In Pursuit Of A Stranger

Lilly was happy to sit for a while. It had been a busy day at the bank and she had welcomed closing time. Having an unreliable car had a silver lining, she loved walking through Riverside Park on her way home and would often stop to watch the sunset. Of course, she would have to eventually get her car fixed but summer was on the way and she could make do for a while. Right now she needed her pay for a part time caregiver for her ailing mother and for her night classes. It would be well worth it when she was a certified financial planner.

She smiled wearily at an elderly man, with one hand on a shopping cart which likely held his worldly possessions. Forcing herself up off the bench she dug in her purse for some loose change which she offered to the old man on her way past. He smiled and accepted it willingly, which made Lilly feel good and put a little more spring in her step on the way home. As she passed the last bench along the path something caught her eye. A book lying under the bench. She stooped to pick it up and as there was no one nearby she opened it in the hope that it might tell her who the owner was. Only 5 pages were written on and clearly numbered one through five. But the rest seemed to be a cryptic mix of advice and riddles. She tucked it into her purse thinking she would take time to study it later.

Once her mother was settled for the night, Lilly decided to have a night off from her studies and turned her mind to the little black notebook. She retrieved it from her purse and plonked herself on the couch. Opening it at page one she read:

If you found me, I must be lost but will you return me and at what cost?

Well that sounded like a challenge! Lilly never backed down from a challenge. She turned the page and read on.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder but sometimes it can break.

With roses of red, violets of blue, Addie has just such a tale for you.

Absence? Broken Heart? What did it mean and who the heck was Addie? “Addie, I know that name.” she thought out loud. “Think Lilly, think!” she commanded herself. She read it again and at the word roses she had it. “The flower lady!” The flower stand in the park had a sign reading Addie’s Flowers. Feeling rather pleased with herself she resolved to stop by the stand and ask Addie about the book.

The next day Lilly got to the park just as Addie was setting the flowers out on her stand.

“Good morning Addie.”

Addie looked up with a big grin. “Good morning Miss”

Lilly returned the smile. “I was hoping you could help me. I found this little notebook in the park yesterday and I was hoping you would know who it belongs to. It says you have a tale of absence and a broken heart, so I assume the owner knows you.”

Addie looked pensive. “ No, I’m sorry, it’s not familiar but I have a tale to tell all right. I have been asking everyone if they have seen Mrs Almay. She is a regular, comes every Friday for 5 yellow carnations to take to her husband Andy’s grave. She says it’s because her husband wore a yellow carnation when they started courting many years ago. He proposed to her on the 5th date. Last Friday she never came and I have been worried about her. She would never disappoint Andy by not taking him his carnations so it must be very distressing for her.”

It was Lilly’s turn to look pensive, then before she could stop herself she was buying 5 yellow carnations. Addie was thrilled but did not know where the grave was. She said it had to be within walking distance because Mrs Almay didn’t drive.

Over the course of the morning Lilly inquired if anyone knew Mrs Almay. No one did. She did discover, however, that there was a small grave yard 3 blocks from the bank and set out to find it during her lunch break. She entered through iron gates and was saddened by some of the graves which appeared long forgotten. Within minutes she found the well kept grave of Andrew Almay - Beloved husband of Adrienne. He had died 5 years earlier. Lilly removed the dead carnations and replaced them with the cheery new ones, feeling the need to tell Andy that she was doing it for Mrs Almay. She knew it was silly but felt it necessary.

“Where’s Adrienne?” a booming male voice startled Lilly. Looking up she saw a groundsman carrying a weed wacker, one row over.

“I’m not sure, so I decided to bring the flowers for her.” Lilly confessed.

“You’re the only other person I have seen there, so I guess I have a message for you. Adrienne told me if I ever saw anyone here I should tell them that 5 is significant in the book.”

Lilly froze. Mrs Almay knew about the book? Could it be her book? As the gardener walked off she called out “Could you tell me where Mrs Almay lives?”

“No clue,” he called back. “I have only ever seen her here.”

Now what? She rummaged in her bag and pulled out the notebook. Page three, no mention of 5, or on page four, or five. Wait, page five, perhaps that’s why the page numbers are so prominent, she read page five.

Thanks for standing in. Ah, she thought, I’m am on the right page. They say out of the mouths of babes but it should say into the mouths of babes. She works her fingers to the bone for Rosie but sometimes it isn’t enough.

Lilly contemplated the words. Who’s Rosie? Perhaps Rosie knows Mrs Almay and can return the book. She mulled it over as she headed back to work and as she turned the bank’s corner there it was. Of course! Rosie’s Diner. That must be it, she would go after work.

It was Friday night and Lilly often went out with her friends as her aunt bought dinner over for her mother on Fridays. Tonight, however, she decided against it and headed to the diner. It was busy so she stood and waited for a table which gave her the opportunity to look around. The servers were hustling and Lilly squinted to read their name tags. Julie, Sarah….

“Hi I have a table ready.” Lilly turned to see a friendly, smiling face.

“Thanks.” Lilly replied, taking a quick glance at the server’s name. “Sadie. I will try to resist singing the song.” They both laughed.

“Oh, yes do, I get it all the time. My kids think it’s funny.” Sadie rolled her eyes. Lilly liked her immediately.

As she sat at the table for 2, Sadie the Cleaning Lady was stuck in her head. Her mother had the LP when Lilly was a child and would play it while she did house work. She said it was because she felt like Sadie the cleaning lady sometimes. Lilly continued singing it in her head. That’s it! Sadie worked her fingers to the bone. In the song Sadie was a single Mom who worked hard to feed her daughter but still went hungry. When Sadie returned, Lilly ordered a modest meal of grilled cheese and a coffee. While she ate she went through her finances in her head. She wasn’t going out tonight so there was $50 she would save and she had the $100 tucked away in her purse for a new dress for her cousin’s wedding. She had lots of dresses she decided, so when Sadie left the bill Lilly took the money from her bag and added another $50 to it from her wallet. She quickly wrote on the bill. “Keep the change Sadie, and keep the faith.” She slipped out of her chair and out of the diner, feeling content about her actions but no closer to finding the owner of the notebook.

She wandered back over to the park and sat by the river to watch the sunset. Not sure what to do next she pulled the notebook out again. There was only pages three and four left. There was still just enough light to read them. Page three:

The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Understand this and you will have a grateful man!”

Ha! If only they knew I seem to be ‘in between’ men right now, she scoffed at herself as she turned to page four.

Where the queen and her son meet, there’s a great place to eat (but make sure you don’t dine alone.)

“Piece of cake!” Lilly exclaimed and sprang to her feet. Her bank was on the corner of King Street and Elizabeth Street and the next street parallel to King was Charles. Elizabeth and Charles! She had to stop herself from breaking into a jog to get to the corner. Now what?

There were 5 cafes clearly visible from the corner. Which one would the man (she presumed) be in and how would she know him? She continued to survey the corner. A newspaper stand, a busker, a homeless man with a sign, a hot dog stand and the 5 cafes. Hold it! She slowly turned her head back to the homeless man’s sign.

Grateful for food.

Eureka! Lilly raced into the sandwich store on the corner and bought 2 large subs and shortly after, sat herself down beside the old man with a big smile on her face. She offered him a sandwich which he took with a grateful smile. It was him, the man from the park. “You?”

“Yes,” he replied “and somehow I knew it would be you.”

Lilly looked puzzled. “I don’t understand.”

“Let me explain. I was a successful businessman married to the love of my life but threw it all away on gambling and drinking. When my wife found out I had lost almost everything, she left me. We sold the house and I had just $25k left after I paid my debts. I put it in the bank vowing not to touch a cent until I could win my wife back. 2 years ago my wife died, I couldn’t cope with life and I took to the streets. Last week I found out that I too am dying so Addie and I came up with this plan for the money, she’s my only friend but was left well off when her Andy passed away.”

“Of course, Adrienne was Addie! Why didn’t I see that?” Lilly exclaimed.

The old man chuckled. “Yes she is, and this scheme was her idea. We decided to have a ‘quest’ and if anyone saw it through they would be deserving enough to get the money, well $20,000 of it. The other 5 is for Sadie at Addie’s request. We made several notebooks and left them around the park. I was so happy to see you pick one up after you gave me the money yesterday. Addie told me you had bought the flowers this morning and it was easy to get your name from the bank, in anticipation.” he said proudly presenting her with a check for $20,000.

Over the next few weeks Lilly and Ron, the old man, watched several sunsets together, sitting on a park bench. They became good friends and he seemed much more content. He passed peacefully one day while they watched the sun go down and she realized that her life had been made better as well, in her pursuit of a stranger.