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"a kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal." - Steve Maraboli ~
lynn
That wad of cash I received 3 days ago was definitely an odd surprise, but I used it nonetheless. I still don't know who left it at my door, but the mystery was solved relevantly fast.
I stopped at a gas station to fill my tank, of which a worker took care of the job for me. I paid and thanked him, then grabbed Gabe out of his car seat to walk into the small shop and see if I can find a water bottle.
Two boys were at the counter, which I didn't pay much attention to. One was wearing a DX shirt and the other was sitting on top of the counter, I made my way to the drinks.
As I browsed the sodas I heard jogging footsteps lead up to me. One of the boys appeared next to me and leaned on the wall as he greeted me, "Hey Cali, fancy seeing you here."
I looked over and there was Dallas, honestly I was still a bit ticked off with him. Okay, maybe a lot ticked off. I rolled my eyes and grabbed one of the water bottles, "What do you want, Dallas?"
"You uh, got some extra cash recently?" He paused, "Randomly show up by any chance?"
I furrowed my eyebrows and slowly turned to look at Dallas, he had a proud smirk on his face. Did he possibly...? "Wait...did you-"
Dallas interrupted, "It was the least I could do, taking away your access to Buck's an' all."
I couldn't believe it, I was genuinely speechless. "You actually...?"
Dallas smiled and shrugged, glancing at the floor almost trying to avoid a blush. I too tried to hide a blush, and just hid behind my hair as I thanked him. "Well...thank you, Dallas. That, really means a lot. Thank you."
He shrugged, "One time thing, don't expect it to be a regular."
I chuckled a bit and he continued, "Do you have a steady job yet?"
I sighed as I swapped which arm I was holding Gabe, "No, not yet."
"Well my buddies work here, Steve is at the counter and Soda is probably out pumping the gas right now. I'm sure if you want a job here I could-"
I stopped him, "No no, its fine. I've got a job interview I'm waiting on for the Dingo and hoping to snag that one."
"You sure?" Dallas asked further
I hid a blush again, "Yeah, I'm sure. Thank you for the offer."
"No problem." Dallas nodded. He paused and thought for a moment, looking at Gabe. It was as if he was hesitating to speak, but he hardly look his eyes off my baby. "If its alright I ask...does your son have anyone watching him?"
I felt guilt pang my chest, I wasn't quite expecting that question. "Well..." I glanced over at the wall, "No."
"I know how expensive babysitters are, and I'd volunteer myself if I knew how to babysit a child but if you want I know a guy who might." Dallas elaborated
"I think I'm good...I'll think about it." I awkwardly replied
Dallas nodded, "Understandable. I just don't want you to be in much stress ya dig?"
I honestly couldn't believe what I was hearing. Dallas wasn't this caring even when we were kids, I never expected him to be so concerned and care so much. It really caught me by surprise, but I'm not complaining. I didn't expect it, but it is nice to have someone at least care about you a little bit. Maybe my outlook will change with Dallas. Maybe everyone deserves second chances.
Gabe was getting impatient so I decided to start heading to the counter. "He must be tired, I think I'm going to get going."
Dallas followed me to the counter where both of the boys were now standing. They looked between me and Dallas multiple times, almost shocked. "Sodapop, Steve, this is Lynn. Lynn, these are my buddies."
Sodapop and Steve then introduced themselves further and seemed like nice kids. Sodapop noticed Gabe and his eyes lit up, "What's his name?"
"Gabriel." I smiled. He was my pride and joy.
"Gabriel." Dallas repeated as he leaned on the counter and looked at Gabe. It then dawned on me that Dallas hadn't heard my son's name before.
"Well hey Gabriel, what's up buddy?" Sodapop said with a bright smile on his face
Gabe shyly buried his face in my shoulder, Sodapop let out an "aww". It was cute to watch people react so positively to Gabe, just like this. Steve looked at me with curiosity, "Are those real?"
I didn't know what he meant by that and assumed he was talking about my breasts, but he was looking at my eyes. My eyebrows furrowed in defense, "Excuse me?"
He noticed how odd the question sounded and apologized, "Sorry, I meant your eyes. They're two different colors."
I then remembered those existed. I got less defensive and slightly blushed from embarrassment, "Yeah, they're real."
He looked so intently at them, "Wow, I've never seen that before."
"Not many people have." I shrugged, "How much for the water?"
"Oh, you can just take it." Soda waved off
"Really?" I asked
"Yeah, on the house." Steve agreed
I smiled and put my wallet away, "Wow, thank you."
Sodapop smiled back, "No problem."
"It was nice meeting you. And nice catching up with you, Dallas." I nodded
Dallas gave me a smirk/smile in return, "Same here."
I exited the small shop and strapped Gabe back in his car seat and took off. Wow, what a game changer. Texas actually cares. Never saw that one coming.
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