Max' Order

Today, I was working on a delivery order for a customer named Max (name changed) and all throughout the grocery run, Max texted me nonstop, curt, annoying changes, additions, and instructions. Frustrated, I ran from one end of the store to the other, attempting to fill the requests. Breathing deeply, I reminded myself to be patient, but it was 95 degrees outside, and I'd been working hard all day and so, I was struggling to remain calm. Even still, I read each comment, made the changes, and finally finished the deal, but I was irritated by this seemingly over-the-top, demanding man.

Hurrying to make the delivery, I soon came upon a cracked driveway. Slowly, I drove up to the paint-chipped house, parked carefully, grabbed the bags, and made my way up crumbling steps, awkwardly stumbling onto the porch. There, I noticed that an ancient A/C unit was leaking onto the porch so badly that the wood was warped. In some places, there were small gaps. In other places, actual holes. Stepping carefully around the black spaces and small flood, I knocked on the door.

Slowly, the door cracked open, and I heard his voice first.

"Hello." Low and deep, his greeting rolled out. And then I saw a small hand attached to a long, thin arm. He reached and reached. And then the door opened wider, and I saw the whole shape of him.

"Max?" I said, surprised, backing up a little.

"Yes, thank you," he said, stretching up tall, lifting his chin. Intently, he gazed at me with strong, brown eyes.

Raising my brows, I handed him his food. Max was not a man at all. Max was a boy around ten years old. And as the conversation continued, I realized that not only had Max made the order, but he was also putting everything away in the kitchen. As he organized everything, he gave directions to his siblings behind him.

When I wished him well and headed down the road, the moment hit me with a force, and a tear crept down my face. You just never know about people, I thought. You never know.

You see, the reality was this:  Max, the texting customer, was really a ten-year-old boy who was taking care of his entire family. 

C.A. MacConnell