At about 6 o'clock in the morning, I firmly knocked on her window and loudly
whispered, "Sarina! Wake up! Sarina!"
Finally I heard a sleep-interrupted voice growl, "Go around!" Meaning for me to
go around to the front door. When I got there, Fawn, Sarina's 24-year-old
sister, quickly unlocked the door.
"What are you doing here so early in the morning?" Came the sleepy question from
13-year-old Sarina peeking her auburn head from around the corner.
"I'm taking you to breakfast and then to school. Get dressed," I uttered in
conjunction with my conspiratorial grin.
Shaking her head to clear the cobwebs, she mumbled something unintelligible and
stumbled back to her room. She emerged later, school uniform in place, book bag
bulging at the seams and we departed for the local Denny's.
Upon our arrival Sarina immediately spotted a remote control claw machine and
had already targeted her unsuspecting prey -- a stuffed poodle holding a picture
frame.
"Lynelle, can I please play the game? I'll win something for Kallie again!" She
begged.
Kallie is my 14-month-old daughter and is Sarina's excuse for coercing umpteen
dollars from me to play this game that she loves so dearly. Her reference to
"again" is because the very first time she played it, in my presence, she won
Kallie a stuffed animal, therefore the "excuse" holds a lot of merit -- in her
eyes anyway.
"After you eat, you can play a few times."
Satisfied with that answer, she ordered breakfast. When it arrived she wasted no
time. Eating as quickly as she could she asked, "Can I go play the game now?"
"No, finish your eggs first, Sarina."
Moments later I was fishing quarters from my billfold and depositing them into
her eager hands. In a flash she was in front of the game and moments later all
quarters were gone. She returned empty-handed and somewhat disappointed, though
far from subdued in her quest. I handed her another dollar. Moments later, again
she returned, crestfallen.
Before I could hand her more money, a man that had been watching her from the
counter, offered to win the coveted poodle frame for her. Excitedly, Sarina
whirled and ran back over to the money-gobbling machine. However, he too, was
not able to grasp the elusive poodle frame with the flimsy remote control claw.
"Lynelle, please, can I have some more money? I know I can get it this time.
We've moved it now!"
By this time, the entire corner of the restaurant was watching the scene before
them with marked interest. Grinning, I gave her another dollar. Amidst "You can
do it!" And benevolent laughter, she again lost the prize as it fell from within
the claw's metallic clutches. The man plugged another two dollars in, but to no
avail.
Many dollars later the toy still remained inside the machine. However, the
onlookers all had grins tugging at their faces. Their expressions made me
realize that it was the camaraderie in trying that was the most joyful
regardless of the outcome.
Our waiter had even made several valiant, but unsuccessful attempts. As he
turned away, defeated by the machine, I kindly told him, "It's probably too
heavy to lift with that claw." He merely shook his head and then unobtrusively
walked out the front door.
When he came back in, he quietly walked over to Sarina and placed an identical
poodle frame, into her hands. Pleasantly surprised, she shyly said thank you and
then flashed me an excited smile. No one had observed this act of kindness,
though. The rest of the group in the restaurant was still competing to be this
young girl's hero. They did not know that her hero had already quietly revealed
himself.
A few minutes later, the waiter called out to the first man that had originally
offered his assistance. When he looked up, he saw Sarina holding the toy and his
face became sheepish while he muttered some friendly smart aleck comment to our
waiter. Still the line of people competed, refusing to be defeated by a mere
machine. We had so much fun, but more importantly, Sarina was cheered into
forgetting why I was even there that morning.
You see, Sarina's step-daddy -- the only daddy she's ever known -- had gone into
the hospital a few days earlier to remove fluid that was building up within his
chest cavity. After several days of pumping unsuccessfully, they decided to
perform a routine surgery. When they opened him up, they discovered multiple
tumors. This was completely unexpected and came as a ghastly shock to the
stunned medical staff. He was diagnosed with Mesothelioma, a cancer caused by
asbestos. It is noted for a swift, yet painful death. Sarina had just been
delivered the hurtful news the night before and I had come into town to help in
the only way I knew how -- with my heartfelt love and support.
None of the patrons in Denny's that morning could have possibly known the
turmoil in Sarina's life. It uplifted my heart to see a group of kind strangers
band together to help an innocent girl that early October morning.
Sarina didn't win anything for Kallie that morning, but she won something for
her own heart -- a very special memory and at a time when she needed it the
most.
Lynelle Dawson Frankie088@aol.com
Lynelle lives in Oklahoma with her 15-month-old daughter, Kallie, whom Sarina
absolutely adores and their menagerie of pets. "The coveted picture frame now
holds two of Kallie's baby pictures," says Lynelle.
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