought a clean
towel to wipe her wet hair.
She had a sweet smile, one that even being on
her feet for the whole day couldn't erase.
The lady noticed that the waitress was nearly
eight months 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 the lady finished
her meal, and the waitress went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, the
lady slipped right out the door.
She was gone by the time the waitress came back.
She wondered where the lady could be, then she noticed something written on the
napkin under which was 4 $100 bills.
There were tears in her eyes when she read
what the lady wrote. It said: "You don't owe me anything, I have been there
too. Somebody nice helped me out, the way I'm helping you. If you really want
to pay me back, here is what you 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 from work and climbed
into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How
could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it?
With the baby due next month, it was going to be
hard. She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next
to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered, everything's gonna be all right; I
love you, Bryan."
