A Deed for a Deed
I was traveling in my car from the south end of my state to the north end . I was going to help my sisters prepare for my father's funeral. He had died very unexpectedly at our family house, all alone. My heart was heavy. About midway through my journey, I stopped at a small town espresso stand to stretch my legs and get a vanilla latte to help me through the second half of my trip. After paying for the latte, I walked to my car but found I had locked my keys and phone inside the car. I was already feeling overwhelmed and scattered so this incident was more stressful for me than usual. I walked back to the shop and asked the girl behind the counter if I could use the phone to call a locksmith. A man who was stocking the supplies in the shop overheard my dilemma. It turns out, he was also the owner of the shop. As the locksmith worked, I saw that the two men exchanged a few words. It was clear that these two small town business owners knew each other. I was getting ready to pay the locksmith when the coffee shop owner came up, gave the locksmith a $20 gift certificate to the coffee shop and sent him on his way. Though these two men were aware they had done a good deed for a passer-by they didn't know just how much this gesture meant to me at that particular day and time.