Second Chances: The Return of Gollum

Chapter 25

After church, we all went to eat lunch at a nearby diner. We showed Gollum the items on the menu, and explained how to order. He chose to have stuffed salmon and fries with just water to drink. When it came time to order, he was very polite to the waitress, and he did an excellent job ordering his meal and drink.

"Great job, Sweetie," said Hayley. "You were very nice and polite."

Gollum smiled. "Thank you."

"Sméagol feels sorry for waitresses," said Sméagol. "So hard they works for us, but not very much they get paid."

"Yeah," I added, "and some people are really mean to the waiters and waitresses."

"Why?" asked Gollum.

"Well, sometimes, their orders may get messed up one way or another," Hayley explained, "or they get impatient if the food doesn't come out fast enough. Any number of reasons, but none of them are valid reasons to be rude to them."

"And, it's not just wait staff that has to deal with snarky customers," I said. "Pretty much anyone working in customer service. They don't get paid nearly enough, and some of the customers can be really mean to them when they don't get what they want."

"So sad that makes me," said Gollum.

"Me, too, Precious," Sméagol agreed.

While we waited for our food, we heard a woman's voice from across the restaurant. "Sméagol?!"

Sméagol looked up, and his face lit up when he saw who was heading for our table.

"Sméagol!!"

Sméagol jumped up from his seat, and gave the lady a big hug. "Hi! Oh, so good it is to see you again!"

"Oh, you, too, Sweetheart!"

"Sméagol, who is this lady?" Hayley asked eagerly.

"I'm Amy," she replied. "I met Sméagol in the Wal-Mart parking lot a few months ago. I was buyin' groceries. My little girl, Emily, wanted a Barbie doll and some skittles, but I couldn't afford 'em. So, Sméagol bought them for her. And, he gave me $53."

Hayley and I smiled at Sméagol with tears in our eyes.

"Awww, Sméagol!" Hayley cried. "You sweet little muffin, you!"

Sméagol smiled. "Oh, no big deal it was, Precious. Sméagol only wanted to makes them smile."

"Oh, Honey, you did so much more than that," said Amy.

"How is your family?"

"We're all doing so much better. I got promoted to manager here. The pay is a hell of a lot better, so I can finally afford to buy food and pay off my husband's medical bills."

"Medical bills?" Hayley inquired.

"He was fightin' lung cancer."

"Oh, Honey, I'm so sorry," Hayley said sympathetically.

"Was?" Sméagol inquired.

"He's cancer free now."

Sméagol gasped excitedly. "He is?!"

"Yep, he is! You must've been prayin' hard for us."

"Oh, I was, yes, as hard as I could, Precious. Sméagol wanted everything to be alright for you again."

"Well, they are now. I tell you, one mornin', Ricky went in for his PET scan, and they couldn't find any traces of cancer anywhere. It was like it just vanished. Soon after that, I got promoted to manager, got a huge bonus check, which I used to pay off his medical bills. Now, we're outta debt, outta the woods, and everything's fine again."

"Oh, so happy I am to hear that! How's sweet little Emily doing?"

"She's doin' great. Bless her heart. She was so scared her daddy was gon' die. She cried a river when we told her his cancer's gone. She was so happy."

"Awwwwwwww!" Sméagol cried. "Bless her sweet, beautiful, precious heart. Does she still have the doll I gives her?"

"Yes, she does. She plays with it all the time, takes good care of it like it's her child, and she even sleeps with it at night. She remembers you, Sméagol. She talks about you all the time."

"Awwwwwwwww!"

"She thinks the world of you, Sweetheart. She really misses you, too. Said she wants you to come visit sometime."

Sméagol's eyes filled with tears. "Awwwwwwww!" he wept. "Sméagol miss her, too, very much."

"Well, you should stop by sometime. I told Ricky about you. He really wants to meet you sometime, and Emily would be over the moon if she got to see you again."

"Oh, Sméagol love to visit you!"

"Great!" Amy reached in her pocket, and handed Sméagol a small card. "Here's my address."

"Oh, thank you, Precious! Sméagol have something for you, too."

"Oh, Sweetie, you've already given me so much."

Sméagol reached in his pocket, and handed Amy three of his heart shaped cards. "Here you goes, Sweetheart. One for each of you."

Amy read the message on the cards, and her eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Sméagol..." She gave him a big hug. "Bless your kind, beautiful heart. You truly are a God-sent."

"Awwwww, bless you." Sméagol returned the hug. "Bless your whole family. From the bottom of my heart, bless you all so very much."

Hayley, Gollum, and I wiped tears from our eyes as we watched Sméagol and Amy interact and bond.

"Oh!" said Amy. "I can't believe I didn't ask before; who are these lovely people with you?"

"Oh, I'm Cheyenne," I said. "I'm his girlfriend."

Sméagol giggled and smiled at me.

"And, this is my big sister, Hayley."

"And, this is Gollum," Sméagol said, wrapping his arm around Gollum, "my brother."

"Oh, it's so nice to meet y'all," said Amy. "Well, Sméagol, if you ever wanna bring 'em by when you visit, I know Emily and Ricky would love to meet them, too."

Sméagol smiled. "I will," he said sweetly. "I will, Precious."

Amy smiled. "Well, I gotta get back to work, but it was so nice meetin' y'all."

"Very nice it was to meet you, too, Amy," Gollum said cheerfully.

"Yes, it was great meeting you, Sweetie," added Hayley.

"Cheyenne," said Amy, "you've got a good man in your life, Honey. Don't ever let him slip away."

I smiled at Amy. "I won't, ever. He's the love of my life."

"You are a lucky gal."

I nodded in agreement.

"And, Sméagol, it was so good to see you again. It made my day."

"Awwww, come here, Sweet Amy." Sméagol threw his arms around Amy, giving her one last hug. "Take care of yourself, Precious, and your beautiful family." He kissed her cheek. "Bless you. Bless you forever."

"Awww, bless you, too, Sweetheart," Amy sniffled. "Enjoy your lunches, y'all. The food here is excellent."

As Amy walked away, Sméagol sat back down, and looked over at Gollum, who had tears in his eyes. "Awwwww, what is it, Gollum?" he asked.

"You calls me your brother," Gollum sniffled.

Sméagol smiled warmly at him. "You are my brother, Precious."

Gollum threw his arms around Sméagol, pulling him into a big hug.