This is my usual breakfast stop. They know the routine. Today our paths crossed again. I vaguely remembered his face. He was an average-looking guy in his mid-forties. When I walked in, he seemed to recognise me.

“Please forgive me if I’m intruding on your meal. My name is Jack,” he said, extending his hand. I introduced myself and said, “You can join me if you’d like.” He declined but continued, “About a month ago I sat in that same booth near the window. I saw you at one point and smiled. I was a bit out of sorts, and when I saw you looking at me I figured it showed. I tried to say something to break the mood.”

“You did seem a bit distracted that day, if I remember correctly,” I said. “I know the look. I’ve been there many times.” “Well, I may be wrong here. But someone picked up my breakfast check for me. I assumed it was you. I really didn’t want to tell him. I feared he’d want to pay for mine and that would defeat the purpose. He went on to tell me, “My son died in a car accident about six months ago.”

“I’m so sorry, my friend,” I said. “As always, I came here for breakfast. My wife wanted to come along. But I told her this was our time together,” he said. He seemed to be at peace with it all. “So when someone picked up the check, I was stunned. The waitress wouldn’t tell me who it was. But whoever it was had a reason. We said our goodbyes. He picked

up my check. The waitress said, “Well, what goes around comes around, Bob.” — Beliefnet.com (Concluded)