Some days, it feels like that C-note is going to burn a hole right through my pocket before I find someone I’m drawn to give it to. Today wasn’t one of those days.

It all started when I realized we were out of butter. While this is certainly not the end of the world, it came as a profound shock. Louise does a lot of baking and we’ve basically been stockpiling butter for the past fifteen years. Whenever butter’s on sale, we buy a few pounds. One time it was $1.50 a pound at QFC and we really stocked up. Now when they see us coming they put out a little sign that says “Limit: 2”.

When our older son Aaron was away at college, Louise baked cookies every week and sent him a package. He’s in Dublin now, and out of reach of the USPS, but the cookies are still flying. Elijah gets a package every week in Boston. Usually it’s Louise who does the baking but I decided to make one of my specialties this weekend. It’s a breakfast bar from La Brea Bakery in LA. Key ingredient: butter. And time. It’s a multi-step process and I wanted to get it started.

Upstairs freezer: no butter. That didn’t worry me too much, as I knew we had a pile downstairs in the freezer we use for overflow (freezer jam but mostly, overflow butter). EMPTY. You can’t really lose something in the freezer, but I burrowed around for a while anyway.

So, I got ready to go to the store. There were a few other things we needed and I decided to go to the Safeway about 10 minutes from home. It was a beautiful day, I had a C-note in my pocket and I even remembered my reusable shopping bags.

As soon as I parked my car I realized I was going to have a hard time choosing. There were people everywhere, and many looked like they could use a hand. A few moms with fussy kids caught my attention, along with some others. But there was not enough privacy in the crowded aisles. I finally made my way to the butter. It was on sale!

My cart was pretty full by the time I got to the checkout. As I stood in line, my thoughts hit a little speed bump. I recalled putting stuff in my bag before I left the house: my phone, my notebook, even my camera. Now my groceries were being rung up and, with a sinking feeling, I reached into my bag. Yup, I’d remembered everything. Except my wallet.

The cashier was very nice and said she’d finish ringing everything up while I went home for my wallet. I got to my car, pulled out of the parking lot and immediately got stuck in a line of traffic. I could feel myself pitching toward a bad mood, until I turned on the radio and there was Yo-Yo Ma playing one of Bach’s cello suites.

20 minutes later I was back at the store. On my way in, I saw a woman sitting on a bench outside, like she was waiting for a ride. She looked tired, worn down. I felt anxious about my unattended shopping cart full of groceries and decided to take care of that first. If she was still there when I was done, I’d go talk to her.

She was gone by the time I came outside and I felt a stab of regret. I unloaded my groceries into the trunk, put my shopping cart away and headed back toward my car. I saw a woman wheeling an empty cart to the collection area. I’d noticed her inside, but now I could see that she was limping. She had one small bag of groceries in her hand.

I went up to the woman and said hello. She was friendly but guarded. I started to tell her how I had left my wallet home and she said, “Oh, honey. And I’m paying with food stamps. I can’t help you!” I told her it was fine, all taken care of. And that I wanted to give something to her. “I’m kind of in a hurry today, or I’d stay to talk,” she said. “My great-granddaughter is coming to my house.” She looked at her watch.

I told her I wouldn’t take more than a minute and held out the C-note. She looked down at it. “Really? For real? What’s this about? Is this about paying it forward?” I told her it was and she seemed satisfied. She told me her name was Mae and that she was retired and going through a real hard time. “Thank you so much!” she said. “What a blessing. You’re an angel in disguise.”

I got back in the car and turned on the radio. Yo-Yo Ma was still playing. I turned the volume up and let the music wash over me.

That's Mae