It was an unusually hot Friday on my way back from work.
The glowing late afternoon sun reflected on the dashboard revealed big patches of die hard dust sprinkled with smashed bodies of tiny insects and even some fragments of bird poo. It was time to wash the car.
I stopped by a touchless car wash station next to the highway and walked into the adjacent mini market to buy the car wash ticket.
Unlike many overstocked and understaffed mini stores next to the highway gas stations, this one is one of my favorites. It is very small but bright, clean and well equipped with useful small things along with baked spicy chicken wings, corn dogs, coffee and even a machine that auto-produces freshly squeezed orange juice.
Next week will be the July 4th week so I could already feel the festivity and high spirits in the air as the highway travelers rushed in and out.
There were a few people ahead of me with only one cashier busy processing the queue. It was the end of the week, and I was not in a hurry so I pulled out my phone, started to scroll to kill time.
Finally it was my turn.
“Can I get a car wash, the dirtiest one please?” I asked, absentmindedly.
The cashier punched the pad here and there quickly and then pointed a button on the pay pad.
“Please enter your phone number so you can earn points with the car wash.”
I knew the drill so I obeyed and started to punch in my phone number.
Pow! A bright yellow microfiber towel suddenly dropped in front of me on the counter.
I looked at it with some bewilderment, and then looked up to the cashier. He was apparently a new employee I had never encountered before.
“This is a gift for your car wash order!” He said enthusiastically.
I smiled and thanked him.
“Anything else you need?”
“No, that’s all.”
He somehow turned away and hurried back.
Pow, a red bag of Skittles now was added next to the car wash towel.
“Anything else?” He asked again.
I was a bit confused and a sense of deja vu aroused. Was it him who messed up my ask or I said something that confused him?
“Erh, excuse me, I only need a car wash…” I hesitated and tried to be polite.
“Oh, no, this is also the bonus for your car wash order.” He replied with a broad smile, carefully watching my reaction. Now I took a closer look at him. He smiled back with a demeanor that immediately reminded me of the warm and sincere Ramone character from the movie Proposal.
I chuckled. “This is great!”
I waved my iPhone and paid the bill.
After he pulled out the long receipt, he scanned something and told me there was yet another freebie for my car wash business.
“Do you see those beverage counters at the back?” He pointed. “Now you can go and grab a cold drink of any size for free!”
I now smiled ear to ear with disbelief and walked away to the back of the store and filled up a 16 oz Classic Coke. (I could grab the 32 oz but decided not to do so.)
This Ramone really made my day. I also could not help noticing that he also enjoyed tremendously my reactions to his almost theatrical acts, from absentminded to bewilderment to the final broad smiles and chuckles with disbelief.
It was a small fine moment to end the week with pure joy.
