Kindness Is The Key

(I don’t own a car so in order to get to work I use buses. On this particular morning I’m about to take my dog for a quick walk before catching the bus to work. As it’s Sunday and both my home and the workplace are far from downtown, the buses run every 30 minutes. Usually I carry my keys in my pocket 24/7 but this time I’m wearing pants with no pockets and at the exact moment I shut my door I realise I forgot my keys inside. By the time I reach a maintenance guy it’s about 15 minutes until the bus leaves but he says it’ll take at least 30 minutes to get to me. I thank him nonetheless and wait, trying to reach my boss to explain the situation but getting no answer. Then, after the guy has arrived and opened my door, I’m getting the money to pay him with and this happens.)

Me: “Yeah, okay. Here you go. Sorry if I seem agitated. I’ve been trying to call my boss to explain that I’ll be late because I’m an idiot who forgets my keys inside.” *I chat about this mostly because blabbering on helps me keep my cool when I’m anxious*

Man: “Where do you work?”

Me: “[Location]. It’ll be 30 minutes before the next bus.

Man: “Would you make it in time for work if I drove you there?”

Me: “Wait, really?”

Man: “Yeah, I’ll be driving close to the area anyway. It’ll be just a small detour. Hop in and I’ll drop you off.”

(True to his word, he drove me to work and thanks to using better routes than the bus routes, I got there over 20 minutes early! He could have just opened my door, said “tough luck,” and left without another thought, but instead he went an extra mile to give someone a hand. I couldn’t thank him enough for his kindness.)