Good Deed

Most of the time, I am perfectly content staying in for the night.  Pi didn’t have to work today because of the weather.  By the time we were up and ready for a day, the snow was too deep for me to go anywhere.  Pi probably could have managed the snow and our hill, but it wasn’t for sure.

I decided that I wanted bagels.  Today.  There were going to be bagels in the house and that was that.  The grocery store closest to us was going to be open until six so I had plenty of time to get there by foot.  Pi didn’t care, and he and Tots played Minecraft while I was gone.  I suited up and headed out on my mission.

It’s always kind of interesting when the outside looks almost deserted.  Most people are inside their houses, staying warm and dry.  A few were shoveling or snow blowing, but aside from them and the far off plow, it was quiet.

As I neared the store, I saw a woman with a cane standing in the middle of the parking lot with a box and a bag of groceries.  At first, I didn’t think anything of it.  As I got even closer, it seemed like she intended to pull the cardboard box to wherever she was going.  Clearly, she needed help.  I told her I would help her when I came back out.  She thanked me.

Apparently, Bernice had asked two guys if they would give her a ride.  Both of them said no.  She even offered them a couple of bucks to do it.  Anyway, the box was pretty heavy, but I managed to carry it to her apartment.  It wasn’t even that far, but she has knee problems.  I don’t think the box would have made it through the snow if she did try to pull it.  (Nosuninbritain, she lives closer to the store than you used to live on Elm.)

Bernice told me about how her daughter in T-ton was supposed to come help her out, but things changed.  We chatted for a little while on the way to her apartment.  I told her I had a Tots.  She just moved here from San Diego, right before Sandy hit.  We got to her apartment, which ended up being on the second floor.  She told me she could handle it from there, but it was no problem for me to bring it up for her.

She gave me a mug of coffee, and we ended up chatting for a little while.  Bernice told me about taking the train here from California with her sister, who lives in Florida.  And about all of her stuff is new, except for some clothes.  And about her new crock pot that she loves, that her daughter bought her for Christmas.  We talked about crock pot recipes.  She used to be in the army, so she’s been all over the country, to Asia a bunch of times.

I don’t know how long we stood in her kitchen chatting.  It was really cool, though.  After a while, she told me she usually takes a nap during the day, and I had to get back.  Pi might have been wondering why I was gone so long.

The walk home was uneventful.  The bagels were delicious. 

Part of me is thinking that my mission wasn’t entirely about the bagels…