Passengers

My job was to make sure the woman and her family got on the boat. I had four tickets in an envelope for them. I was holding the envelope in a file folder searching the crowd for her. I knew her husband had died more than a year ago. Finally, I saw the woman carrying a large suitcase, two young boys in tow and another woman trailing behind. I began walking towards her and we made eye contact. "Are you my friend?" she asked. I said yes and extended my hand and introduced myself. I took her bag as she introduced her sons and her friend to me. We walked to a nearby table and set things down. I pulled out the envelope and gave her the tickets and explained that the tickets were for general seating on the boat, that the tickets could be upgraded and that if she was interested I would take her to the ticket counter and exchange them. I explained that if she upgraded, she wouldn’t have to wait in line and she could ride on an upper deck. "Yes, I don’t want to wait in line, let’s go."

Leaving her kids and friend (and luggage) we walked over to the ticket counter. I introduced her to the clerk and asked her to upgrade the tickets. While we waited, I noticed how beautiful this woman was (in the culturally accepted way of the times) but her eyes were deep and blue and there was something about her graciousness that struck me deeply, as if she were a new arrival to this planet and just learning it’s customs. She seemed grateful to have me there to show her the way. When the tickets were exchanged, we walked back to her group. I picked up her bag and another heavy one and we began walking to the boat. When they were safely on board, I wished them well, she took my hand and said "Thank you for all your help. It was nice meeting you."

A few moments later, the boat sailed away.