Jessalyn shrugged her sweater from her shoulders and grabbed an apron from the rack. Tying it deftly around her waist, she glanced at the mirror propped against the wall in the lunch room. Sagging eyes, a lined forehead, and a drooping mouth stared back at her. Did she really look so horrible today? She stretched the corners of her mouth into a wide grin and vigorously rubbed her forehead with her fingers to iron out the creases. The stinging sensation only made her eyes water.
Jessalyn clipped her name tag onto her apron. Homestead Café. Jessalyn Lee. This was her second week of work at the new café that had opened in town. So far, the experience had been exciting and enjoyable. The café provided an escape from the stresses back at home.
“Good morning, Jessalyn!” her supervisor, Rae, chirped. “Nice morning today?”
Jessalyn blinked rapidly to erase her tears before Rae would notice. “Yeah.”
When she turned from the mirror, she saw Rae looking at her closely. “Are you doing alright?” Rae asked.
“Oh, yeah. I mean mostly. I guess my nose is a bit stuffy today and I didn’t sleep much last night,” Jessalyn replied. She didn’t mention how she wondered if she was getting sick. This night hadn’t been fun. Mom and Dad had taken eight-year-old Teresa to the hospital because she had been fighting to breathe. Teresa had been battling a severe cold for nearly two weeks now. But now they knew it wasn’t just a common cold. Teresa had come back home with prescriptions for pneumonia.
Rae crinkled her eyebrows in concern. “How’s your grandma doing?”
Oh, yes. Jessalyn fixed her gaze on a crumpled tissue that had missed the trash can. “Not well at all. Mom is ready to leave any day when the call comes. She’d like to be there now, but with the way things are at home, it’s not a good time to leave. Teresa’s got pneumonia.” It sounded awful to say it so bluntly. But it sounded worse when she had to talk about Grandma having cancer.
“I’m sorry,” Rae said. “That must not be easy. I’ll be praying.”
“Mhm. And I don’t want to tell you that Dad also just got laid off of work last week and that he’s without a job right now. Or that since I’m the oldest, I might be stranded at home with Teresa and all the other siblings while Mom flies off for Grandma’s funeral,” Jessalyn thought to herself. Scooping up the crumpled tissue from the floor, she hurled it into the trash, wishing Rae would get to work. “Thanks,” she said aloud. “But we don’t need to sit and grump about it, so what’s on the menu today?”
“There you go, Ivy,” Anita smiled at her daughter as she tied the four-year-old’s shoe. “Now run get the wagon from the shed and I’ll help Joy get ready.”
“Soon I will tie it myself,” Ivy informed her mother. “Then I’ll be a big girl.”
“That’s right,” Anita smiled. She turned to her two-year-old and helped her zip up her sweater. “All ready, Joy! It’s so sunny today, it’ll be nice to go for a walk.”
After Ivy and Joy had settled into the wagon, Anita started briskly down the sidewalk, soaking up the warm sunshine. She needed to stop at the grocery store yet today, but she’d do that after meeting with her sister at the new café. Both of them hadn’t been there before and it provided a good excuse to get together for a chat.
“Mommy! Look!” Ivy crowed. “A flower!”
Anita paused and spotted a bright yellow bloom nodding at them from the ditch. Before she could respond, Ivy had scrambled out of the wagon and plucked the flower from its stem. Her face beamed as brightly as the flower itself.
“Joy and me can share this flower,” Ivy said as she clambered back into the wagon. She cradled the flower in her hands and let Joy sniff it. Anita smiled to herself. She didn’t even know what kind of flower it was. It wouldn’t last long without water, but at least the girls were thrilled about it now.
In the café, Jessalyn started her work in the kitchen. First, take out some ground beef to thaw for the afternoon. Second, stock up on the salads. She opened the lid of the deep freezer and pulled out packages of beef. One, two, three. Then the fourth package slipped, crashing down squarely on her toe.
Jessalyn gasped, clutched the freezer with one hand, and grabbed her toe with the other. Pain stabbed relentlessly through her toe. She moaned and hopped in three little circles before she could think again. Glaring at the innocent package on the floor, tears welled up in her eyes again. Tears of pain and frustration. She pulled another pack from the freezer and then hobbled to the kitchen sink.
Eventually the sharp pain subsided, but as she chopped lettuce for the salads, an ache persisted. What if it were broken? Well, too bad. She couldn’t get it checked out. Probably it would heal itself eventually.
“Wow, it’s warm here,” Jessalyn thought. “Are they still heating this kitchen or what?” She hobbled to the back door and propped it open with a bucket of oil to let in some fresh air. She checked the stock of the salads and prepared her list of ingredients to mix. The second girl wasn’t coming today, so she and Rae would run the café themselves.
At 11:30, Rae breezed into the kitchen. “Could you take the front for me from now till about 1? I nearly forgot about my bank appointment! Just pop the lettuce in the cooler for now and finish the salads later. Sorry about that. I should have told you sooner.”
Jessalyn shrugged. “Sure I can.” “Hopefully anyway. If I can run around that much,” she thought grimly. And if I can stay awake. Did I even get four hours of sleep last night? She stuffed the produce into a cooler and washed up, hoping her flushed face and crippled gait wouldn’t be too obvious to customers.
When Anita and the girls arrived at the café, Ivy insisted on taking the flower inside with her. Anita led them inside and nearly ran into her sister waiting inside the door.
“Mmmm. Doesn’t it smell good in here?” she asked.
“I love it!” her sister responded.
“Do we order here?” Anita asked, stepping up to the counter.
“Yes. This is our menu,” the girl explained, pointing to a chalkboard on the wall. “Today’s special is Ham and Cheese Chowder.”
The ladies made their orders and waited for the girl to prepare their choices. She seemed to be the only one working. Ivy and Joy watched in fascination as she dished out steamy soup into four little bowls and grilled sandwiches on the stove behind the counter. Order complete, she slid the trays of food across the counter. “Have a seat and enjoy!”
The food was just as delicious as it smelled. “Definitely coming back here again sometime!” Anita commented. “Our town has needed a place like this for a long time!”
Between serving customers, Jessalyn tidied the front counter. It wasn’t that busy right now. Only two tables were occupied right now. A group of ladies sat around one and an elderly gentleman relaxed at the one in the corner. Hopefully it would remain manageable while Rae was gone. As Jessalyn straightened the stack of soup bowls, she noticed the tables near the window needed to be wiped. She limped across the room with her cleaning spray and rag.
It’s warm here too, Jessalyn noticed. Surely I don’t have a fever! But this headache settling in sure won’t help matters much! She swiped the rag over the table’s surface, scrubbing at a stubborn spot. A voice at her elbow made her jump.
“This is for you!”
Jessalyn turned to see an upturned young face. A pair of eyes sparkled from a frame of soft, curly hair. It was one of the little girls who had come with the ladies a few minutes ago! In the girl’s hand hung a limp yellow flower. It was extended towards her!
“This?” Jessalyn stammered. “Why, thank you!”
The little girl’s face broke into the sweetest smile. She bounced back to her table. Her mother seemed engrossed in conversation and hadn’t even noticed her daughter slip away. Jessalyn clutched the brilliant flower, stroking its wilting petals. Who had told the girl to bring her a flower? And where had she picked it? Why are my eyes tearing up again? What a day! Jessalyn shook her head. Well dear blossom, you need some water!
She hurried to the kitchen and found a water bottle to use as a vase. With all the tears and sunny yellow and smiles swelling within her, she even forgot to limp! She passed the mirror and smiled. And since the smile cheered her, she smiled a little more.
When she returned to the front, the ladies were about to leave. When one of them glanced back, Jessalyn waved goodbye cheerily. Was that girl an angel? she wondered. How did she know I needed that today? It’s just a little flower, but somebody cared. Somebody cared. God does. And He has not forgotten me even on messy days like today.
The bell at the door jingled as another customer walked in. Jessalyn brushed a strand of hair from her face and stepped up to the counter. “How may I help you?”
“I’ll take 2 iced coffees and half a dozen donuts.”
“Sure. Iced coffee sounds delicious for today! And which donuts would you like?”
Anita pulled the wagon across the parking lot and checked again to make sure both girls were still seated in it. Was something missing? “Where’s your flower, Ivy?” she asked.
“I gave it away.”
“Gave it away? To whom?”
Ivy gazed up innocently into her mother’s puzzled face. “To the lady. In there.” She pointed back to the café.
Anita tilted her head. “Why?”
“I wanted to,” Ivy replied simply. Conversation finished. “Are we almost to the store?”
“Yes, my girl.” Anita paused at the crosswalk and waited for the traffic to clear. When did she give that girl the flower? What prompted her to do it? Sometimes I wonder about my girls. I think they make a more positive impact in the world than I do!
At the end of the day, Jessalyn tossed her apron into the hamper and slipped back into her sweater. She picked up the water bottle that held the single unnamed flower. It had lifted its droopy head and unfurled its petals into full glory again. In the mirror, she noticed her own face had lifted. Her heart had lightened. The ache of her head and the swollen toe had faded.
Little girl, thank you. Thank you for reminding me that I will also bloom brightly again sometime, even though I feel I’m wilting right now under all the circumstances. Thank you, Jesus, for reminding me You care.
Kindness is a gift everyone can afford to give.
(Inspired by a personal life experience like usual. Thank-you to the little girl in a purple shirt.)
Inspired to Inspire 
This is lovely, Rynelle! Such a well done, sweet story!
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