Cool Breeze

Cool Breeze

Dear Diary:

One early fall morning some years ago, I decided to walk to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and spend a few hours there before meeting a friend for lunch.

It was one of those days when the weather could not make up its mind between bright and sunny or cool and cloudy. I grabbed a sweater from the closet, wrapped it around my waist and set off.

After wandering through the museum’s galleries for a while, I headed south on Fifth Avenue to meet my friend. The sun had just disappeared behind a large bank of gray clouds, and I was glad I’d brought a sweater.

Standing at a corner waiting for the light to change, a man at a hot-dog stand waved and called out to me.

“Lady, are you walking as far as 72nd Street?” he asked me.

I nodded.

He reached under his cart and pulled out a light blue windbreaker.

“Could you please take this to my wife?” he said. “She has a hot dog cart just like this one.”

“Of course,” I replied, grabbing the jacket just as the light turned green. The man grinned and waved.

About 10 minutes later, I spotted a shiny steel hot-dog cart. A woman stood beside it, her shirt collar turned up against the cool breeze.

“Your husband sent you this,” I said, handing her the jacket.

“Oh, thank you so much,” she replied with a smile, quickly putting the jacket on. “He is a good man.”

— Faith Andrews Bedford