“Would you like some soup?”
“Please.”
“Our chicken and dumplings are wonderful. It’s the owner’s mother’s recipe.”
I almost smiled.
“I’d like that.”
A few minutes later, Amber returned with a steaming bowl of soup, warm bread, coffee, and ice water.
She arranged everything neatly in front of me.
The same way she would serve any valued customer.
I stared at the soup.
Mom’s recipe.
Luis was still making it perfectly.
I lifted the spoon with trembling fingers.
After eating half the bowl, I placed my four dollars on the table.
Amber noticed.
“Keep your money,” she said.
“I can pay.”
“I know. But today, let me take care of it.”
“Why?”
She smiled softly.
“Someone once helped me when I needed it. I’m just returning the kindness.”
Then she refilled my coffee and walked away.
I sat beside the window fighting back tears.
My mother’s words returned to me.
Someone has to care. Today, that someone is me.
