My Lucky Stars

My girls believe in signs. One of my daughters sees four-leaf clovers everywhere. If she is having a bad day and goes out for a walk and finds one she usually does, she brightens right up and knows everything will be fine. If one of the girls sees a rainbow, she mails a picture to all her sisters and says, "Look at what I saw; it's a lucky day today."

Photo by Yan Ming on Unsplash

Another girl told me, "Hang posters of what you want all over the house, so everywhere you look, you'll see what you want, and the universe will send it to you."

I don't know where they picked up these ideas. I know if you want something, you have to work hard and make it happen. I had a concussion, and I am working hard to get better to get back to my writing. So many days spent recovering without u

sing screens has made me fall behind. This week I decided I was well enough to get my taxes ready to take to my tax person. I had to find the files in the filing cabinet. That left me sitting on a chair perfectly quiet for a while so that the hot flash would pass. Yes, it was just like a hot flash. Next, I had to pull the year's papers out of the files, another rest. Next was the hard part. I had to add up the receipts and get a year's total for all the bills.

I was not ready, yet I couldn't find last year's city tax receipt showing I had paid my city taxes. Just then, I got a call from one of my daughters.

"How are you doing, Mom?" well, I didn't cry, but she knew things were not going well.

"Go to the city hall, and they'll print you a duplicate.

It was almost noon. I decided to get ready and do it. I thought about the Chinese Food restaurant next to the city hall. I could reward all my hard work with a yummy lunch. Rewards work better for me than luck. All was going well, I got the duplicate receipt, and the person that waited on me was pleasant and did not think I was irresponsible for losing such an essential piece of paper. I left feeling proud of myself for getting the taxes all ready, and before I took them to the tax office, I would have lunch.

I was shocked to see the whole block of stores where the restaurant was under construction. On closer reflection, I saw they had a tunnel built for pedestrians. It was dark and scary, but I had to try. I went inside the tube and saw the restaurant was still there and an open path to the door. I stepped inside, and when my eyes adjusted to the dark, I saw a man at the back counter.

"Sit anywhere. The place is empty." He called.

"Are you still serving lunch?" I asked

"I am," he hurried toward me, handed me a menu, and showed me the booths all empty; the choice was mine.

I asked him which one was the easiest for him to prepare because it was almost two o'clock, and the menu said lunch twelve until two. He said number one was the most popular, but today he has had no business. I picked number one.

I felt sorry for him. He usually has two or three waitresses and a good lunch crowd, but the construction hurts his business. I asked him how much longer they would be working, he said two months, and he added that he hoped he could make it.

I asked for the bill and a box of Jasmine tea. If he was selling anything, I think I would have bought it to help him out. I told him I would tell my family and friend, and he thanked me.

He brought the bill and the fortune cookie, which I always love to read for some crazy reason.

"You will become an accomplished writer." That's what my fortune cookie paper said. Maybe the girls are right. I felt lucky!