But Wait, There's More ...

The conclusion of my story of unexpected kindnesses goes like this:


The new plane I was booked on was also late. We were supposed to leave at 11:00 pm but we ended up leaving just after midnight. It was the last flight out for the night. The Maple Leaf lounge had even closed!

I called National Car Rental's toll-free central number when I found out about the delay; they worried about my time of arrival, as the airport branch closed at midnight. So they transferred me to the agent, whose response was, "Awww, that's just too bad. I'll just wait for you to get here. No problem!" 


[Public service announcement: See, kids? That's the correct usage of "No problem"!]


When I arrived Lynne was sitting by the counter, the only car rental agent still at her post. "You poor thing!" she greeted me. "You must have had a long day!"


I asked her how to get to the Sheraton Four Points, where I was booked to stay. She got out the map and started tracing this circuitous route that lost me after the first couple of turns. She must have glanced at my face because she said, "You know what, I live out that way, a little past where you need to go. Would you like to just follow me? You'll have to turn left on McCallum Road, and I'll go straight. You'll find it up the hill."


And so I went to my rental car and when she came out of the office she drove by Stall # 33 to collect me. 


I would never have found my way in the dark and the rain. Lynne waited for me when traffic lights looked like they were going to change; and where I needed to turn left, she just stopped in her lane that would take her straight and to her home. 

When I went to check in at the hotel, the front desk agent - who looked like he was all of seventeen - said, "It's so late: I'm upgrading you to a jacuzzi suite - would that be okay?"


When I gratefully thanked him, he smiled and said, "You're welcome."


What a wonderful end to a long, unusual day!