A woman scornfully throws a homeless man out of her store, never imagining that one hour later she would be kissing his hands with tears in her eyes.Karen Mulvaney was furious. Standing outside, under her elegant dark green awning was a beggar, and what a beggar. The man was filthy and Karen had caught a whiff of him when she arrived. He stank!!!

He was wearing a long dirty overcoat that had seen better days. His shirt and trousers were so ragged that his flesh showed through in places, and his beard and his hair were tangled mats. Worse of all, this disgusting human specimen with his trembling hands and nodding head had taken up residence in front of Karen’s exclusive and very expensive jewelry store!

“Disgusting!” Karen muttered angrily to herself. She ran an elegant hand over her perfectly coiffed hair and sniffed. She’d get rid of the repulsive creature! Karen stepped out of the door and the man immediately accosted her. “Please, Miss,” he said pleadingly. “Do you have any spare change? Just enough for a cup of coffee?”

We all need a helping hand at least once in our lives. “No!” Karen snapped. “Get out of here! Go beg somewhere else and leave my customers alone!” “I’m so hungry,” the man said softly. “I wouldn’t beg if I didn’t have to.”You could get a job!” Karen snapped. “That’s considered an acceptable alternative to begging!”The man lifted his hand and Karen could see it spasm.

“I’m not much use anymore,” he said bitterly. “Please…””This is the last time I’m telling you: GET AWAY!” Karen shouted. Just then, one of her best customers walked up and stared at her in surprise. The man, an influential politician whose wife had a passion for emeralds, looked surprised. “Mrs. Mulvaney,” he said. “Are you quite alright?”

Karen forced a smile and placed a soothing hand on the customer’s arms. “Of course, Senator!” she smiled. “Come in! I have the most delicious parure to show you. Isn’t your anniversary coming up?” Karen ushered the man past the beggar and threw him a threatening look, but the derelict had hunched his shoulders and looked away and he didn’t see it. For the next two hours, Karen was very busy.

Immediately after the senator left, a rich divorcée came in, eager to spend her multi-million-dollar settlement. It was a very good day! As the divorcée left, Karen saw her pause at the door, her hand to her face. Then the woman fumbled at her purse and gave the man a bill with wincing fingers. He was harassing her precious customers! Karen called her security guard who usually stood discreetly towards the back of the store.

“Warren,” she cried. “Get rid of that beggar! I want him gone!” “Yes, Ma’am,” Warren said. He walked outside and approached the homeless man. “Move along,” he ordered. “This is a respectable establishment. We don’t want your kind around here.” Karen couldn’t hear what the man said, but she could see his lips moving as if he were protesting. Warren gave him a shove, and the man staggered back.

In comparison to the burly Warren, the man looked very thin and frail. Karen noticed for the first time that there were dog tags hanging around his neck, dangling over his bony chest. He was a veteran! Warren waved a threatening fist and the man cringed. It was hard to believe this human wreck had once been a soldier who had fought for this country.

“It just goes to show,” Karen thought to herself. “What drink can do to people.” The man was shuffling away and Warren came back inside. “Thank God!” Karen exclaimed. “Melanie will be arriving soon and I wouldn’t want her to see that man here.” It wasn’t long before Karen’s teenage daughter Melanie walked in carrying her school bag. “Hi, mom!” she cried. “I’m STARVING! The food at school was terrible today.

Can I have some money please? I’ll go across the street and have a hamburger.”Of course, honey,” Karen said, kissing her daughter affectionately. She gave Melanie some money and the teen bounced out, tucking the earbuds of her iPod into her ears. Karen watched her go, smiling. Melanie was the most important thing in her life. Her husband had died young, and she had never remarried. She lived for Melanie.

Karen was assisting her clerk with the placement of a tray of diamond bracelets when she heard a horrible screech of brakes and a frantic scream. She screamed, “Melanie!” She dashed to the front of the store, where she discovered her daughter in the arms of a beggar! Melanie would have been standing right where the automobile had stopped.

Karen dashed out the door, grabbing her kid in her arms. “Are you okay, baby?” she inquired. Melanie was confused and sobbing in terror, and she had a scrape on her cheek, but she was alive and well. Karen then watched the beggar getting to his feet shakily. He turned around and began limping away. Karen yelled, “STOP!” “Please, halt!”

Karen ran to him when he turned around. She clasped his hands in hers and gladly kissed them. “You saved my daughter,” she expressed gratitude. “I owe everything to you.” “Lady,” said the man. “You owe nothing to me…”

Karen was in tears. “I do, and I’m a woman who always pays her bills.” No one would have recognized the beggar two months later. Ralph, the veteran soldier, was no longer a beggar. He was now a doorman, and he was dressed elegantly in a dark blue uniform with a gold braid. Karen had found him an apartment and a job, but most importantly, she had accepted him into her heart and family. And, according to Ralph, that was the finest of all.