Page 7 of Sleepless November (Sleepless November Saga 1)

“So, are we picking just five random people, or should we look out for certain things?”

Holden thinks it over for a second, his fingers hitting the steering wheel to the beat of the music. “What kind of things could we look out for?”

I quickly look up signs of a financial struggle. “Well, for starters, we could look for someone using WIC. They need to be low income to qualify.” I tell him. He nods, showing his acknowledgement.

“We could also look for people who look like they need to put things back, or seem nervous about the total.” He suggests.

We agree that we will try to find people who need us to pay rather than just select customers at random. The rest of the ride is quiet, except for the music. At one point, Shape of You by Ed Sheeran comes on. I turn up the volume in excitement, not realizing what I’m doing until it’s done. Thankfully, Holden doesn’t seem to mind. He smiles in amusement when I fan girl for a couple seconds.

“Sorry, I just love this song.” I murmur, embarrassed.

He chuckles softly. “You’re fine.”

I quietly sing along as Holden pulls into the parking lot. We walk into the store. I follow Holden as he looks around for a manager. When he finally finds one, he explains what we are wanting to do. The manager happily approves and shows us where to sit. Holden sets up the video camera while I look around for the first customer.

I spot a woman with a young child. She is telling her she can’t get one of the small toys in the checkout lane.

“I’m sorry sweetie. We just don’t have the money for it right now.” She says nicely.

The little girl smiles sadly at her mother and doesn’t ask again, but that doesn’t stop her from eyeing the toy. I point them out to Holden and grab the camera, focusing it on them while he walks over.

“Excuse me, I’d like to pay for your groceries, and I’d like your daughter to add the toy as well, if that’s okay.” He says to the woman.

The mother’s eyes begin to fill with tears and her hands cover her mouth.

“Are you serious?” She asks. He nods, grinning widely. “Thank you so much.” She cries, and wraps her arms around Holden.

The little girl picks out the toy she wanted and hugs Holden’s leg as a thank you. He pays for the groceries, and even helps the woman out to her car. I watch out the window as he spins the

little girl around in circles while the mother loads the car. When he comes back inside, I can see where he wiped away a tear.

“Are you crying?” I ask, smiling at the idea of Holden tearing up over a good deed.

He pushes me playfully. “Shut up. It was emotional.”

The two of us laugh, for once having a good time together.

After four customers, it’s all been basically the same reaction. They cry happily as Holden pays for their items, and then they hug him, telling him what a wonderful man he is. I’m surprised when he seems to get emotional after almost every transaction. Maybe I was wrong about him after all.

“Okay, you’re doing the next one.” He tells me.

I shake my head rapidly. “No. That’s okay. Really. You’re doing great. You do it.”

He puts one finger over my lips, silencing me instantly. “I’m telling you Kayleigh.” He says looking into my eyes. “You’re going to want to experience this, at least once.”

I’m so flustered at his actions and the sincerity in his tone that all I can do is nod. He seems satisfied at my answer and begins to look around for the final customer.

“There, that one.” He says, pointing out a woman in the third checkout lane.

She is very young, can’t be any older than Holden. She’s separating her groceries and sorting her WIC checks. There are two twin boys sitting in the cart, looking to be around two or three years old.

I take a deep breath, grab Holden’s credit card from his hand, and approach the counter.

“Excuse me, ma’am?” I say shyly. She looks up at me, clearly afraid of what I may say. “I’d like to pay for your groceries.”

She looks around and sees the cashier smiling happily. When she realizes this isn’t a prank, she turns to me. “Why would you do that?”

“Well, we had to choose a good deed to do for a sociology project, and this is what we chose.” I explain.

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