Erabaru.net. Rose burst into tears when an abusive shopkeeper shooed her out the door of a luxury department store. Just when he thought his day couldn’t get any worse, a man tapped the guard on the shoulder and took charge of the situation.
Rose stopped at the entrance of the department store. He was acutely aware of the shabby coat and the loose soles of his shoes, which were peeling from their uppers. Everyone who walks in or out of the store is nicely dressed with designer labels.
“I don’t belong here,” Rose muttered to herself.
The stares he received from the people who passed him showed that what he was thinking was correct. A man smirks and walks away. A woman wrinkled her nose and stepped aside as if Rose were rotting trash.
She sighed. He considered walking back to his car and driving away, but only for a moment. Mr. Rogers was waiting for him. He had never been late for an appointment in over sixty years and had no intention of starting one now. Rose walked to the automatic door and stepped inside.
The department store is huge! It reminded her of the barn where her late husband worked, but much fancier. He walked along the carpet path that led from the entrance. She stopped to admire the handbag when she heard someone scream.
Rose turned around and saw a security guard rushing towards her. Fear gripped his chest. Is there a robber in the store? Is he in danger? He looked around but saw no one who looked suspicious.
“You get out of here,” the guard said as he grabbed Rose’s arm.
“This is a high class place and your place is not here. Get out, tramp!”
Rose couldn’t believe her ears! Another shopper was watching them now, and Rose felt a blush on her face.
“Mr. Rogers invited me here,” he told the security guard as he led him back to the automatic door at the entrance.
The guard laughed. “I don’t know how a ragged bum like you knows that name, but I can’t fool you. Mister Rogers wouldn’t even wipe his shoes with trash like you.”
Tears came out of Rose’s eyes. No one had ever been so mean to him before. He wanted to stand up for himself, but what could he say when his clothes were so shabby? He does look like trash.
A hand appeared on the guard’s shoulder and tapped him hard enough to make the man flinch. The guard turned around, and Rose saw Mr. Rogers standing behind the guard.
“You’re fired,” Mr. Rogers said to the guard with a grim smile. “Anyone as ruthless as you are not welcome on my payroll.”
The guard and all the customers nearby watched in astonishment as Mr. Rogers walked up to Rose and apologized for the guard’s rudeness. He then took her hand and kissed her cheek.
“You deserve to feel like a queen in this store, because that’s who you are,” said Mr. Rogers.
A few days before…
Rose tried not to stare at the familiar young man standing in line beside her at the grocery store. However, she didn’t know where she recognized him from, so she kept glancing at the young man.
The young man turned around slightly and brushed his blond hair off his forehead. Rose saw a scar above her right eyebrow, and suddenly the pieces became one.
He reached into his wallet and pulled out a photo. In it, his late son stands beside one of his comrades in arms. The two of them were uniformed and put their arms around each other’s shoulders. Behind them, the Iraqi desert stretches to the horizon.
Rose looked at her son’s friend in the photo, then back at the man in line. He did this a few times before stepping aside to pat the man on the elbow.
“Excuse me.”
Rose held up the photo to show the man. “It’s you, isn’t it?”
Johnathan was lost in thought when he felt the woman tap his elbow. When she looked down, she was so shocked to see the photo that she dropped her shopping basket.
“Yeah, that’s me and Tristan. He’s my best friend there.” He took a closer look at the woman. “Who are you?”
He gave her a faint smile. “I’m Tristan’s mother.”
“Oh,” exclaimed Johnathan immediately holding his hand between his. “I am very pleased to meet you, ma’am. Your son is a great man. I still think about it every day.”
The woman pursed her lips and nodded. “Me, too. We all miss him very much.”
The cashier then called out to the woman, interrupting their conversation. There was so much more that Johnathan wanted to tell him. He watched as he packed several items onto the counter for the cashier to count them. Those items are mostly cheap and low quality.
She started counting change from her coin purse to pay for her groceries, and Johnathan suspected she was having a hard time financially. Her suspicions were confirmed when the woman asked the cashier to return the milk.
“I’ll pay for it,” Johnathan said, stepping forward and showing the cashier his card. The old woman objected, but she insisted.
Outside, Johnathan picks up the woman’s grocery bag. “I will bring this for you,” he said. “I am very happy to meet you today, ma’am. I was thinking about looking up Tristan’s family, but I’m not sure contacting you is a good idea.”
“Why?” The woman frowned at him. “And please, call me Rose.”
“Well, Rose, I feel like I have so much to say, but I don’t know how to say it.”
He struggled to remember as he followed Rose to his car. “The war… it was one of the worst times in my life and Tristan… I was with him when it happened.”
Rose gently placed her hand on his arm. “That must be terrible for you.”
“Yes. When my time was up, I couldn’t bear to go home. I traveled around South Asia, then the Philippines, Indonesia and Australia. Met some great people along the way, and some of them helped me feel more like the person I was before the war.”
Jonathan sighed. “I came back over a year ago and bought a business. I also started seeing a therapist. But what about you, Rose?”
“I’ve passed,” Rose said as she unlocked the trunk of an old car. “I moved in with my daughter-in-law to help her with the kids. He worked two jobs to provide for them. I don’t have much in this world, but I help as much as I can.” He smiled at her then. “I just wish Tristan could see his children grow up.”
“He’s so proud of his family,” Johnathan said softly. He took another look at Rose’s groceries and old car and knew he needed to do something for her.
“Will you join me for dinner next week?” he asked.
He suggested a restaurant he had found a few months ago. Rose’s eyes widened in surprise, and she shook her head.
“I can’t meet you there,” he replied. “I have nothing to wear to such a luxurious place.”
“Please Rose,” said Johnathan as he put the groceries into the trunk and held Rose’s hand.
“At least I owe you this much, for Tristan’s sake. I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for him.”
Rose frowned at him. “What do you mean?”
Johnathan lowered his head as the guilt he had worked so hard to overcome once again hit him. “Tristan died because of me.”
“That’s not true,” said Rose. “They said there was an ambush.”
Jonathan nodded. He told how the rebels appeared out of nowhere and attacked their convoy, of the bombs and screams that followed. The voices had been living in his nightmares ever since that day.
“Tristan dragged me from the vehicle. He found a building and looked after me, gave me first aid,” said Johnathan swallowing the lump in his throat. “He kept me alive, and when they surrounded us… he fought to the end. He used his body to protect me.”
He still remembers the time when Tristan was slacking off, and he realizes his friend is gone. The hours he spent waiting for the unit to restore it were unbearable. But the pain was between him and his therapist. Rose was already crying, and she saw no need to upset her any more.
“Please join me for dinner next week. Don’t worry about clothes. I have a convenience store in town. Come tomorrow and take whatever you like. If staff have any questions let them know Mr. Rogers gave you a personal invitation.”
That day…
Rose stepped out of the locker room and looked at herself in the mirror. It had been several years since he had bought himself new clothes, and they were to replace a pair of socks that he no longer wore. She never dreamed of wearing a dress like this!
“It looks amazing,” said Johnathan. He glanced at his watch. “Sorry I have to cut this short, but I have an important meeting to attend.”
Johnathan turned to the young assistant standing nearby. “Please make sure this amazing lady has some shoes to go with her new dress. And anything else he might need. Some new clothes for the granddaughter, maybe.”
“That’s too much.”
“That’s not enough, actually.” Johnathan looked at her intently.
“And from now on, I want you to tell me if there’s anything you and the rest of the Tristan family need. The least I can do for him is to make sure his family is safe and happy.”
Rose accepted Johnathan’s words. She selects new clothes and shoes for her grandchildren and daughter-in-law Maria. When she got home and handed the clothes to Maria, the woman was crying.
“Tristan must be watching us from heaven,” said Maria. “How else can we get that lucky?”
Rose hugged him, and the two women sat in silence. They both reflect on the terrible loss and hardship they have experienced since Tristan died.
“We are indeed blessed,” Rose said after a moment. “I feel destined to meet Johnathan at the grocery store that day.”
“I think so too,” Maria said, wiping her eyes. “It’s like he went through hell when Tristan died. I can only imagine the scar that experience left on that poor man’s heart.”
She nodded. He had seen the haunted look in Johnathan’s eyes. It was a look he had known from his youth when they started returning from Vietnam. Rose then realized that the war left scars not only on the bodies but in the hearts and minds of all who survived.
Rose joined Johnathan for dinner the following week. They talked for hours about Tristan and their memories of him. It was sad for them both but also healing.
Sometime later, Rose introduces Johnathan to Maria and Tristan’s children. Soon, he was visiting weekly to bring gifts and necessities to the family. After a year, Johnathan is like a member of the family.
There were still nights when Johnathan woke up sweating from the nightmare but he comforted himself knowing that Tristan must have been looking at them all with a smile.
What can we learn from this story?
Treat everyone with courtesy and respect. Even though Rose wasn’t well dressed, the guard shouldn’t insult her. He judged him by his appearance without knowing anything about him.
Kindness can open the door to healing. When we are good to others, we not only improve the lives of others but also open our hearts to good in this world.
Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them. (yn)
Source: amomama
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