The Day I Will Never Forget

A world-wide pandemic had hit and turned our lives upside down in the year 2020. I owned a little bakery in Harlem called Johnson’s Buns that was passed down from my grandfather to my father and then to me. With New York being in lockdown we were losing income rapidly, yet our bills were pilling up. For the first time I felt like I was failing my father and grandfather. I was now officially a failure with a giant debt. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing the shop. I grew up in this bakery and have so many fond memories.

May 15th, 2020, all hell was breaking lo0se. We had to let go all of our staff and we had to close the bakery till further notice. I will never forget this dreary rainy day when I got the call from my Dad telling me that my Pops had contracted Covid-19. I rushed to close up the bakery to be with my family and for the life of me could not find an umbrella. I rummage through the lost and found box and finally found a bright pink polka dot umbrella. ‘Oh great’, just what I needed I mumbled to myself.

To my annoyance and frustration, it was entangled to a ribbon bookmark of a little black notebook. I snapped the ribbon with my teeth and stuffed the notebook in my back pocket in a dash to lockup and catch the train. It was a long train ride up to the Bronx and my mind was racing. What if Pop’s doesn’t make it? Do I tell him the truth about the bakery? Will the bakery survive the pandemic closures? What would I do for a job if I had to close it down?

I had to find a way to distract myself, so I pulled out the notebook from my back pocket and decided to flip through it. It looked like someone’s journal and an account of their day. At the back of the book it said:

If lost, please return to Dr Jacob Stine at

2000, 5th Avenue, 1AA Apt, New York.

Why did this name sound so familiar? I tried to recall where I had heard this name or if I had met this man but couldn’t. I decided that the right thing to do was to return the notebook. I got off at the next station and walked back in the pouring rain towards the address written in the notebook for no other reason than I could escape my daunting reality for a few more moments. I arrived at the apartment and thought perhaps the appropriate thing to do was to leave the notebook with the concierge especially during COVID.

I was headed towards the door when the man at the concierge called out for me and asked if I could wait for a few moments, Mrs Stine would like to see me. So, I took a seat in the lobby a little nervous about the situation and embarrassed about my bright pink polka-dot umbrella. A few moments passed when I heard a soft frail gentle voice say, “young man what is your name and where did you find this notebook”? I looked up to see Mrs Stine and suddenly it hit me, Dr Jacob Stine and his wife were regular customers of the bakery when I was younger. I introduced myself as Steve Johnson from Johnsons Buns. Her eyes started to well up as she shared that Johnsons Buns was her husband’s favourite bakery and that he would frequently find excuses to pick up more bread. He was in love with my grandpa’s signature Brioche Twist Loaf.

She went on to say that he passed away last year and battled with severe dementia. The little black book was his way of documenting his day to help him remember. Some days he even found it difficult to find his way back home. She thanked me profusely for returning the notebook and said that it felt like she got a piece of her husband back. For moment it felt like time just stopped and all my troubles went away. It felt good to do something nice for someone else. I was glad I made this pitstop though I’m sure my family were anxious waiting especially with Pop’s condition.

Mrs Stine pulled out her chequebook and began to write a cheque for the Johnsons Buns. I told her it was not necessary, and I was glad to be of assistance in returning the book and sheepishly apologised for letting it sit in the lost and found box for so long. She handed me the cheque and said that this is a gift from her husband and that she hopes the bakery will always be a place she can go to savour fond memories and enjoy delicious bread.

I thanked her and we parted ways. To my surprise, the cheque was for $20,000!!! This was the exact amount needed to pay off debts and to stay afloat during the lockdown. I could not believe it. My jaw hung open for a good 10 minutes before I could recover from the shock. I rushed home to tell the family the news. They had some good news too! My Pops was responding well to the treatment and on the path of recovery. Fingers cross we will all survive this crazy year called 2020.