I generally hate going to do shopping of any type during the holiday season. The stores are crowded and full of people who are so focused on their tasks that they forget their manners or fore go them totally. Once when I was pregnant with my oldest son Jaylon, a woman hit me in the stomach with her shopping cart! She didn't even say excuse me or nothing, and I was 8 months pregnant... It's not like there was any way she couldn't have noticed.
So last evening we ventured out to Shop-Rite to get a few essential groceries and some items that I needed for the thanksgiving holiday, as I wanted to bake something to take to our family's house this Thursday. The store was bustling with customers which was evident before we even entered and much of the reason that Javier decided to drop Gavin and I off at the door and let he and Jaylon wait in the car. Gavin and I trekked through the isles and he was so polite and being so behaved (this is not his typical behavior in the store) The isles were congested and stockers were racing to restock items that were quickly being depleted. (nope they weren't giving away anything great! haha) we collected all of our items and remembered on the way to the register that we needed cereal and lunchmeats. I turned down the cereal isle and Gavin picked out some fruit loops and I picked corn flakes. He froze mid isles where the store had strategically placed a toy section and selected a blue toy car. I looked at him and told him "Come on son... We got to get luchmeat and get going". He raced to my side and asked me so sweetly for the toy. I didn't even know how much it cost, but it was surely overpriced and not what we came for and I simply did not have the extra money to purchase anything not on my list. He was breaking my heart as he put the item back and I talked to him a lot about it as we headed towards the deli.
It was no comfort for him to hear that he could ask Santa for it. I didn't want to hear that I couldn't afford to get it. He wasn't unreasonable about it, but he had real tears and sobbed quietly as he placed his head down on the cart. A Shop-Rite employee looks over to me and asks.. "What's the matter, what is it he wants?" I explained that he wanted a toy car from the cereal isle and that even tho I didn't know how much it cost, I couldn't afford to get things not on my list and that he would be fine. She paused for a minute and asked me if I would be offended if she bought the toy for him. I told her that wasn't necessary but she insisted.
She escorted Gavin to the cereal isle where he was reunited with the toy car that he had so cherished only moments before and then to the self-pay checkout where she purchased it put a paid sticker on it and returned him to me. He hugged her hard and thanked her and I fought back some tears. It reminded me of something my Mother would do, and suddenly I missed her more than ever.
Some people are just nice for no reason.
She touched Gavin's heart in such a way that no words can express and some how I know he will never forget the kindness of that stranger.
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