Chapter 1

I happened to be in Seattle for a computer trade show when this story happened. My company develops software for business applications – pretty boring stuff to the average person so I won’t burden you with the details. You have to have a use for this stuff otherwise it really won’t keep you up at night!

Fortunately for everyone attending, there was a wide variety of different computer programs, hardware, games, and many other things computer-related at the show too. So if you weren’t in the market for a business application you could probably find something else of interest to you.

After the first day of the trade show there was a “meet and greet” where everyone would meet in the main room of the trade show and get to know some of the others in their field or others, just to make connections and contacts that may be useful for them.

After the meet and greet, we were all trying to figure out what we wanted to do for dinner. It had been a long day and everyone was hungry. I was just about to leave and find myself a nice family-type restaurant somewhere close by when I saw this young couple standing off in the corner, talking back and forth. I could tell by the animated way she was talking she wasn’t happy about something and he was trying hard to smooth things over with her.

I didn’t think too much about it at first but as I walked by, trying not to overhear, I did.

“But honey, we came here on a very limited budget. You know that,” he said.

“I don’t care Marco, I am hungry. I’ve been hanging around here all day long while you look for a job and I want to go eat! And not pretzels, candy bars, and soda, either. I want a real meal!” she complained.

“But honey, you knew when we left Sioux Falls that we were on a shoestring budget. I am trying to get a better job than I have with ComputerFix and we need to save every penny,” he said.

I smiled to myself. I remembered those lean days very well. Starting out in the working world isn’t easy for anyone and especially for a young Hispanic couple. I was pretty lucky that I was able to land a job while finishing up college – I basically just moved from classroom to office as soon as I graduated.

But I know not everyone has such luxury. Many of my fellow classmates had to beat the streets to find a place to put their costly education to good use. And this couple didn’t look old enough to have gotten through college yet, if they went at all.

“Excuse me folks, but I couldn’t help overhearing. Would the two of you care to join me for dinner? It’s my treat – I have an expense account so all I need to do is keep track of my receipts and turn them in when I get back home. Please, I wouldn’t feel right about eating, knowing that two young people like you were surviving on candy bars and soda!” I said.

They were reluctant at first, not knowing me from Adam. And I can’t blame them. Seattle is a big city with big city problems. It pays to be a little careful! But finally I convinced them – actually, she convinced him – to go to dinner with me.

“My name is Felicita and this is my husband Marcos. We came here from our home in Sioux Falls. I’m afraid our trip is costing us more than we planned. We had a flat tire just outside Cedar Rapids. Then we blew a radiator hose and overheated in the mountains near Missoula. Our trip was already a shoestring trip and these extra expenses meant we are sleeping in our car until after the show,” Felicita said.

Marcos was quiet and I knew he felt bad about their situation and depending on the kindness of strangers to eat a decent meal. No man wants to feel he can’t support his girl or his family.

“Well, my name is Steven Harris and I live in Vernon Hills, which is basically a suburb of Chicago, about an hour’s drive from the center of the city,” I said.

“Believe it or not, I was in your shoes once – and not that long ago, either. When I was in college trying to get my degree, I had to work part time and still try to hold my studies together. Let me tell you those were some lean times! I couldn’t work enough hours to really make any kind of money – just enough to keep me in Ramen noodles and splurge once in awhile on a pizza. Almost all my money went to books and keeping a roof over my head so the books would stay dry!

“But finally I was able to make it through college with that sheepskin and after that the company I worked for picked me up full time. And now with a degree, my wages went up considerably. Now I don’t worry so much about where my next meal is coming from.”

Marcos and Felicita seemed like a very friendly couple, especially Felicita. At that point in time, nothing other than being helpful and friendly had crossed my mind. They were much younger than most of the people at the show and although Felicita was stunning, she was too young for me to even consider as a target for any kind of lustful intentions.

We went to a nice little family-style restaurant a few blocks away and had dinner there. As we talked we learned a little more about each other. I learned that Felicita and Marcos lived in Las Cruces, but the gang violence got so bad there they decided to move north. They tried to move to Colorado, but found that they weren’t very welcome there. Too many other Hispanics had moved north as well and the people were resentful of any more coming in. So the young couple moved even further north to settle in Sioux Falls.

Marco found he had a way with computers. He was just starting as a computer repairman and it paid the bills, but just barely. In fact, what little they had they put away for this trip. Felicita had also taken a job as a cleaning woman to help out financially, although Marco was against it at first. And so the two of them had drove practically non-stop from Sioux Falls to Seattle in hopes that he could possibly land a better paying job and they could have a better life.

“Well, you are my guests tonight, so feel free to order whatever you like, don’t worry about the price. This meal is on the company,” I told them.

Felicita smiled at me and Marcos picked up his menu. I knew he was grateful too, but his pride had been bruised a bit. I understood and didn’t hold it against him.

We had a great time at dinner, the food was wonderful and the conversation was enjoyable as well. It was really nice to not eat alone as I did so often. Far too soon dinner was over and the young couple was facing going back to their car for the night. I had seen what they came to Seattle in and frankly I wouldn’t have drove such a distance in such a tiny thing and I am single! And now they were about to sleep in that tin can? Not if I can help it!

“Listen you two, you seem like a really nice couple and I know very well how tough it is when you first start out. There are still four more days of this show to go and I would hate to see the two of you sleeping in that car the whole time.

“Please, let’s go to my hotel and get you a room for the remainder of the show. You can’t look for work tired from not sleeping and wearing crumpled up clothes. No offense meant and no strings attached. I just know how it is to be in your shoes. Someone helped me get started and I want to pay it forward with a nice couple,” I said.

“Really?” Felicita asked, “Oh, Marco please, let’s take Mr. Harris’s offer! Please, I don’t want to sleep in the car the whole time we’re here! Please?” she said.

Marco looked at her then he looked at me. He thought about it for a minute. “Mr. Harris this is very generous of you and we both appreciate it very much. Thank you. We will accept your amazing offer,” he said.

“Good. Let’s go take care of it right now before all the rooms get scooped up!? I said. I went up to put the meal on my credit card while Marcos and Felicita waited. I could see them by the door talking, but I didn’t want to interrupt them.

Once I paid for the meal, we all went over to my hotel. I wasn’t staying in anything real fancy, but it was clean and comfortable enough for me. I went up with Marco to secure the room and it just so happens that we got one directly across the hall from mine. When we got up to our rooms Marcos shook my hand. “Thank you again for this. We appreciate it.” Felicita gave me a big hug “Yes, thank you for dinner and for the room!” she said.

I went to my room feeling pretty good that I could help these young people.

The next day the schedule didn’t have anything on it that pertained to me or that I was really interested in – mostly online gaming stuff and children’s software. So I decided to go have breakfast and then maybe do a little sightseeing.

Just on a whim, I knocked on the kid’s door. I didn’t really expect them to be in – the show had started a couple hours earlier – but I figured I’d check and see. To my surprise Felicita answered the door. She was dressed in the hotel robe and peeked around the door.

“Oh hi, Mr. Harris! Good morning!” she said with a smile.

“Hi Felicita, I was just wondering if you and Marcos would like to go to breakfast?” I asked.

“Well, Marcos has already left for the trade show, but if you’d like, I will join you.”

“That would be fine if you don’t think Marco will mind,” I said.

“No, he won’t mind. Can you give me a few minutes to get ready ... I was enjoying the bed so much I just woke up a few minutes ago!” she said blushing.

“No problem. When you are ready just come by and knock on my door,” I said.

It was about twenty minutes later I guess when I got the knock that let me know she was ready. When I opened the door it was my turn to be surprised!

“Wow, Felicita, you look amazing!” I said. She did too, wearing a blue skin-tight, scooped neck minidress with black peep-toe six-inch heels

“Thank you Mr. Harris. I didn’t bring many clothes. I mainly came to help Marcos and I wanted to look nice to help him,” she said.

“Well, you certainly do look nice, no question there! And it’s Steve, okay? No more Mr. Harris,” I said.

“Okay ... Steve,” she said with a shy smile. I offered her my arm like a gentleman would and she slipped hers under. Then we walked down the hallway and into the elevator to my car.

“Do we need to pick Marcos up on our way to the restaurant?” I asked.

“No! He said he wanted to go around the trade show and see if he could get a lead or something on a job. He really wants to get away from the company he works at. There’s not much chance of him advancing there – too many others with more experience and with degrees that are getting promoted first,” she told me.

“Oh I see. Yeah, it’s tough when you are trying to climb the ladder in a company,” I said.