Jonathan pulled up at the grocery store to get some onions and tomatoes for spaghetti. As he got off his motorcycle, an old lady spoke to him.
“Excuse me, but you’re the spitting image of my son. He died last Tuesday and all the light went out of my life.”
Jonathan, always polite, said, “I’m sorry, ma’am. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Why, yes, there is. It would do my heart good to have you call me ‘Mother.’ When I leave the store, could you just wave at me and say, ‘Goodbye, Mother’?”
“Sure I can.”
Jonathan took his time finding the best onions and tomatoes and then picked up some bottled water, too. When he got to the front of the store, the old woman was ready to leave with her groceries.
As he’d promised, Jonathan waved and yelled out, “Goodbye, Mother.”
He was amazed when his bill came to well over eighty dollars. “What do you mean $84.54? I got just these three things!”
The clerk answered, “Yes, but your mom said you’d pay for her groceries.”
