Wiping sweat from his brow the man walked into the shadow of the large building to his left. The only other person on the sidewalk was a woman in white and black, walking down the street. She looked at him, and paused in her step.
Eyes lined both in mist and black, she asked the man where a bank he had never heard of was. Unable to assist, he looked at her and asked her if she had tried just a regular ATM. The woman turned to face him fully, eyebrows coming together, "I'm having an awful day", sniffling, she began to explain her predicament.
A blown out tire, an overcharging tow and repair job, and a limit that her card had already reached for usage. Not the best day for anyone, let alone a pregnant woman 4 hours from home traveling alone. She explained this to the man, mentioning that even though she was only $20.00 dollars short, the repairmen were holding her car at the shop. Also, they had already overcharged her and done an alignment she didn't ask for, costing her $50.00 in addition to the towing and tire costs.
Cutting her off from finishing the rest of her story, he asked for clarification. "You're short $20.00 dollars for the bill?" She looked at him and nodded. "Let's go to the ATM then", he stated.
Eyes widening, her mouth dropped, "you'd spot me?".
The man looked at her and smiled a little. Nodding, "of course".
They began walking towards the ATM, chatting about how the woman had come into this predicament. He learned about her husband, how the repairmen had charged her too much, and the way she had originally ended up without any money to use. Needing to go to the bathroom, she excused herself as the man withdrawed $40.00 from the ATM.
Once the woman returned, he handed her the money. She stopped as she looked at it, realizing there was more than a single bill. Incredulously, she looked up at him and asked how much he had given her. Matter of factly, he stated $40.00 dollars. She thanked him again, then began promising him that she'd pay him back.
Waving his hands, he said it was fine, but after persisting her desires to pay him back for a few minutes he gave in and gave her his information. Wishing her on her way with a goodbye hug, they parted.