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She nodded and cracked eggs into a bowl. “About five years.”
“Really?”
“I’ve never seen you here before,” she said.
“I’ve only physically been here a couple times,” I told her. “I donate monetarily.”
“Ah,” she said. “Why this place?”
“My mom has always had a fondness for single moms that have found themselves down on their luck for one reason or another. When she lost my father, my brother and I were adults, but she still felt like a single mom. Devoting her time and energy to places like this has helped her heal. She’s roped us into helping. I like helping. What about you?”
“I was raised by a single mom,” she answered. “She busted her ass and struggled every step of the way, but she made it. My brother and I didn’t turn out too bad.”
“I don’t think you turned out bad at all,” I said.
“Thanks. This place is important. There were many, many nights my mom struggled to put food on our table. She was a very proud woman and hated to ask for help. I don’t know who did it, but someone convinced her to come to one of these free meals. It helped. My brother and I got to meet other kids that were in similar positions. It also gave my mom some pretty good shoulders to lean on. The people that ran the shelters always helped with clothes, school supplies, and food. So, now that I’m older and have the time, I do what I can to help the next generation.”
“Wow,” I said. “I would have never guessed.”
“I feel like I should apologize,” she said softly.
“For?”
“Being kind of a jerk at work,” she said. “I was giving you the cold shoulder. Sorry about that.”
“No worries,” I said. “It’s all good.”
“I’ll be better tomorrow,” she said, smiling.
“I think we should do something as a company for the shelter,” I said. “Something to bring awareness. Maybe we can run a campaign to donate a certain percentage of profits to the shelter for a month or a week or something.”
“That’s very generous,” she said.
“We could donate it in your name,” I suggested.
“No,” she immediately answered. “I don’t want any credit or anything like that. I’m not doing this for acknowledgement or fame or any of that. I do it for me because I know the difference it made in my life.”
I nodded with understanding. I supposed I was the same way. I donated anonymously or via my mother’s name. I did this for my mom. This organization saved her. I knew that, which was why I gave as much as I could.
Macy and I stood next to each other in the serving line. We dished up ample helpings to every woman and child that came through the line. Macy had something to say to each of them. I stuck with the typical pleasantries, but she seemed to know just what to say to each of them. I admired her easy way with them. She was so humble and kind.
Just like that, I was back to thinking of her with a relationship in mind. There was so much about her I liked. And the best part was the fact that my mom liked her. Mom’s seal of approval was very important to me.
29
MACY
“That was a lot of kids,” I said. I put the empty pot onto the sink edge.
“Is that more than normal?” Jon asked.
He was elbow-deep in the soapy water. After seeing him in the office in his position of power and his custom suit, it was a stark contradiction to see him in a silly apron splattered with chili.
“It is,” I said. I moved to the other side to start the drying process. “I don’t know if that’s good or bad. I’m glad more people are comfortable coming, but I’m sad there are so many people that need to come here.”
“I agree,” he said.
We finished the dishes that seemed endless. “Want to get a drink?” Jon asked.
