The man looked at my favorite ring under tt sharp white light of his lamp. I’d been lucky to find the dark red oval-cut garnet when it had wiggled its way out of its golden prongs and tried to escape beneath the sofa. Not so fast, my precious. I’d scooped it up and here we were, asking the gentleman with the proper skills to re-imprison the would-be wayward stone.
“It’s a little bit tricky,” he sighed and rubbed his thumb against the grey stubble on his chin, talking to himself perhaps more than to me.. “East-west settings like this one take a bit more finesse, more time. I have a trip, leaving town tomorrow. I won’t be back for two weeks.” Sigh. “I suppose I could stay late tonight…”
”Oh, no, no. Please don’t do that. There’s no hurry.”
“Really?” He looked up at me with surprise. Apparently the normal clientele at this establishment wanted, perhaps demanded, priority service.
“Whenever you can get to it. No rush.”
He smiled a very kindly rather grateful smile. “Thank you.”
I got to take that smile home with me. That made me pair it with my own. How easy it can be to lighten someone else’s day. In a world full of Karens and cruel Christians and “public servants” serving no one but themselves, I often feel so helpless to make any sort of difference, but this I can do. I can try kindness.
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