That Guy

Encounter on a street corner

Travis had worked for several years at a downtown store. He was now unemployed and after a day of job hunting he decided to clear his head by taking a leisurely walk downtown — not thinking about finding work or his finances or his perilous state. It was just a walk for the sake of relaxation.

As he reached a street corner he started hearing someone yelling. He looked across the street at the opposite street corner and there was a short man waving and yelling in his direction. Looking around, Travis realized that he was the only one in that area of the street. That guy was obviously waving and yelling at him.

During a break in traffic the guy ran across the street towards him. Travis was not sure what to do so he just stood there. As the man approached him, Travis remembered him. He had waited on this man several times at the store where he used to work. Travis’ coworkers referred to the man as, ‘The Retard.”

He was a short man, no more than five feet tall. He had a significant speech impediment. He also had enormous amounts of hair growing out of his ears and his nose. His head hair was always uncombed and he always wore way too much clothing for what the weather called for. He had a very feminine way of gesturing and body language. He was always very eager to talk and talk and talk.

“I had a feeling that was you,” he said. “I haven’t seen you in a long time. I was afraid you left town or something. I just had to come say hi to you and tell you what a good person you were. Do you remember when you helped me?”

Travis had to think a minute but he soon remembered the time the guy came into the store and desperately wanted to purchase something but he had no money and, after looking up his account on the computer, Travis saw that his credit with the store was tapped out.

But the guy pleaded. He needed the item right away and said that if Travis would let him have it that he would come in the next day and pay for it after his ‘check came in.’ That, of course, was strictly against the rules. Travis could have gotten fired if he had been caught doing that.

It was something Travis never would have done. He never would have put his job on the line in that way. But for some strange reason he let the strange short man have the item solely on the promise that he would come back the next day and pay for it.

Travis was sure he had made a mistake and that if he was found out he would lose his job. He had put logic and reasoning aside and went with his feelings. He truly felt the strange man was honest. But in this world we are taught not to go with feelings but rather with logic.

“I knew you were a good person. I could feel it. I know everyone calls me a retard but I’m not. I can sense when someone is a good person — or when they judge me — and I knew immediately that you were a good person. I may be weird but I’m not stupid. I study a lot, you know. I’m a lot smarter than anyone thinks. I can talk to anyone and immediately know about them. Ya know? I can tell. I get a bad feeling about someone and I just walk away. There’s no point in even dealing with them. But I can tell right away if someone is good, ya know? And I knew immediately that you were a good person. Heck, you could be a friend. I mean, you have it in your heart. You’re a good person.”

The odd fellow then pulled a Bic lighter out of his shirt pocket, “Listen, I’ve got a lighter but nothin’ to smoke. You wouldn’t have a spare smoke would you?”

Travis moved his hands from pocket to pocket, “Uh… sorry… uh… I don’t smoke.”

“That’s okay,” he put the lighter back in his pocket. “Hey, that’s okay. I do happen to smoke and I don’t care what people think. Anyway, when I saw you I just had to come over and say howdy cuz I remember you and that’s because you’re a good person. I always remember good people and you’re a good person. I hope to run into you again. You’ll still be living here, right?”

“Uh… yeah. I’m not going anywhere. Thanks.”

He held out his hand and Travis shook it. It was a very weak handshake.

With that the guy turned and walked away.

Dazed, Travis stood there for a minute trying to make sense of the odd encounter. Finally, he proceeded towards home.

Travis should have felt good but inexplicably he did not. The guy called him a ‘good guy.’ He should have felt good about having been a ‘good guy’ but he did not — and he did not understand why.

It was a troubled two-block walk home for Travis but just as he reached his home he realized why he did not feel so good about the encounter…

It was because he could not remember the guy’s name.

Copyright by White Feather. All Rights Reserved. This is a work of fiction.

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