The wedding was three days away. The theme was The Great
Gatsby. Everything was in place for the big day.

Except they couldn’t find the ‘Bride and Groom Champagne
Coupe’ glasses for the head table.

Dawn, the mother of the groom, sprung into action.  In
the basement ,she scanned  with x-ray vision that only Mother’s have, the
many boxes of ‘maybe some day, someone will be looking for that.’

Tucked in between ‘old Halloween decorations’ and the ‘my
size 7 clothes, just in case,’ was the box marked “Glassware and antique
dishes.”

Slowly she dug through a carton of memories, things from a
long ago life, things that would only come in handy someday if her now adult
children wanted to know what life was like ’back then.’

She smiled at the ugly coffee cup with a pair of green frog
handles. God, what was I thinking, she wondered. Then her eyes fell on the
yellowed tissue paper, wrapped carefully around something very delicate.

‘Aha, there they are.”  She checked the picture emailed
by her soon- to -be daughter -in -law.. Perfect.

‘Got em,” she said when she called Paula. “I found you the
glasses you were looking for.”

“Where?”

“Oh, I had a set here in a box of theme party supplies,”  she
smiled.

The bride- to -be, jumped in her car, excited to have found
her perfect Bride and Groom glasses with so little time left.

“Take the entire box,” Dawn urged. “Who knows what other
treasures you might find in there.”

A short while later, Paula phoned back. She was devastated.
Somehow, the groom’s glass had gotten broken on the journey home. “I am so
sorry,” she told her future Mother-in-law. “Were they something special to
you?”

“Don’t worry about it , Dawn assured her. They were old, 21
years old as a matter of fact. They were from my first marriage.”

Instead of feeling better, this made the Paula  feel
worse.

“Don’t be silly,”  Dawn assured her. “Who keeps things
like that after their divorce?  Only me.  I Just thought the girls or
Ryan might want them some day for  their weddings.….”

”OH, no, the girls,” Paula exclaimed.

Dawn laughed, realizing that instead of helping, she was
throwing the bride to be right on the fire, with each thing she said.

“Look, give me a bit of time, and if there is another set
around here to be had, I will find them for you.”

Dawn posted  a picture of the glasses on Kijiji .

A short time later a lady contacted her. “I read your story.
I have a set of glasses which look identical to yours. I will talk to my
husband and my girls and see if anyone minds if I give them to you. “

Dawn was thrilled. This stranger was willing to give up her
wedding glasses, which she had saved and treasured for 23 years, just to make
another bride’s special day perfect.

The stranger  soon  sent another email . Yes, Dawn
could have the glasses . The lady lived in Neguac. Dawn lived in Upper Nelson.
“Perfect,” Dawn said, “give me your address, I am going to Miramichi today and
I will go down and get them.”

Price was never discussed, obtaining the
glasses, the only issue.

“No,” the wonderful lady insisted.  ”I will take them up to
you.” A discussion of politeness ensued, the kind that people of ‘the river’
and surrounding areas are noted for. In the end, there were no winners, no
losers. They decided to meet in Douglastown.

Dawn was so thrilled, what can I do for this lovely lady,
besides just pay her for the glasses, she wondered.  Ah, yes, a nice bottle of
red wine from Wine Kitz should do nicely. (A Miramichi thank you, if I ever saw
one.)

She looked through her gift wrapping supplies and selected a
velvet wine bag, rich burgundy in colour, and took great care tying the ribbon
to perfection.

There, she eyed her work happily. “A very pretty gift.”

The lady was at the appointed location at the appointed
time. A chat, naturally, followed as the two ladies shared their stories, and
the lady from Neguac handed over the precious items.

Dawn reached for her wallet. How much do you want for them,
she asked. “Well, nothing. It is enough for me to just know that they are going
to cause such joy at another wedding,” she smiled.

Dawn remembered the wine. Then for the first time wondered
if this lady even drinks wine and it was from Wine Kitz, beautiful wine, but
maybe she wouldn’t feel comfortable accepting something  that wasn’t
sealed with the original safety sticker nor labeled.

She was beginning to second guess her thoughtfulness. Well,
nothing left to do but ask, Dawn thought.

“Do you like red wine?”

“Oh yes,” was the lady’s reply. “ I love red or white.” Dawn
handed her the beautiful gift. Then, somewhat sheepishly, she added, “just a
second, I’ll write down the name of it for you, since I can’t pronounce it
properly half the time.”

“Oh it’s homemade?” the lady asked, hopefully. “Yes,
Wine Kitz,” Dawn answered.

“Oh, I prefer homemade to any other wine, it’s special.” The
woman remarked.

All too soon, the conversation was over. Two strangers
hugged, thanked each other and went on their way, strangers no more, just two
friends.

That evening, Dawn got another email from the lady. “I
didn’t open my wine tonight,” she told her. “I wanted to save it for a special
occasion. My Mother is turning 80 on September 2, and she loves red wine. I
will enjoy it with her and I will mention that a nice lady gave it to me in
exchange for the glasses.”

Dawn smiled, happy to have brought some joy to the lady who
had done the same for her.

The glasses are now a treasured family item.

With such a happy history, Dawn thought, perhaps my girls
will also want to make the Champagne Coupe a part of their weddings.

There truly are no strangers, only friends you haven’t yet
had the pleasure to meet.

There are no strangers...