Thanks Johnnie Johnson of San Antonio, Texas

T-bone steaks, yellow roses and friendship-

Anonymous

I walked into the grocery store
not particularly interested in buying
groceries. I wasn't hungry. The
pain of losing my husband of 7 years

was still too raw. And this grocery
store held so many sweet memories.

He often came with me and
almost every time he'd pretend to go

off and look for something special. I
knew what he was up to. I'd always spot

him walking down the aisle with the
three yellow roses in his hands.

He knew I loved yellow roses.
With a heart filled with grief, I only
wanted to buy my few items and
leave, but even grocery shopping was
different since he had passed on.

Shopping for one took time, a
little more thought than it had for two.

Standing by the meat, I
searched for the perfect small steak

and remembered how he had loved his steak.

Suddenly a woman came beside
me. She was blonde, slim and lovely

in a soft green pantsuit. I watched
as she picked up a large package of
T-bones, dropped them in her basket..

Hesitated, and then put them back.
She turned to go and once again
reached for the pack of steaks.

She saw me watching her and she
smiled. "My husband loves T-bones,

but honestly, at these prices, I
don't know."

I swallowed the emotion down my
throat and met her pale blue eyes.

"My husband passed away eight
days ago," I told her. Glancing at the
package in her hands, I fought
to control the tremble in my voice.

"Buy him the steaks. And cherish
every moment you have together."

She shook her head and I saw the

emotion in her eyes as she placed

the package in her basket and
wheeled away.

I turned and pushed my cart across the

A Quart, I finally decided and moved on

to the ice cream. If nothing else,
I could always fix myself an
ice cream cone.

I placed the ice cream in my
cart and looked down the aisle toward the
front. I saw first the green
suit, then recognized the pretty lady coming
towards me. In her arms she
carried a package. On her face was the
brightest smile I had ever
seen. I would swear a soft halo encircled her
blonde hair as she kept walking
toward me, her eyes holding mine.

As she came closer, I saw what
she held and tears began misting in my
eyes. "These are for you," she
said and placed three beautiful long
stemmed yellow roses in my
arms. "When you go through the line, they will
know these are paid for." She
leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on my
cheek, then smiled again. I
wanted to tell her what she'd done, what the
roses meant, but still unable
to speak, I watched as she walked away as
tears clouded my vision.

I looked down at the beautiful
roses nestled in the green tissue wrapping
and found it almost unreal. How
did she know? Suddenly the answer seemed
so clear. I wasn't alone.

Oh, you haven't forgotten me,
have you? I whispered, with tears in my
eyes. He was still with me, and
she was his angel.