The Dress

Keenan knew something was up when his mother stopped in the middle of the dress section of the women’s department. She only had a few dresses, and all of them were at least as old as he was.

And yet, here she was, stopped short in front of a dark blue dress. Keenan didn’t know much about girls’ clothes, but he thought the dress was very pretty, so he said so. “It is pretty, isn’t it, Sweetie?”

“Why don’t you buy it, Momma?”

“Oh, honey, we don’t have the money for that. Anyway, we came here to buy clothes for you! You’re growing so fast that the clothes I bought last year don’t fit anymore. Look at those pants! They don’t even reach your ankles anymore!”

“But Momma! You just bought a new suit for Daddy! Why can’t we buy a dress for you too? You’d look pretty!”

“Thank you, Sweetie, but your father needs to wear suits for work, and I don’t need any more dresses than what I have.” It was true. True enough that even this eight-year-old child knew it. While his father was some kind of businessman (though Keenan wasn’t exactly sure what he did), his mother was a nanny. She cooked and cleaned and took care of two little girls for a very wealthy family a few blocks away. Keenan knew the family well, as he had gone with his mom to work until he was old enough to go to school, and now he went over every day after school. He knew well enough that jeans and t-shirts were the right clothes for his mother’s job.

“What about church? You wear dresses to church!”

“I don’t need any new dresses for church, Keenan. We hardly ever go anyway.” Keenan nodded sadly. He enjoyed church. The people were friendly, and the music was fun. It was the only place Keenan felt that he could forget that he was wearing clothes that were too small.

Keenan’s mom took him by the hand and pulled him towards the boys’ section. As they went, Keenan felt someone’s eyes watching him. He knew the feeling well. He felt it at school when the other kids, and sometimes the teachers, stared at him as he walked down the hall. He wasn’t surprised to feel it here too. He turned, expecting to find an older woman tut-tutting about the state of his clothes or some other imagined slight, but instead, he found a young man with skin as dark as his own, a rare sight in this town.

The man caught Keenan looking at him and flashed him a smile. Keenan smiled shyly in return. Apparently, the man took that as an invitation to approach, because in a few strides, he was suddenly standing next to him.

“Excuse me, Miss,” he said to Keenan’s mother.

His mom stopped and turned toward the man with a sigh. “Yes?” When she actually saw the man, though, she stopped short, her eyes widening at the sight of him.

“I’m sorry for eavesdropping,” he said, “but I couldn’t help overhearing your conversation.”

Keenan mom’s opened her mouth, but no sound came out

“My name is Drew. I think I was a lot like your boy there when I was a kid,” the man continued. “My clothes never fit right; I was always too skinny. My momma made sure I ate, but sometimes, it just wasn’t enough for a growing boy.”

Without a word, Keenan’s mom nodded along, still speechless.

“A few years ago, someone helped me get on my feet,” Drew explained. “And I’ve been doing okay since. He wouldn’t let me pay him back; he told me to help someone else one day when I could. When I heard you and your boy talking just now, I knew it should be you. Miss, would you let me pay for your boy’s clothes, and if you’ll let me, that dress?”

Keenan had never seen his mother cry before. So, when she burst into tears, Keenan didn’t know what to do. She never let go of his hand, so he squeezed it and said, “It’s okay, Momma.”

When her tears had slowed enough so that she could talk, she thanked the man. “I feel guilty for saying yes,” she said.

“Please don’t,” Drew said. “I know it’s not easy to accept help. It wasn’t for me, either. But you seem like good people. Thing is, you can’t help anyone else if you’re in a bad place yourself, you know? Something tells me that when you get on your feet, you’ll turn around and help someone else, and that’s all I can ask.”

Drew followed them around the store and helped Keenan pick out clothes that fit well and were well-made. He wouldn’t let them argue with him on the price. Soon, their cart was filled with several pairs of pants, a few shirts, and even a brand new pair of sneakers.

When they walked towards the cash registers to pay, the man stopped them in front of the women’s section. “Don’t think I forgot about that dress,” he told Keenan’s mom.

“I couldn’t ask you to pay for that,” she insisted. “Clothes for my son are one thing; he needs those. But I don’t need a dress.”

“Tell you what,” the man said. “I’ll make you a deal. I buy you that dress, and you promise me to get yourself and your family to church a little more often. What do you say?”

Keenan’s mom nodded silently, picked the dress off the rack, and took it into the dressing room while Keenan waited with the man. In a few minutes, she came back out wearing the dress. Keenan nearly gasped. “Momma! You look so pretty!” The truth was, Keenan always thought his mother was pretty, even in her jeans and t-shirts, but now her outfit matched her looks.

His mom put her hand over her mouth as she started crying again. “Are you sure?” she asked Drew. “I really can’t ask you to-”

“Well, now that I’ve seen how pretty that dress is on you, I am more sure than I was before!”

After Momma changed out of the dress, they walked to the cash registers together. As soon as the cashier was done scanning all of their items, Drew quickly swiped his card, signed the receipt, gave them a bright smile, and left before they could thank him again.

As they watched him leave the store, Keenan’s mom turned to him and said, “That’s gonna be us someday, Keenan. Someday, we’re gonna help someone else the way he helped us, and we won’t ask for anything in return, either. We’re gonna do good for the sake of doing good because we can. How does that sound?”

Keenan smiled back at her. To him, that sounded pretty good.