Moving Mountains (Patrick Kane)

That's Selfish .9

Patrick

It's took nearly two months, but I finally get Valerie to come over to my place. Usually we hang out at a restaurant or the park or some place where there is a lot of people around. Finally she trusts me enough to be left alone with me. I wanted her to be as comfortable as possible. The only thing I've gotten from her in these two months was that she likes to try different foods and kinda likes the color yellow. So I wasn't working with much. But the fact she trusts me enough to come over was huge and I didn't want to mess this up.

Before we get to cooking we head to Costco to pick up some ingredients. She had never been before and she was like a kid in the candy store. All she had was $20 in her wallet so my one condition to introducing her to the wonderful world of Costco was that I bought the ingredients for us and she spends that $20 on herself.

We walk around and get the things she needed. It was 10 minutes of shopping and hour of her sight seeing. After we purchase and bag up the ingredients we pack up the car and head back to put the cart up.

Before we make it back to the car I see a young kid standing just outside the main doors. He looked to be frozen, like he didn't know why he was here. You can see in his face that he was in some kind of trouble.

Next thing I know Valerie is next to the kid talking to him. I swear I didn't even have time to blink and she was out there with him. She's like a magnet to people who need her most. I'm gonna lose her for sure.

So I walk over to see what was going on. She pulls out her wallet and her face drops when she sees the only bill in there. She promised me that was going to be hers. That was the one condition. The gears in her brain was going as she looks from her wallet to the kid over and over. I pause for a moment to see what she would do. After thinking it over she grabs it and starts to hand it to the kid. But I reach out and put my hand on hers.

"I can get it" I insist.

"No. I said I would help out, not you. This is my promise to keep" she demands. As if this promise to him was more important than her promise to me?

I watch as she takes the last of her money out of her wallet and had it to this teenage boy. Doesn't even turn back to look at me because she knew I would be upset. She runs off and grabs the food and medicine he needs and checks out. Valerie packs up the boys food and sends him on his way. Like she didn't just give up the last of her money with little thought of how this will effect her. Now she's left penniless and for what? For someone she didn't even know?

I drive us back to my place seething, trying to figure out why she just wouldn't let me pay. Was it her pride? Her need to be the one who helps? It might just be money but the way she handles situations with little regard to herself made me upset. That was the last of what she had and she just handed it away. Even if it's for a good reason there is no way this doesn't end up with her struggling. But she doesn't think about that, doesn't even cross her mind. The moment someone needs help she will do anything to do so the moment she needs to help herself... she can't. And I can't for the life of me figure out why.

"If you don't relax your face it will get stuck like that" she accuses as I let out a scoff.

"You really think this is a joke? You giving the last of what you have leaving yourself stuck between a rock and a hard place then not letting anyone help you in return" I ask.

"I'm an adult, I can fend for myself just fine. That kid can't" she reminds me.

"So let me help! I'm not mad that you helped him I'm mad you wouldn't let me help him. Did you forget you promised me that you would spend that on yourself? It might just be $20 but it was your $20. I could have given that kid more than what he needed" I beg.