Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 82842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
“I’ll get one soon.”
“Um-hmm.”
“I will.” I smiled as I told him, “I really have been swamped this week, but I’ll get around to it.”
“Okay.” He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a card. His dark eyes locked on mine as he offered it to me. “Here’s my number in case you run into any trouble with it.”
I took the card in my hand and glanced down at it for a moment. I knew Sydney would think it was a sign he wanted me to call him, but since he’d gotten to the house, he’d barely even spoken to me. I figured he was just being nice, so I simply smiled and said, “Thanks, Widow. I really appreciate it.”
“No problem.” He closed the trunk, then turned to face Corry. “Thanks for giving me a hand, man.”
“Anytime..”
I wanted to rush over to Widow, hug him, and tell him how much I appreciated him not only fixing my tire but for also being so good to Corry. Sadly, I didn’t get the chance. Widow gave Corry a quick nod, then quickly turned and started towards his truck. “You two try and stay out of trouble.”
“We’ll do our best.”
Corry and I watched as he got in his truck and pulled out of the driveway. As he started down the road, Corry looked up at me and said, “Widow’s so cool.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah, I wish Dad was more like him.”
Without giving me a chance to respond, he turned and raced inside. Too stunned to move, I simply stood there, thinking about the conversation I’d overheard between him and Widow. It was brief, but it had clearly made quite an impression on Corry. And if I was being completely honest, their brief exchange had made quite an impression on me as well. I was still standing there going over everything in my head when Corry stuck his head out of the door and shouted, “Hey, Mom! Sean called and said practice was cut short. He needs you to come get him.”
“Okay. I’m coming.”
I rushed inside and grabbed my purse, then raced to the school to pick up Sean. When we got back home, I rushed to get dinner ready, and as soon as we ate, I took a hot bath and called it a night. As I lay there in the dark, I found myself thinking about Widow and the conversation he’d had with Corry. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized how calm Widow had been. He didn’t freak out or act horrified by what he’d heard. Instead, he seemed completely understanding, which made me wonder if Widow had been through a similar experience with someone in his own life. It was a question I figured I’d never get the answer to because I had no plans to ever see Widow again, but I drifted off to sleep with him still on my mind.
When I got home from work the following day, there was a tire propped up against my garage. I got out of my car to check it out and was surprised to find a note attached.
Your new spare. Replace with the one in your trunk.
Widow
I couldn’t believe it. Once again, this complete stranger was looking out for me. I wasn’t sure how to react. While I found it endearing that he’d taken the time to do this for us, I couldn’t figure out why he’d done it. Regardless, I had to thank him for going out of his way to get me the new spare. I went inside and took his card out of my purse. I studied it a moment, then sent him a text:
Me:
Thank you for the spare. You really didn’t have to do that.
Widow:
Didn’t figure you’d get around to it.
Me:
It might’ve taken me a bit.
Widow:
By bit, you mean a couple of weeks?
Me:
More than likely.
Widow:
Figured so.
Me:
Do you make it a habit to go around helping damsels in distress?
Widow:
Not if I can help it.
Me:
Well, now I feel special.
Widow:
You should.
I was smiling from ear to ear as I sat there messaging him back and forth. I couldn’t remember a time when I’d felt so giddy. Mainly because I didn’t do ‘giddy’. I was always too preoccupied with everything else to get the opportunity to feel anything anymore. I continued to smile as I typed:
Me:
Well, I won’t keep you. Just wanted to say thank you.
Widow:
No need. Nothing to it.
Me:
Have a good one!
Widow:
Right back at ya.
After reading through our messages about a hundred times, I finally put my phone away and started making dinner. Over the next few days, it seemed like I was running a mile a minute. I’d barely had a chance to catch my breath, and it had taken its toll. Sydney hadn’t missed the fact that I’d had a long week and decided to surprise me with a little happy for the weekend. She stood in the doorway of my office with a bottle of wine in her hand and a smile. “I got ya something.”