It was a lonely road. Not very many people had a reason to be on it, unless they were leaving. Most of his friends had already left. They had families to feed and dreams to fulfill. But he stayed on. After all, this is where he buried his mother and father. He was born here and knew the country. He could go down this road blind, and tell you what was on either side. With his headlights not working, that came in handy.
It was starting to get dark and light snow flurries were coming down. " I'd better get a move on ", he thought. He almost didn't see the old lady stranded on the side of the road. Even in the dim light he could see that she needed help, so he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.
Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her ? He didn't look safe - he looked poor and hungry.
He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill that only fear can put in you. "I'm here to help you, ma'am", he said. "Why don't you wait in the car where it is warm. By the way, my name is Bryan."
All she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.
As he was tightening the lug nuts, she rolled down her window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was just passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid. Bryan just smiled as he closed the trunk.
She asked him how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She had already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about the money. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occured to him to act any other way.
He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance that they needed. "And", Bryan added, "think of me". He waited until she started the car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.
A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy-looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The cash register was like the telephone of an out-of-work actor - it didn't ring much.
Her waitress came over and, seeing the older lady's wet hair, brought a clean towel for her to wipe her hair with. The young woman had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet the whole day couldn't erase. The lady noticed that the waitress was in the last month or two of pregnancy, but even the strain of that didn't stop the waitress from being cheerful. The older lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving and kind to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan.
After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress went to get her change, and the lady slipped out the door without saying a word. She was gone from the parking lot by the time the waitress came back to the table. She wondered where the lady could've gone, then she noticed something written on a napkin. Tears came to her eyes as she read what the lady had written.
"You don't owe me a thing, I've been there too. Someone once helped me out, the way I'm helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here's what you do. Don't let the chain of love end with you".
There were more tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could that stranger have known how much she and her husband needed that money ? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard. She knew how worried her husband was, and, as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, " Everything's gonna be all right. I love you Bryan."