Phillip Gets a Meal

Phillip Gets A Meal

Phillip was down on his luck. He had just been laid off and had half a tank of gas in his car. Although all his bills were paid up for the month, he didn’t know where his next meal was coming from. He decided to save his gas and walk to town, hoping to find a job.

On his way, he gets a call from his best friend, Mike. Mike tells him that he and his wife, Stephanie, were going out to eat and wanted him to come along.

“Yeah, man.

Why don’t you come with us?” Mike asked.

“I don’t know.

I’m kinda hurting for funds right now.” Phillip replied.

“Not a problem, dog. It’s our treat!”

“OK, but I don’t wanna intrude on you and Stephanie’s evening.”

“Intrude? It was Stephanie’s idea. Come on.” Mike said encouragingly.

“Alright then. What time?”

Phillip and Mike finalized dinner plans, and Phillip continued his walk to town. Along the way, he walked through a neighborhood and saw an old lady attempting to cut her grass. The old lady was struggling. Phillip could see she was trying to tackle a job that was much bigger than she was.

“Ma’am. Do you need some help with that? Here, let me get that for you.”

“Oh! Thank you, but I don’t have any money.” The old lady replied.

“Me either! We got something in common!”

The old lady laughed. It felt good to Phillip to see the woman go from struggling to smiling.

“You just relax. I got this.”

He grabbed the lawn mower from her and fired it up.

The old lady watched him cut a few lines and went inside to escape the heat. She watched Phillip through the window to make sure the young man wasn’t going to run off with her mower. Phillip cut the lady’s grass, clipped her hedges, trimmed her edges, and raked her yard. He even pulled the weeds from her flower bed. He gave her yard a complete landscaping job. When he was done, he brought her tools to the backyard, returned to the front, and knocked on her door.

“Ma’am, I’m done with the yard. I put all your tools and equipment around back next to the tool shed. Is there anything else I can do for you while I’m here?”

The old lady was impressed by the young gentleman.

“Oh, thank you so much! Why don’t you sit for a spell? I got some lemonade in the kitchen.”

Phillip agreed.

“Now I don’t have any money to pay you, but you can at least get out of the heat for a minute.” said the old lady.

When Phillip walked into the kitchen, his jaw dropped when he saw that the old lady had set the table for him. She had ice water, iced tea, apple juice, orange juice, and the lemonade she had offered.

“Sit down. You hungry? I fixed you a bite to eat.”

Initially, Phillip expected only a glass of lemonade. When she mentioned food, he thought that she may have made a sandwich for him.

Before Phillip could answer, the old lady started pulling out a smorgasbord of food. He didn’t touch anything at first. He simply stared at everything in shock of gratitude.

“Eat!” she sweetly commanded him.

Phillip dug in.

“I’m so glad you stopped by,” she said. “I don’t know how I would’ve ever finished that yard. I thought I could manage it, but it proved to be too much for me.”

The food was so good Phillip had to slow down to speak.

“How have you been cutting the grass?” Phillip asked while stuffing his face.

“Oh, I don’t cut it. My nephew Stevie usually comes by and takes care of it. But he’s working out of town this week, so it’s just me.”

The two continued to talk like old friends, and the old lady never stopped placing food in front of Phillip to eat. After he ate as much as he could hold, Phillip thanked the lady for her hospitality, and she thanked him for all his hard work. When he got up to leave, the old lady ordered him to take a plate home with him.

“Stevie isn’t here so here, take some with you.”

“Miss Gertrude…”

“Here ya go, baby.”

Miss Gertrude packed him a to-go feast that was just as full as his meal. Phillip thanked Miss Gertrude and hugged her before he left.

“Now you be a good boy.” she said.

“Yes ma’am.”

Phillip walked home thinking about how he woke up that morning and went from not knowing how he was going to eat to stuffing himself to his heart’s delight and bringing home enough leftovers that’ll last him a month. He returned home and continued counting his blessings while getting ready for dinner night with his friends.

Phillip, Mike, and Stephanie go to the new restaurant in town. The evening was calm initially, but Stephanie became agitated halfway through the meal. Mike was not the one who wanted Phillip to come to dinner with the couple.

Stephanie had Mike invited Phillip because she had been trying to get Mike to confess to him cheating on her. She could not get the confession herself and figured that Mike’s best friend could pull it out of him. However, Mike never admitted to any wrongdoing because he never committed any.

An argument erupted at the dinner table. Phillip stayed out of it and continued to watch them and eat.

Stephanie fussed, “I know you been messing around! Why don’t you just say it!”

“I haven’t been messing around at all! What are you talking about?” Mike responded.

Stephanie had had enough and couldn’t hold it any longer.

She blurted, “Oh, I know you been cheating on me. And that’s why I cheated on you!”

Phillip spit out his drink.

“What! With who?” Mike demanded.

“His name is Stevie,” Stephanie sassed. “And we went out of town together!”

Phillip’s eyes broadened, but he sat silently.

“You told me you were working!” the angered Mike replied.

“I wasn’t working. I was out of town with Stevie! You know what, Mike? It’s over! We’re done!” Stephanie yelled as she threw down her silverware.

Everyone watched as she stormed out of the restaurant.

A week goes by, and Phillip decides to check on his new friend, Miss Gertrude. He saw that her grass needed to be cut again. They repeated the previous week. He took care of her yard, she fed him, and they both sat and talked for a long time. These actions became routine over the summer. On one visit, Miss Gertrude thanked Phillip for not only the yard work, but also for checking on her.

“How are you making it?” she asked.

“Well, I’m still job hunting. But in the meantime, my boy Mike has been helping me stay afloat until I find something.

What about you? Your nephew been taking good care of you?”

“Stevie.” She shakes her head. “He used to come regularly. But now he’s been working so much I don’t ever see him at all.”

“He ain’t working,” Phillip said.

“What do you mean?” Miss Gertrude asked.

“Your nephew Stevie ran off with my best friend’s wife. Now they’re out there living the life somewhere.” Phillip explained.

“Stevie did what!” the sweet old lady said, surprised and disgusted. “So that’s why he hasn’t been by here to check on me all this time! Because he’s doing dirt! Running around with other folk’s wife? That low-down scoundrel!”

After the lawn care season was over, Phillip continued to look after Miss Gertrude. Miss Gertrude continued to feed him, which Phillip never objected to. However, old age got the best of Miss Gertrude, and she passed.

Phillip got word that he had an inheritance. He met with a lawyer, who explained everything to him.

“Miss Gertrude has been my client for a long, long time. At first, she had planned to give everything to her nephew but had written him out of the will. With no other relatives to leave anything to, she decided to give her money to the church.

But not too long ago, she updated her will. She had changed her mind and made you the beneficiary. It now belongs to you. All her funds, the house, and all her belongings.”

Phillip was flabbergasted.

The lawyer continued, “She said that she wanted to leave the money with someone worthy. She said that you were a sweet, good-hearted young man, and you would know what to do with it.”

Phillip accepted the money and sold Miss Gertrude’s house and belongings. He called up Mike and told him the news.

“Hey man, you have been helping me out from day one. Now, I came up with a way to pay you back and then some.” Phillip told him.

“How so?” Mike asked, puzzled.

“I just came into a good bit of money. Why don’t we start our own business?”

“I’m down with that!” Mike answered.

The two buds became business partners and decided to start a bail bonds company.

Meanwhile, Stephanie and Stevie are not doing so well. Their love spree ended when Stevie was arrested for fraud. Now, Stephanie sits wondering, “Where in the world am I gonna find bail money?”