EPTThe clock read 6:00. Our small office had just placed an order for dinner for the night. I was working in a small accounting firm and it was nearing the end of the tax season. We were working slightly extended hours, Monday nights plus Saturdays. Definitely not much of a burden to me, especially when compared to many of my peers in the field working much longer hours.
My superior asked me if I could go pick up the order. Of course I don’t mind, I obliged. I looked up the address of the restaurant on Google maps, and it seemed reasonably close by. No doubt they were expecting me to drive over to the place, but I disliked driving. I decided instead to do some exercise and try to walk there to pick up the food. I didn’t tell anyone of my choice. I tried my best to memorize the directions the restaurant and left the office.
I must have been walking for at least 10-15 minutes. I had gotten somewhat lost. According to what I had memorized on Google maps, the streets and route I was taking did not have the proper intersections or landmarks to what I had in mind. I had two alternatives: to walk back to the office and take my car, or keep on walking forward in my uncertain direction hoping to find what I was looking for. The first choice would result in an inexplicable half-hour delay in my return to the office, but I was growing more and more anxious as I continued to march on.
A man across the street had just exited a big white building and was heading towards his car. I called out and asked him if he knew where XXX Restaurant was (I forgot the name). He knew it by some other name and offered to drive me there in his truck. This was an oddly generous offer that I would be prone to politely decline under most other circumstances, but right now I was facing a stressful quandary with limited outs. I graciously accepted and hopped into his truck. He headed off in a direction I would not have taken had I continued to walk. Google maps must have failed me. In 2-3 minutes I was there. I gratefully thanked him and entered the restaurant.
I went inside and talked to the manager, who said they had been waiting for me. They brought out the order in a large box plus another tray with drinks. I had not expected all this extra packaging to make this delivery so difficult. When they offered to help me load it onto my car, I very sheepishly admitted I did not drive there (I didn’t say I walked, either, nor did I tell them how I happened to find the place). The owner/manager just so happened to be leaving, and once again offered to drive me back to my office with the food delivery. Her restaurant was in fact a client of my firm and she knew the partner. Without many alternatives I of course graciously accepted.
She drove me back without any incident, and it wasn’t really that far, but clearly out of reach of easy walking distance. She helped me bring the tray so far to the elevator. At this point I was worried she would head all the way up to the office, which would reveal my rather embarassing adventure to everyone there. I had no intention of letting them know of my predicament. It would reflect poorly on my decision making skills, communication, reliability, and sensibility. I could not outright deny her further assistance or access politely given she had been such a big help. To my immense relief she stopped at the elevator and left the rest of the delivery to me. Also luckily, I did not meet anyone on my way up the elevator.
I walked back into the office probably 30 minutes later than they had probably expected. I hoped the delay wasn’t quite as noticeable to them as it was to me. I excused my tardiness saying I had trouble finding the restaurant and got lost, which was in fact entirely true, but left out the important details of my adventure. No one found out about my ordeal who didn’t need to. I guess it’s possible the restaurant owner may have brought it up in conversation with the partner, but that’s no longer for me to worry about.
The day was saved by the extraordinary generosity of two complete strangers willing to help out a sad, clueless pseudo delivery boy. I desperately did not want my superiors to know about my ill-advised decision, and was immensely relieved by their help. If only I could repay them for their kindness.
The most troubling reflection of this experience is that given the same circumstances, should I have been one of those helpers, I am fairly certain I would not have extended my hand like that. I would never have been the guardian angel to a helpless sap. Maybe it was due to their upbringing or the small town environment we were in at the time. Maybe one day I could become like them, but for now, I am not even close. They saved my ass and I will never forget.
