A friendly waiter feeds a girl in a wheelchair so that her mother can eat before it gets cold. He could not have imagined that in a few minutes his life would change as a result of his compassion, but another surprise awaited him the next day.
“What would you like to drink, ma’am?” – Javier asked the customer. His shift was coming to an end and he couldn’t wait to get home to his children. He usually spent some time with them before leaving for his second job at the shop.
“I’ll have some Irish stew, please.”
“Do you want anything else?”.
“No thanks!”.
Javier smiled politely and wrote everything down in his notebook. He was a waiter and this was his day job. He had only two hours before his night shift started as a cashier in a supermarket. He had just had time to serve the woman her plate when another guest, a woman with a little girl in a wheelchair, came in.
Javier looked around and saw that all the other waiters were busy serving other tables. It was a rainy Saturday, and on weekends the restaurant was usually full.
He approached a woman and showed her an empty seat nearby. “This way, madam,” he invited her. But the woman refused to sit there because her daughter, Kelly, liked to watch the rain. She looked around and pushed the wheelchair towards the window. There was a beautiful view of the street from there.
Javier smiled: “May I take your order, what would you like to eat?”
The woman started discussing the menu with her daughter. The girl giggled when Mindy, her mother, looked at Javier and said: “Chicken noodle soup and chicken rice casserole and muffins… make these two, please.
Javier returned with their orders and put them on the table. He then went back to serve the other customers, but suddenly saw that Mindy hadn’t started eating yet. She was busy spoon-feeding her daughter, who was finding it difficult to eat on her own.
The waiter watched as Mindy continued to feed her daughter while her food got cold. He decided to help and walked over to her table.
“Excuse me, ma’am… Would you mind if I help you?” – he asked. “I see you haven’t touched your food yet. Enjoy your meal while I help feed your daughter.”
The woman was puzzled and smiled, “How are you going to feed my daughter, Kelly never eats with strangers.” She said. Javier took a spoon from her and started to feed the baby.
“It’s very beautiful outside. If I get a chance, I’ll play in the rain all day and dance too! and I’ll dance too!” – he told the girl, smiling.
“Can you dance?” – She asked Javier.
“Yes… a little!” She laughed.
Kelly was eating like a good little girl, and Mindy was amazed. She couldn’t believe her eyes, because her daughter had never eaten without a tantrum. But that day was different. Apart from eating out of a stranger’s hands, she was also behaving decently, which seemed all too unreal to Mindy.
“How do you manage to handle children so effectively?” – she asked Xavier.
He smiled and replied, “I never knew how to handle children until I recently had my little ones. I thought parenting was hard, but it teaches us several things when it comes to dealing with children.”
Mindy was stunned and continued to listen to the waiter’s story about his daily childcare duties…..
“My wife and I had triplets this summer. I started helping her with the babies and gradually learned everything – I even know how to change their nappies! But I work a lot, I have two jobs and I don’t have much time for them. It’s quite difficult to meet all their needs today.”
“Oh, I see, but how did you learn to deal with other people’s children, especially children with disabilities like Kelly’s?” – Mindy asked, wanting to know more.
“Every child is special to one degree or another. You just have to be attentive to them and make them feel that they are loved, not cornered. You have to convey yourself through your warm gestures…..”
“Feeding, for example, don’t force-feed your children. You have to start slowly and bring them into their comfort zone, and before you know it the plate will be empty!”
Mindy was stunned. Soon she and Kelly finished eating, thanking Javier for his help. She walked out of the restaurant without looking back. She was in a hurry because she had to meet her husband at the airport.
Javier sighed and went back to his table to put it away when he found an envelope under the plate.
He picked it up and pulled out a cheque. “A cheque for ten thousand dollars?” His breathing stopped. “The lady must have forgotten. It must be for her daughter’s treatment. I must find it and return it to her immediately.”
Javier ran outside, hoping to find Mindy and Kelly, but they were no longer in sight. He looked at the cheque and only then noticed his name on it.
“Oh my God… This is unbelievable!” He burst into tears as he realized Mindy had left him the cheque. He flipped the envelope over and saw the note, “This is for your wife and your wonderful children. Thank you for being such a loving father and husband!”.
“That’s a great sign!” – he thought.
Javier returned home after his shift at the restaurant to share the happy news with his wife, unaware that another surprise awaited him the next day.
The next morning Javier was on his way to work when a van stopped in front of his house. The man got out of the vehicle and unloaded a dozen boxes on the doorstep.
“This is for you sir, it’s a prepaid order!”
Javier couldn’t believe his eyes when he opened the boxes and found a year’s supply of nappies. He picked up a note in one of the boxes. It said, “I got your address from the restaurant. I hope it helps. I send all my love and hugs to your little ones. A warm hello from those who knew you at the restaurant.”
Javier shed tears of joy and hugged his wife and children. He could not have been happier.
It had been two months since Mindy and Kelly had visited the restaurant where Javier worked. Although they never saw each other again, he had learned a valuable life lesson: Never hesitate to be kind to others. You just might experience how helpful it can be.