Employee stole his heart to inherit his fortune, but before he died, he discovered something unthinkable. Lucy was struggling to make ends meet. Her waitressing job and private housekeeper were barely enough to keep her afloat, but she had goals and dreams that her life wouldn’t always be like this. Not that she was complaining. She knew there were others out there who were in far worse situations than she was.
In fact, she walked past homeless man every day who broke her heart when she saw him. But something about this guy touched her on an emotional level so much that she literally risked her future and her freedom to help him. The only problem was that he hadn’t been entirely Truthful with her. Lucy from Mexico was earning a living as a waitress. It wasn’t exactly the most exciting job in the world, but there were a few perks.
For starters, she didn’t need a lot of work experience to get the job, and she could do it at odd hours, which allowed her to attend classes. Admittedly, the pay wasn’t great, but she could earn more in tips than any other job that paid minimum wage. Besides, it was also the only job she could get, and she needed to pay the rent. She considered herself a decent waitress, and she was a real people person. She got to meet a bunch of amazing and interesting people from different walks of life.
Also, the pace was never boring, and she got to eat some of the most amazing food that was cooked by the chefs at the restaurant during her break. On top of that, she was moving all the time and constantly lifting, twisting, reaching, and carrying things, so she never really had to go to the gym to burn calories.
Lucy was friendly to everyone, which came in handy in her line of work, but one day she got the chance to show kindness outside of the restaurant when she ran into a homeless man near her place of work. She saw right away that the stranger was struggling and he couldn’t take it anymore, so she decided to act right away to ease his suffering. She had no idea that her generosity would have an unforeseen outcome.
Lucy worked at one of Mexico’s most prestigious restaurants, and since they had two Michelin stars under their belt, they expected nothing more than the highest quality of work from their employees. This was okay with her, since she had been a hard worker all of her life. She also dreamt of trading her server’s apron for a chef’s apron.
She was already studying to be a chef, and this job was giving her the work experience she needed, not to mention the money to pay for her education. Most students who attended culinary school told that 75% of their classmates would drop out before the program is completed, and many of them do that’s because many students learn that it’s not always the kind of glamorous career that reality food shows make it out to be.
It’s a lot of hard work and a long process to learn all there is to know about the trade. Before one becomes a master chef, however, Lucy felt she would be ready to take on such a responsibility someday. It was just a matter of waiting for the right opportunity to come along. In the meantime, she had plenty to keep her busy. The place she worked in wasn’t some low budget diner off the side of the highway that sold menu items for 999 or less.
The guests who walked through the door of her restaurant forked over several hundred dollars per night on fancy dishes. Lucy was happy that the restaurant was doing so well because it ensured that she would have a job for as long as she needed one. But a part of her had a hard time accepting that some people could afford such pricey dishes while a homeless man went to sleep around the corner of the restaurant with an empty stomach.
No one should ever have to worry about whether they’ll have food on their plate or a roof over their head. But the sad reality is that the hunger and homelessness in the Land of Plenty have become widespread problems that affect thousands of people, and those living on the brink of poverty are forced to choose between buying food or paying rent.
They also know that there’s a possibility that they might end up on the streets someday. This was a reality that made Lucy shudder. She didn’t want to end up homeless ever, and she hated the fact that others had to go through that. Lucy always took the same route to and from work, and the homeless man was always in the same spot. Even when the weather outside was frightful, the man was there.
But what surprised her the most was that he was always smiling at passersby. She couldn’t believe that someone in his situation could ever be this cheerful. She knew that if their positions were reversed, she would be too depressed to smile or engage anyone in conversations. But this guy didn’t have that problem. One of the primary reasons why people generally avoid talking to the homeless is that they don’t like being asked for money or food.
But what Lucy found most interesting about this homeless man was the fact that he never asked for a handout or anything from anyone. All he wanted was for people to talk to him and really see him. Lucy liked this about the homeless stranger, but had no idea that this guy wasn’t showing his true self to anyone. At a glance, the homeless guy was like most other people on the streets. He was huddled in a corner, trying to stay warm against the harsh elements.
He also appeared to be very lonely and a little sad, too. This broke her heart, but she marveled at all the times that he managed to put a smile on his face and engage people in conversation. He wasn’t begging them for jobs, money, food, or clothes. He just didn’t want to be alone. And there was no better cure for loneliness than conversation.
Although some people were kind to the homeless man, they weren’t all Angels. In fact, Lucy recalled seeing people ignoring him as they walked right past him. So the guy spent all day without a soul to talk to. Others simply pointed and laughed at his misery. Then there was the one time when a bunch of boys spat into his cup.
She felt that this was a mean spirited thing to do to someone who was down on his luck, and it broke her heart. She figured that he probably would have been safer at a shelter. But some homeless people don’t like going to shelters because the supply of beds is extremely limited.
They also have some restrictions, like not allowing pets, which is nonnegotiable to some homeless people because to them, pets are their most faithful companions. And if that weren’t bad enough, most shelters have curfews that prevent the homeless from entering or leaving after a specific time.
This curfew makes it difficult for the residents who find jobs that only offer night shift or late night positions because they can’t head back to the shelter to rest after work. Although living on the streets is definitely not the greatest, those who have no option take comfort in the fact that the homeless community looks after one another at homeless encampments or when they’re out on the street.
Essentially, they become like a family, but they have to give up this safety net whenever they opt for a shelter to escape the mean streets. Unfortunately, it doesn’t help that society has forgotten that these people are a lot like everyone else. Most people tend to forget that the homeless weren’t always homeless.
Many of them started out with lives everyone could relate to. They were born and raised by loving parents, went to school, had friends. They may have graduated high school and gone to College. Eventually, they got jobs, which allowed them to buy a nice home or rent an apartment. They fell in love, got married, had kids.
They were essentially on top of the world. And then it all came crumbling down. Sadly, somewhere along the way, life threw a wrench into their plans and sent these people on a path towards homelessness. In most cases, the reasons why people end up on the street are because of unemployment, debt or lack of affordable housing. And out of the blue, they watch helplessly as their life goes down the drain.
But in some cases, homelessness can be the result of substance abuse or even mental illness. This meant that Lucy had to be careful. Lucy’s first instinct was to approach anyone in need and lend them a hand. But some homeless people suffer from mental problems like schizophrenia or dementia that can cause them to lash out and injure someone. These actions in themselves are the result of their illness and not intentional malicious acts.
But regardless, Lucy was young and beautiful and a potential target for someone who wanted to take advantage of her. Luckily, this homeless guy she walked past all the time didn’t mean her any harm. If her boss caught her doing what she was planning on doing, he would most certainly call the cops and have her arrested and he would fire her too,
which is something she could not afford. So she carried on with her plan very carefully. Lucy knew that there weren’t a lot of people that would stick their necks out for anyone, Let alone a homeless man.