I stopped by a convenience store on the way home this evening. As the cashier was running my debit card, a woman walked in the door. She walked unsteadily - yet not exactly staggering - toward the counter. I moved my purchases to the side of the counter, to allow her room. She looked at the attendant and mumbled something about Irving.
The cashier asked her if she was trying to get to Irving. On the verge of crying, she said "yes." He called his co-worker who was headed to the rear of the store. The directions of the co-worker would have taken her farther away from Irving than she already was, not to mention confusing her.
"Hold it!" I found myself saying. I was about to tell her to take the street she was on to the highway that would get her to Irving. But just after my exclamation her cell phone rang.
As she turned away talking on the phone, I continued my explanation to the co-worker. I said that she could just take this street about the same time as the cashier. Exactly what his co-worker said is still a mystery to me. Neither of the two store attendants spoke very good English. But what I got out of his reply was that "she was drunk" (I think) and the waving of his hands while he finished.
The woman was facing a display in the middle of the floor and talking on her phone. I waved at the attendants and left the store. As I was leaving, I could hear her side of the conversation.
"No!" she was saying, "I’m turned around and I’m trying to find my way back to Irving."
Which was the last thing I heard her say. I am not entirely confident that I heard what she said correctly. I did not have a chance to write it down until I returned home myself. It was obvious, however, that she had gone past her tolerance level as far as drinking alcohol was concerned.
As I returned to my car, started it, and headed home, I thought about what I might have done. I hoped that whoever she was talking to on the phone helped her get home and that she got home safely. If she had depended on the store attendants I am afraid she might never have found her apartment or home (although apartment seemed more likely). More importantly, to me, did my actions - or lack of - have a detrimental effect on her efforts?
If I had given her directions would she have been able to follow them? Would I see in the news the next day that she had died in a wreck? And wonder if my directions had been responsible in some way? Was that any better than wondering now if she got into serious trouble or an accident as a result of my lack of direction?
I would like to think that my thoughts of and prayers for her helped her to get home safely. Despite the attitude of the store attendants. With the help of the "friend" on the phone. But I will never know for sure. Do I want to know? Well, maybe. Should I know, would I find that I did not do what I could? I have to leave that up to the Lord. And pray that I did the right thing.
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