Kirby, my nephew and I went to London Drug at 21st St at Lonsdale to buy this most sought after appliance this summer. I had a terrible headache due to the heat and I knew I needed a pill to alleviate the pain and going to this pharmacy-grocery-appliance store in one is such a relief knowing everything (almost) is here. Got my extra strength Tylenol and the 14" electric fan in just one stop.
It was 7pm and nothing was there at home for dinner. McDonald's is across the store and we decided to drop by for probably just a burger.
Kirby ordered Quarter Pounder meal and me, cheeseburger meal.
We're halfway through when we saw a lady sat down at the entrance door holding this:
I noticed that most bypassers either just stare at her or simply drop a coin on her palm, and some just passed by without even giving a glance. I told Kirby about the lady. She looked young, in her checkered long sleeves and denim, a dirty sneaker and untidy hair. Kirby asked, "Tita, are you going to help her?". "Sure, but I don't have cash here. Can you go out and ask her if she's hungry?". My nephew has just got here to Canada, barely 10days. Speaking English is one of his fears. I urged him to go out and coached him what to say to the lady. We practiced it 3x then he left. I can see them from the inside through the glass wall. He talked to her and said, in Filipino accent, "are you hungry? My mommy will give you a food", then he pointed at me. He said he used the term 'mommy' instead of 'auntie' because the lady will easily believe I'm his mom because we're both chubby! I gave a thumbs up as a sign that I am asking the same question. She gave me back a thumbs up sign which means that she's indeed hungry. I then handgestured both of them to come in and met them at the door. I immediately smelled the lady's breath, she's drunk! But very hungry. I led her to the counter and told the cashier that I've seen her begging there and might be hungry because it's dinner time. "Good for you", the young cashier commended. Then I asked the lady what she wants to eat. In her Chinese twang, she ordered Caesar salad and orange juice and said "thank you" many times. I paid her bill and instructed her to wait for her food while I answered my phone.
The taxi has arrived to pick us up. We left the store with her still inside. I am confident she'd be served what we ordered. Before we get into the taxi, however, saw her went out and sit down on that same spot and started eating. She waved her hands at me with a big smile and lip read her say "thank you".
We left the store with Kirby asking, "are you happy we were able to feed the lady, auntie?". I answered, "are you?". He said "yes, you do that everytime". I smiled and said, "happiness comes when we share what we have". He ended, "I'm going to tell this to mom!"
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