Ethical Stories: What GoesAround Comes Around!(Waitress Story)

One day a man saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but
evenin 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 wasfrightened, standing out there in the cold.
He knew how she felt. It wasthose chills 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 Anderson."
Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad
enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking fora place to put the
jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he wasable 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. The ladyasked how much she
owed him. Any amount would have been all rightwith her. She already
imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not
stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. 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 they needed, and Bryan added, "And think of me."
He waited until she started her car and droveoff. It had been a cold
and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home,
disappearing into the twilight.
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 gaspumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The 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 the waitress was nearly eightmonths
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.
After the lady finished her meal, she paid with ahundred dollar bill.
The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill,
but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the
time thewaitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could
be. Then she noticed something written on thenapkin.
There were tears in her eyes when she read whatthe lady wrote: "You
don't owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once 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."
Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.
Well, there were tables toclear, 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 wasthinking about the
money and what the ladyhad 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 soft and low,
"Everything's going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson."