The kindness of a stranger

In the early hours of the morning on the 21st of December at  around 4am my husband woke me up to say he felt very unwell. As a squash and rugby playing aircraft engineer he was fit and healthy as far as we knew. I got out of bed to make him a cup of tea and returned to bed, 4 minutes later he died in my arms from a heart attack, he was only just into his 30s.



For a couple of days I could not function, could not think further than the fact he was gone, we were 14 and 16 when we started dating, he was my first 'proper' boyfriend. We got engaged when I was 19, and married when I was 21, at 26 I had my first daughter and at 29 my second. He was the finest man I ever met.



On the 24th of December I dragged myself from my pit of misery and caught a taxi into town, I felt I still had to do something for my very little daughters. I went into the bank and half an hour later came out in floods of tears, they had refused me access to our joint account because my husband was so young and without any known illnesses his death became one over which there was a temporary question mark, suspicion.  I got into the taxi and I couldn't get he words out to tell him what had happened and that I couldn't pay him, he kindly said he'd take me home anyway. On the way it all flooded out, my howling grief was shared, I had barely said a word since my Andy had died.



Xmas day arrived and at around 7am my little girls sprang from the bed we were sharing and said 'Mummy, Mummy, listen, that's Santa's bell'. I went to my bedroom window and sure enough there stood Santa, ringing his bell and holding two red velvet sacks. We went downstairs and beneath his white beard and jolly red hat I recognised the taxi driver who had been so kind and listened to my outpouring of grief. He had: A turkey, potatoes and veg, ice cream, cakes, crisps. A doll and a pushchair each for my little girls, a toiletry set for me, £250 in cash and other Xmas bits and bobs like crackers, snacks etc. The boot of his car was filled with essential groceries. He didn't wait tooo long for thanks, he just ruffled my little girls hair and said 'Merry xmas sweet little darlings'. Seeing the innocent joy on their faces made me consider that life may still hold joy for me, may still be worth living and that man's kindness colours my every day, even now.



So you see Santa really does exist and he became my friend. All I can do is hope to pass his kindness on whenever I can.