Sunday, November 5, 2006

My Good Samaritan


The receptionist from my office phones me at 10:30 in the morning and gets me out of bed. It's Wednesday, but I've taken the day off. I was out on the town the previous night with Hallowe'en revellers and knew I'd need some recovery time. I'm pissed off to get a phone call because I can't seem to take any time off without work hounding me at home for answers to stupid questions.

There is a tone of dread and concern in the receptionist's voice: "Did you lose your wallet and your ID in a taxi last night?!"

"Uhhhhhhh...." I'm still kinda drunk. I'm definitely confused. Is she talking to me? Is she clairvoyant? WTF? I start fumbling around for my jacket and bag, looking for my wallet. Dammit, it's not there. The panic suddenly hits me like a freight train. My wallet is missing.

The receptionist tries to calm me: "A man just phoned here and said he found your wallet in a taxi last night. He wants to return it to you immediately because he's headed for Montreal in a few hours. Here's his number..."

I jot down the info and my heart is racing now as I come to realize the gravity of the situation. Thank goodness someone wants to return my wallet, but I bet everything's gone... my credit card, my ID, my money. I'm shaking a little as I dial the number, thinking of all the BS I'll have to go through to replace it all. And I'm headed out of town for the weekend so this is NOT good.

The man answers with a deep sexy smooth voice and a good-natured attitude. He's chuckling a little because it's quite obvious I'm a stupid drunk girl who partied too hard on Hallowe'en and lost her shit.

He tells me where to meet him. It's across town, and I don't own a car, so it will take me at least 90 minutes to get there. He can't wait that long because he needs to leave town right away. He says he'll drive to my home and drop it off, no problem. Wow!!! That's so very very cool.

He tells me it seems like all my ID is intact, but there was no money in the wallet when he found it. Fuck. I had seventy five bucks in there. Dammit! I look into my jacket pocket and I'm overjoyed to find $75 in cash AND my ATM card. I must have quickly slipped it in there after a late night trip to a bank machine. Hooray for me!

An hour later I meet the guy at my closest major intersection. He's a handsome dude with a warm smile and a friendly handshake. He's driving a really nice car. He's wearing a very nice suit. I look at my wallet and it's all in there: my licence, my credit cards, everything.

He reminds me that I'm a lucky, lucky girl and I need to take better care of my things. I agree and sheepishly offer him a generous cash reward for his kindness and honesty, which he refuses.

"Ah c'mon, I insist," I say, "you really went out of your way, and I'm so very grateful...please get yourself a nice bottle of wine or dinner in Montreal."

He smiles and takes the money. He glances down at my hands. "Are you single?"

I'm a bit clueless for a few seconds but then it dawns on me that he's looking for a ring. I'm shocked and I stutter a little: "Uh, yeah, I am."

"Well then, maybe I'll take YOU out for dinner when I get back into town? You have my number, and I have yours. What do you think?"

I think I'll have a nice date next week.