Cover image courtesy of Sayenoca
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Something important happened to me. I am the type of person who sees metaphysical meanings in situations that other people would take for granted, even if they noticed them at all. However, I knew there was a purpose to the incident.
Have you ever had a moment that seemed totally coincidental but, upon further thought, you realized it was meant to be? Well, maybe not destined in the way the stars are destined to be in the sky but destined in the sense that it belonged in the type of things that have happened in the past and the things were made to your preference? What I am going to describe is such a moment.
First, I will say that I do not always put importance on incidents. Some things do not concern me at all. If I have to go to the store and buy a pack of gum for my uncle, I will do it for him but I will get no satisfaction in accomplishing the errand. The gum is a part of his destiny and not mine.
As simply as I can explain it, I received a handshake from someone whom, as far as I was concerned, was almost like a celebrity to me; not in the sense of being in the entertainment business but as far as being the type of quality person I never thought would notice me.
I will sometimes visit my relatives in Antioch which is a small town. It is somewhat close to Pittsburgh Bay Point which is not a better place but it is bigger and has more stores. If Pittsburgh Bay Point is similar to a cheap cheese sandwich with processed lunchmeat, Antioch is the same sandwich but without the cheese or lunchmeat. I mentioned my uncle earlier in this narrative. His name is Joseph. He lives with his wife, Connie, and their daughter, Stephanie. Joseph spends much of his time watching television and eating the type of cheap cheese sandwich I described. They have a freezer where they keep all of their good food but there is no easy way to defrost the freezer without a lot of water spilling on the floor and the food cannot be coaxed to come out unless the freezer is defrosted. That is just one example of many situations that happen to him because he does not want to invest enough time to fix anything. There are a lot of potential great things that could happen to him except for major flaws that are preventing his life from being enjoyable for him. Connie stays in her bed most of the day, watching her own favorite movies on television. Stephanie is at least spending her time on social media sites and texting friends who she has more of a social life even though she rarely goes outside.
Yesterday, when this situation happened with the handshake, I was planning on visiting my uncle’s family for thirty minutes at most. He surprised me when he suggested we go to the mall and he would buy me lunch. He said, “You’ve done a lot of favors for me, Patrick. The least I can do is to show you my appreciation.”
I thanked him and we walked to the Buchanan Town Center. He walked extremely slowly because he was afraid he would get blisters on his feet is he walked fast. We would have been at the mall in five minutes if we had walked a regular speed but we were slowly strolling for forty minutes. Luckily, the weather was not hot so I did not feel exhausted. Usually, the weather is uncomfortable and I regret going there.
When we arrived at the mall and went to Benny’s Burgers, Joseph said, “I’ll do you right. What would you like to eat? Would you like a small bag of fries or a soft drink?”
I asked, “Do you mean fries and a soft drink?”
“No. I can’t do more than one.”
“One what? One meal?”
He frowned and yelled. “No! One item!”
“Are you telling me we spent forty minutes walking down here and you said you would treat me to a meal and the meal is only going to be a small bag of French fries?”
“Well, that’s all I’m going to have! If you don’t want to take me up on my kind generosity, you can leave. I am sick of people who expect too much! You know I don’t like to spend my money on stuff like this. Who do you think I am?”
“You were the one who said you would treat me to a meal! We could have had one of your cheese sandwiches at your house or I could have tried getting one of the frozen chickens out of the freezer and we could have had chicken soup.”
“I don’t like to make chicken soup. I like to eat it but not make it.”
“I could have made it for you.”
“Why? I’m treating you to a meal so shut up!”
I decided I would leave right then. Usually, if I tried doing that in the past, he would cry and beg me to forgive him. Instead, this time, I ran quickly so I could not hear more than a split second of his screaming.
I was fed up. The reason I went to visit him was because he wanted me to shop for some water and some green beans. I was surprised he asked for green beans. I could have decided not to encourage his laziness by my staying home but I figured I would get everything out of the way. I should have learned from past experiences. There is a female cashier at the café next door to where I live in Oakland. She is attractive and usually wears her shirts tucked in. Maybe once in a while she will wear something not tucked in like an oversized sweater but she is far from dressing like any of the women in Antioch who consider old faded dresses to be the extent of what they will put on and this includes my aunt and cousin who have never worn their shirts tucked in a day in their life and neither did my mother when she was alive. I never knew who my father was. I grew up in foster care and did not get acquainted with my birth relatives until after I turned eighteen. The short version of the story is that my mother got pregnant and her parents told her she could not come home unless she put me in foster care. She had not visited me then but later she told me she was not allowed to visit me. All this is beside the point. I looked at little things as being special, perhaps because I would not feel my life was special without those little things.
The cashier’s name was Wendy and she would touch my hand when she gave me my change after I bought a cup of coffee. That little bit of an energy perk, especially from a woman who looked good and wore her shirts tucked in, was like a counterbalance to the frustrating moments when I visited my family. On that morning, I was on my way to the café when I received the phone call from my uncle, insisting I get his food right away. I did the errands because they were my family and I felt I might as well be in their lives even if I became frustrated afterward. I had no time to go to the café and get my coffee. I felt as though my walking out of the restaurant was partly a protest so my uncle would know how I felt about him interrupting my day.
At this point, something amazing happened. I had to use a restroom and there was a café close by. I had never went there before but if they needed me to purchase a cup of coffee, even if I figured none of the employees would look any better than my relatives, that would be fine. However, I needed to use the restroom first. When I walked in, I approached the restroom and Wendy, the cashier from the café in my neighborhood, ran towards me, stood by the door and extended her hand. She said, “Hi, Patrick. How are you?”
We shook hands for just a few seconds but her grip was comfortably firm and felt like she had touched my hand ten times instead of just one. The touch lasted just two or three seconds but it was definitely intentional instead of being perhaps an accidental transference like when I bought coffee. I was surprised she knew my name. I probably told her but I did not remember if I did so or not. She might have heard another customer call me by name. I knew her name because the café manager mentioned it when they walked. I said, “I’m doing well. I didn’t know you would be here. My uncle’s family lives in Antioch and I went to visit them.”
She nodded. “Okay. My brother lives here and he’s putting together a party for his fiancée and I’m going to help him fix the dinner.”
I could have told her about the incident at the mall when my uncle thought French fries were considered to be a dinner but I figured I did not know her well enough to do so and make it sound normal. Instead, “I live Oakland better.”
She nodded. “I do too. The next time you’re in the café, I’d like to talk with you for a little bit. One of your neighbors gave me a story you wrote and I really like it a lot. I also write and I wouldn’t mind the possibility of us collaborating on a story.”
“That sounds great!”
A man’s voice said, “I’ll be in the car, Wendy.”
She said, “I’m coming. Well, nice to see you, Patrick. Take care.” She ran back to wherever she had been.
As I went in the restroom, I thought to myself, “This is definitely one of the best days I have had yet. I’m going back to see my uncle and apologize. He really helped me out today.”
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