Lawyer Sees Poor Girl Crying by the Flower Shop and Rushes to Her — Story of the Day

A lawyer dropped by a florist to wire a dozen roses to his mother for her birthday and saw a little girl crying. She ended up teaching him a lesson he never forgot.

Mark Mancuso's phone beeped. He looked at it. It was a calendar alert, telling him it was his mother's birthday. "Damn!" Mark cried. "I REALLY don't want to go to Siracuse today!"

His mother Amelia lived 200 miles away, a bit of a drive, but Mark had driven further for a lunch with a friend. He just wasn't in the mood for his mother's fussing, her questions, or her complaints. Then he spotted a florist and he grinned. There was the way out!

Mark was a very successful lawyer in New York City, and since his father's death three years ago he'd gone home less and less. He loved his mother, but she'd become, so needy, so clingy! The flowers were definitely the best solution.

Mark parked in front of the florist and got out of his car. He glimpsed a child out of the corner of his eye, but he paid her no attention. He was mentally composing the note he was going to send to his mother.

The florist was a paradise of green foliage and vibrant colors, blooms of every kind exhaled delicate perfumes. There was so much to choose from! Mark smiled charmingly at the florist. "Good morning," he said, "Can you arrange to have flowers delivered in Syracuse, N.Y.?"

Life is short and every moment is precious.

"Good morning!" the florist responded. "Yes, of course! We have partnerships with florists all over the country!"

"It's my mother's 65th birthday and I wanted to send her some flowers," Mark explained. "What do you recommend?"

"Well," the florist said, "we have the most beautiful tulips from Holland, or if she's a more sophisticated lady, we have some stunning orchids..."

Mark shook his head. "My mother is a little old-fashioned..."

"In that case, why don't we order her a bouquet of old-fashioned roses?" the florist suggested. "Pale pink or ivory is always a good choice for moms!"

"Not red?" asked Mark.

The florist laughed. "Red roses are for passionate love!"

Mark laughed too. "In that case, why don't we go with the pink roses? Make it two dozens!"

"Certainly," the florist said. "I just need your mother's name and the address, and I presume you want to send a note, a birthday message?"

"Yes," said Mark, and he quickly recited his mother's name and address, then added, "Please write: Happy birthday to the best mom in the world, love you and miss you. Your son, Mark."

"Excellent!" said the florist, and swiped Mark's credit card. Mark thanked her, put away his credit card, and walked out with a feeling of accomplishment. His mother would get her flowers, and later tonight he'd phone and tell her he had a complicated court case...

Mark was feeling very pleased with himself when he saw the girl he'd noticed before. She was sitting on the curb and tears were running down her face. Sobs shook her thin little shoulders.

Mark squatted down next to her and asked, "Hey there, are you OK? Are you lost?"

The girl, who must have been seven or eight, shook her head. "No... I'm not lost!"

"So why are you crying?" mark asked gently. "Can I help?"

"I wanted a rose for my mom," the girl sobbed. "But I don't have enough money!" She opened her grubby hand and Mark saw that she held a clump of quarters and dimes. "The flower lady said I could buy a daisy, but my mom loves red roses."

"I tell you what," Mark said. "You stop crying and I'm going to go back in there and get you the most beautiful red rose in the shop -- but only if you stop crying!"

A smile lit up the girl's face. "You'd do that for me, mister?"

"I'm Mark," he said. "What's your name?"

"Mandy," the girl said. "Amanda Carla Vernon."

"You just wait here, Miss Amanda Carla Vernon," Mark said, then he walked back into the florist's shop and bought a lovely red rose for Mandy. "Here you go," he said, placing the rose in her hands. "Special delivery!"

Mandy took the rose in her hands and smiled up at Mark. "Thank you!"

"My pleasure," Mark said. "Anything else I can do for you?"

Mandy hesitated. "Could you take me to my mom? It's not far but I'm not supposed to go on my own."

Mark nodded. "Sure, lead the way!" Mandy took his hand and walked with him down the street. Two blocks further on, Mandy turned right and Mark was stunned to see that they were standing by the gates of a cemetery.

Mandy tugged on his hand. "Come on! We're almost there!" And soon enough, Mandy was kneeling next to what looked like a very recent gravestone. The girl tenderly placed the rose on her mother's grave.

"Hello mommy," she said in a soft voice. "I brought you your favorite rose. I wanted to tell you I love you so much and I miss you. Daddy misses you too... But he can't visit yet. He cries too much. I know you can't come back -- daddy said so -- but I keep hoping maybe God won't need you anymore? I love you..."

"I try hard not to cry, but it's not easy, and sometimes I get really angry at God. He has so many angels, why did he need one more? Why YOU? Didn't he know I need you? I guess I'm not being a good girl, but it's not easy when you're not here to show me how."

Mandy's voice dropped to the faintest of whispers: "I brought you the flower because you were always so happy when daddy gave a rose. I wish we could be together again, mommy, just the three of us before you got sick and God picked you for an angel."

Mark felt tears well in his eyes. He couldn't imagine what his life would have been like without his fussy, funny mother who somehow always knew how to make him feel better. This little girl had lost her mother so young, she'd never have that love he'd been taking for granted.

Mark gave Mandy a hug. "Come on Mandy," he said. "I'm taking you home. Then I have an urgent errand to run." After he'd dropped Mandy off, Mark went back to the florist and asked her to cancel the delivery.

"If you'll fix up that bouquet," he said, "I'll deliver it myself!" And he did. He drove all the way to Syracuse, and when his mother opened the door, he presented her with the flowers, then hugged her as if he'd never let her go.

"I love you mom," Mark said. "And I'll never again miss a single chance to tell you so!"

Amelia had tears in her eyes as she hugged her son back. "Oh Mark, I'm so glad you're here! I thought you'd send flowers like you did last year, or phone me... It's so good to see you. I love you, my son!"

Mark had tears in his eyes, and he thought of poor little Mandy who'd never have the chance to see her mother grow old and fussy and he knew that he was the luckiest man in the world.

What can we learn from this story?

• Never miss an opportunity to hug your loved ones, because it may well be for the last time. Mandy made Mark realize how precious every moment with his mom was and how lucky he'd been.
• Life is short and every moment is precious. Mark promised himself he'd never again take his loved ones for granted snd to spend as much time as he could with his mother for as long as she lived.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a florist who becomes curious when she notices an 89-year-old man buying red roses every day, so she follows him.

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