When I worked at my dad's hotel, my boss came to me. She asked if I would have lunch with a young man who had cancer, the doctors had given him 2 months to live. The chemo had not helped him and hospice was the next step. I told her yes.
I walked into the hotel's cafeteria with my boss, she went to the table where a man sat. He could've been my age or older or younger, it was hard to tell. The chemo had taken his hair, I told him he looked like a young Yul Brunner, he laughed and the ice was broken.
As my boss left us alone, he thanked me for coming. My pleasure, I replied. He had a story to tell me, he talked as I ate.
His parents, now deceased, had worked at the Penrose's Turkey Creek Ranch when he was a little boy. One day, he was playing in the sand outside the big house. The Penrose's daughter was playing in the sand also, not far from him. Her mother came out, you could tell she was not in a good mood. He had been instructed by his parents to stay away from Mrs. Penrose.
As he rose to go towards his own home, she grabbed him and started choking him, talking nonsense. He was close to blacking out when the daughter came up to her mother. She knocked her mother off balance where she let go of him and fell hitting her head.
Because of the servants screaming, his parents had been running up to rescue him. They had seen the whole thing. They took him home, the doctor was called to see Mrs. Penrose.
Mr. Penrose arrived later on that night, his wife lied to him and he marched up to his daughter's room. Her screams as she was being punished went on for hours. The little boy felt bad for her because she hadn't done anything wrong, in fact she had saved his life. The next day his parents told Mr. Penrose the truth about the incident.
It was the last time he saw the little girl, when Mr. Penrose died, he and his parents tried to see his little girl. The Tutts told them she had died.
So, now here he was and his last wish was being granted. He wanted to thank D'iana for saving his life. He said, "Thank you for saving me, I have had a good life." and got up and left.
I sat at that little table for a long time.
2 comments:
Oh, my. Oh goodness...you saved not only that boy's life, but gave beauty to it.
How awful for that little girl. How wonderful to know she made a difference in someone's live. Surely that young man in his life made a difference in other people's lives and so the blessing you gave goes on and on...
Beth, thank you. I never thought about the ripple affect that I had on others. Thank you for showing it to me :)
Post a Comment