Nineteen-year-old Bennett Engler had handed his application to Les Gentry, Clauson’s manager, over a year ago. “I’ll be a real good worker. I promise,” Ben had said.
Les had been the general manager for eight years at that time and was known for keeping his employees on task. If any of them were repeat offenders for failing to show up for work he was quick to inform them that they were welcome to find another job. He had no doubt that Ben would be an outstanding employee. He had watched Ben and his family visit the store each week over the last several years and every time Ben would tell him that one day he was going to work for him. “Ben,” Les had said, looking at Ben and Ben’s mom, Stacy, “Jo will show you around the store for a few minutes.”
“But I’ve been through the store at least a thousand times,” Ben said.
Les laughed and opened the door to his office. “But you’ve never seen our loading dock or any of the back rooms.”
“Cool! Mom, can I have your phone to take pictures?”
Stacy handed the phone to him and said, “I’ll be here waiting.”
“Have a seat,” Les said, closing the office door.
Although he was a senior when she was a freshman in high school, Stacy still remembers Les from the football team. At that time, everyone thought he would marry Ashley, a beautiful black cheerleader, but he went off to college and fell in love with Maura. He played football in college and all of Grandon assumed he was headed into professional football, but some things aren’t meant to be. Once college was over he surprised everyone and moved back to Grandon with Maura. Their children were in college now: his daughter was a senior and their son a freshman. Stacy sat in a chair opposite his desk and smiled, feeling a rush of pride and nervousness for Ben.
Les sat in a seat next to her. “Can he handle this job, Stacy?”
She hadn’t anticipated them but tears sprang to her eyes and her throat swelled. She nodded her head, smiling. “He can! He’ll be great!” She wiped the tears away. “I don’t know why I’m crying. He’s so excited!”
Reaching for a box of tissues on his desk, Les handed it to her. “Maura will tear up when she does laundry because there’s not as much to do anymore.”
Stacy laughed and wiped her nose. “He will be one of the hardest workers that you have and I can assure you that he will always be happy to be here. He is the most grateful person I have ever known in my life.” She dabbed at tears in her eyes, looked down at the wadded tissue. “I always wish that I could be more like him.”
“I’ve never asked but…” He wrung his hands in front of him. “What…?”
“When he was born the doctor thought everything was normal. We thought everything was normal. But during the pregnancy fluid had built up in his brain. Nobody knew. Three months after we brought him home we could tell there was something wrong. He just wasn’t like other babies that we had been around and he wasn’t growing that much. He would never really look at us but kept his eyes downward. He wasn’t active like other babies his age. His head was bigger than most. Tests revealed hydrocephalus and doctors put the first of many shunts in his brain to redirect the fluid.”
Les looked to the door to make sure that Jo and Ben weren’t coming back yet. “Does he still get them?”
There were no more tears as Stacy shook her head. “His last shunt revision was when he was thirteen. It doesn’t mean he won’t need another one someday. Because of the length of time before diagnosis and the severity of Ben’s case, doctors had said he wouldn’t be able to do this or he would only be able to do that, but at every milestone he has proven them wrong. He can’t drive; his reflexes aren’t quick enough. Controlling the steering wheel while putting pressure on the accelerator or brake requires great motor skills and he doesn’t have them. He won’t drive but so what? In June he graduated with his class. It took him longer. He was nineteen when he got his diploma but it didn’t bother him. He worked hard and did it with an unbelievable attitude.” She looked at Les. “He’ll be just like that here.”
Stacy was right. Ben loved his job and the people he worked with. However, on many days when she picked him up at the end of his shift, he seemed lost in thought. Six months into the job, he walked in the door one day and flopped down on the couch, which was out of character for Ben. Stacy set her purse on the kitchen counter and walked toward him. “What’s the matter? Did something happen at work?” He shook his head. “Did an employee or a customer say something to you?”
She braced herself for his answer. Over the course of his nineteen years Stacy has had a harder time dealing with the comments and opinions of others than with Ben’s own struggles. She cringes each time she remembers snapping at a child who would say something cruel to him. She assumed that the day would come when a fellow worker or customer would choose to use harsh or demeaning words toward him.
“Nobody said anything, Mom.” He flung open his hands and rested his head against the back of the sofa. “It’s just that I don’t feel like I’m doing enough bagging groceries. Anybody can bag groceries.”
Lucy had heard her mom come into the house and yelled to her from upstairs, asking for help with her homework. Stacy knew she didn’t have much time and prayed that she could say the right thing to Ben. Through the years, she and her husband, Jacob, had felt overwhelmed by Ben’s special needs at school and often walked into meetings with school staff with the simple prayer Help me do the next right thing for Ben on their lips. “Do you mean you want a different job at the store? You want more responsibility?”
He rolled his head from side to side on the back of the couch. “No! I love my job! It’s just that people come into the store and sometimes they look so sad or angry or something and I wish that there was something I could do for them.”
Stacy sat beside him and pulled his head toward her, kissing his forehead. “That’s what’s bothering you?”
“Yeah, Mom! What do you think would be bothering me?”
He gave her a look that said she really should know him by now, and she smiled, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing him. She and Jacob had said many times that the areas of Ben’s brain that built up fluid during her pregnancy were given a double portion of mercy and love. Of course he would pick up on the weariness, sadness, disappointment, and loneliness of people throughout the day. Lucy called again from upstairs and Stacy patted Ben’s leg. “I’m going to run upstairs and help Lucy for a few minutes. While I’m gone why don’t you think of something that you could do at work that might be able to help brighten someone’s day.”
Stacy was still in Lucy’s bedroom, helping with English, when they heard Ben bound up the stairs. “Mom! Lucy! I know what I can do!”
“Do about what?” Lucy asked. Lucy was fifteen at the time and although she was younger than Ben, she had always been fiercely protective of him.
“About customers who look sad or lonely or upset when they come into the store,” Stacy said.
Ben grabbed Lucy’s bumblebee Pillow Pet and paced the floor, squeezing it. “Put Buzzie down before you squeeze the stuffing out of him,” Lucy said.
Ben threw the Pillow Pet back onto the bed and sat on the end of it. His whole body was trembling with excitement and Stacy hoped he had not come up with an over-the-top idea that could never happen. “Every day when I get home from work I will write notes that I can give to each customer.”
Stacy and Lucy looked at each other then back at Ben. “You mean like you’ll find quotes and stuff off the Internet?” Lucy asked.
He shook his head. “No, I’ll come up with each thing that I want to say.” His eyes were bright as he glanced from his mom to his sister, looking for support.
Stacy couldn’t imagine him writing that many notes per night but there was no way she was going to discourage him. “It’s awesome!” She hugged him and said, “I think it’s an amazing idea!”
He wrote notes for three hours that first night. He started writing them as Stacy was making dinner, and before long the kitchen table was littered with different-colored pieces of paper. Although she tried to steal a glance occasionally, Ben wouldn’t let Stacy or any of his family see the notes while he worked. He moved them aside during dinner but continued to write. When Jacob asked how his day was Ben shook his head, never looking at his dad, and said, “Not right now, Dad. I have work to do.”
Jacob was in the garage and Stacy was folding laundry in their bedroom when Ben finally called to them. In the kitchen he held the papers, a jumble of different colors and sizes, and handed several to each of them. Jacob and Stacy read aloud what was written on each paper.
You are more awesome than you know! Have a great day! Ben
Flowers, trees, and lakes are beautiful but not as much as you! Ben
Our dog will give up chasing our cat and walk away. Sometimes you just have to know when to walk away. Have a great day! Ben
Whoever is happy will make others happy, too. Anne Frank said that and I think she’s right! Ben
A man who is honest and has great character can change a town. I’m so glad you’re changing this one! Ben
Stacy and Jacob flipped through each one and looked up at Ben, slack-jawed. “You came up with all of these?” Jacob asked.
Ben shrugged and nodded.
Stacy struggled for words. “You didn’t look on the Internet or in a book?”
“No. Why?”
“I … They’re incredible! I thought they would all say the same thing but they’re different.” She sifted through the papers in her hands. “Every single one of them is different.”
Ben fell asleep that night realizing that his job might be one of the most important in the entire store.
* * *
His first shift for slipping notes inside grocery bags was on a Saturday. He ran the idea by Les (in hindsight, that was something Stacy realized they should have done first) and Les said he would allow Ben to try it. Ben watched as people stood in line and he selected just the right note for each one.
For the customer who wouldn’t make eye contact with him or the cashier: Maybe what’s happening isn’t really a problem but a gift! Have a great day! Ben
For the single mom: You aren’t everything to your kids. You are just enough! Have a great day! Ben
For the cranky man: My grandma says that if we are not careful we can lose the song in our soul. I hope your soul keeps singing! Ben
For the sad-looking teen: Without sadness happiness wouldn’t mean as much. Everything comes and goes. I hope you’ll stay! Ben
Customers came and went those first three days without much to say. Most assumed the notes were a one-time thing. At the end of the week, when customers were coming in again and receiving another note, they began to thank Ben for “making their day” or for “doing a great job.” In fact, Les didn’t think Ben would be able to keep up with the notes, but six months later he realized Ben would continue to do them as long as he worked at Clauson’s. Les thought the notes were cute and some people found them inspirational, encouraging, and motivational, but he had no idea they could be life-changing. Sometimes that’s just the way it is with things that seem too simple to matter.