Today's Smile

A few weeks ago a mom brought in her daughter and son on an evening I was working, with what they thought were late books. I'd put the son around sevenish years old and the daughter a couple years older. Each had a wallet of some sort and sheepishly came to the desk to turn in their books and pay their fines with their own money. Nothing was overdue, much to their surprise, and they went to browse the shelves quite happy. After they left someone found the boy's wallet and brought it to me. I knew his face and recognized the wallet (which had only money in it), but didn't know a name to call and had to hope they'd remember where they left it and come back for it.

This afternoon I was helping a group of guys find books when I realized one of them was the same boy. I checked the safe and his wallet was still there, so I returned it to him. He gratefully accepted it and as I was walking back to the desk I saw him head off to show his mom. A few minutes later he came up to the desk to thank me and offer me a dollar as reward. I'm still smiling about that.

(I refused to accept the reward, of course.)