Finally we were nearly home, rounding out the day. Loid was getting tired, as was I. Our apartment building was coming into sight and my husband reached into his pocket to search for his key. There were lots of people still about, including this nice old lady presently strolling alongside us. She was pushing one of those granny carts. While Loid looked for the key we made eye contact and smiled at one another.
Suddenly out of the blue from around the bend ran this guy. It all happened so fast. Before either she nor I knew what was happening, the man dashed between us, shoving us both to the side in the process. The old lady tumbled to the pavement while a stunned Loid caught me. "Mrs. Forger!" He cried out alarmed. The man grabbed the lady's purse from her cart and ran off with it. Completely ignoring that for a second, my husband gave me a quick once over for injury. "Are you alright?" He asked, his tone peppered with concerned.
It was my turn to totally ignore him now; or rather, I didn't ignore him per se, I was simply fixated on the old woman lying on the ground beside us. Flinging out of Loid's hands and down to her side, I grabbed her shoulders to steady her and help her sit up. "Are you ok, ma'am?! Are you hurt? Here, give your hand." A number of people had stopped to crowd around us now.
Content with that, Loid immediately turned his attention to the thief. Gritting his teeth in anger, he chased after him, catching up pretty quickly. "Stop right there!" My husband seized the guy by the back of his loose jacket, sending him plummeting down and falling flat on his feet. Getting on top of him, Loid pressed his knee into his back and snatched the purse from his hands. Once he was sure the thief wasn't going anywhere, he looked back to us from over his shoulder.
Another older gentleman had come over to the old lady and me, assisting both of us. He glanced to my husband with a relieved expression. "They're alright here, sir! She's fine," I wasn't sure which "she" he referred to but chose to believe he meant the old lady. Visibly relaxing at this news, Loid lowered his shoulders a tad and turned to another man standing nearby him. "Call the police," he instructed the lad, who ran off to do as he was told. My husband didn't budge from that spot until a pair of cops arrived to arrest the man. The whole time I was fretting over the old woman, wanting to make sure she was really ok.
She grinned up at me, repeatedly patting the top of my hand. "Truly, my dear, I'm perfectly alright. It's so considerate of you to worry over a little old lady like me." But I wasn't convinced. "You sure? We can go to the hospital if you want. I don't mind taking you." She nodded and reached up to pat my right cheek. "Such a good girl. I appreciate your help… You and your husband."
With that we both gazed back toward Loid, who was still overseeing the arrest and conversing with a policeman. The old lady smiled, chuckling softly to herself. "Such a fine young man. A real gentleman: you don't see many like him every day," he proclaimed and I nodded without realizing it. "No, you don't…" My lips spoke without my brain's permission; my eyes were still glued onto the engaged Loid. He wasn't looking back my way, but his attention was needed elsewhere at the moment. I must have seemed comforted though since the old lady flashed me a knowing grin. "You must be so happy." I didn't reply with anything but an equally cunning smile back at her. She knew instantly what I meant and nodded approvingly. Slowly both our eyes scrolled back to my husband; both of us grinning from ear-to-ear. "I don't know where in the world you found this one. You're a lucky woman, miss- a very lucky woman indeed." And again, my head nodded. "I'm very lucky….. Considering we weren't even looking for each other in the first place." "No? Well that's the best way for it to happen, my dear.
We never know what we truly need until it's staring us right in the face….. and smiling."