Charlie’s Dad is a contractor, and for years he employed an older man from the area. The guy was usually a cantankerous pain in the butt and his skill set was only good enough for grunt work around the job site, but business was good and Charlie’s Dad kept him on just to help the guy out.
You know the type of guy I’m talking about – older, cranky, gruff…but underneath, you know he has a heart of gold. I used to work at a local restaurant seven years ago, and this man seriously made me cry my first week on the job, but by the time I left that job a year later, he liked me because I always remembered his drink (he’d have three of them), his pain in the ass (custom) to-go order, and the exact amount that his bill always came up to be.
A couple of years ago, business tanked, the old man had gotten even older, and Charlie’s Dad was forced to let him go. We still see him around town though, and I send him Christmas cards every year. A couple weekends ago when we met up with Charlie’s Dad at a local restaurant for some drinks, the old guy happened to come in and sit down next to us at the bar. We showed off Stella, and he smiled and mumbled something nice about her.
Well, Charlie’s little sister works at that restaurant now, and when she came over last night after work, she brought us this envelope…