Man Buys Lilies for Girl Short of Cash at Flower Shop, Later Sees Them on His Wife’s Grave — Story of the Day
A man grieving for his deceased wife pays for a penniless girl’s flowers at a florist and his kind gesture transforms his life.
For Richard Preston, Sundays were the worse. Sundays were the days he and Anne would laze in bed for hours, talking and watching the shadows march across their ceiling, eating pancakes and dropping crumbs on the sheets.
It was on a Sunday that Anne had died. Richard had woken to find her clutching at his arm, her sweet face contorted, her other hand cupped over her swollen belly. Richard had rushed her to the hospital, to no avail. Anne had died, and their baby with her. It was a Sunday.
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Two years had passed but for Richard, it felt as if hardly a week had gone by. He couldn’t seem to come out of that haze of pain. He missed Anne constantly, and her loss left a gaping hole in his life.
Richard walked into his favorite florist on his way to the cemetery. The man would already have his bouquet for Anne made up: lilies of the valley, and baby’s breath, and a sprig of jasmine to remind him of her perfume.
But when Richard walked in, he found himself in the middle of a conflict. A slender girl in her late teens stood in the middle of the shop, her fists clenched, her chin up, hazel eyes sparking fire.
“Please,” she said, and her voice trembled. Richard saw that the sparkle in her eyes were tears she was holding back, not anger. “I know I don’t have enough money for the lilies, but I’ll work for them…Clean up, sweep…”
The florist just kept shaking his head. “Girl, I tell you these lilies are for a regular customer and I wouldn’t sell them to you if you did have the full $25!”
“But you don’t understand!” the girl cried. “I have to have them, for HER! They were her favorites. I’ll give you my phone, I’ll kneel to you if that is what it takes, but please!”
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The girl bent her proud head and started going down on her one knee and that was when Richard intervened. He stepped forward quickly and placed his hand under her elbow. “You don’t kneel to anyone, you hear?” Richard said. “Ever, for anything!”
“Hey Jack,” Richard said to the florist. “Are those my lilies this young lady wanted?” Jack nodded and Richard...