A Denny’s waitress who walks over 14 miles to and from work received the surprise of a lifetime from a customer she served at breakfast—a brand new car.
Adrianna Edwards of Galveston, Texas, had been saving and scrimping to buy herself a car. But until she could afford one, she had no choice but to make the four-hour-long trek to work every day.
“I have bills to pay,” she explained. “I’ve got to eat. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.”
The tedious walks caused her to lose 25 pounds within a few weeks, but giving up wasn’t an option because she was working towards a dream—going to college.
To get to Denny’s on time, Adrianna has to wake up several hours ahead of her shift. And after an entire day of being on her feet, the hardworking waitress would then make the seven-mile walk going home.
When Adrianna clocked in one Tuesday morning in 2019, she met a lovely couple who ordered breakfast. They started chatting when she gave the woman extra ice cream.
During their conversation, Adrianna mentioned the long walk she had to endure every day and her plan to buy a car. She told them that once she gets her own vehicle, she could work better hours and send herself to college.
The couple was so moved by her story that they stopped by Classic Galveston Auto Group on Broadway Street later that day to buy Adrianna a 2011 Nissan Sentra!
A few hours later, the pair went back to the diner looking for the recipient of their gift.
When they handed Adrianna the keys to her new car, she was dumbfounded.
“She teared up, which made me happy that she was so moved by that,” said the woman who purchased the car.
Everything felt so surreal that Adrianna couldn’t believe it was actually true.
“In my head, I was like ‘Pranks are cool and everything’,” she said. “But this one is just a tad bit cruel.”
Now with her own car, Adrianna’s grueling four-hour walk was cut down to a 30-minute commute, giving her more time to rest and invest in herself.
“This morning, the first thing I did when I woke up was to look out my window. See if it’s actually there or if I dreamed it,” she said.
Instead of saving up for a car, Adrianna could now start saving for her education.
The generous couple, who requested to remain anonymous, only asked Adrianna for one thing in return.
“I gave her a note that said, ‘I know it’s Thanksgiving, but I said, ‘Merry Christmas,’ and that, hopefully, someday she’ll just pay it forward,” the woman said.
The waitress intends to fulfill that promise. After all, she knows firsthand the impact that kindness could have on someone’s life.
“When I see somebody in need, I’ll probably be more likely to help them out (and) to do everything that I can to help them out,” Adrianna said. “I just hope that one day when I’m financially stable enough, I can help somebody else in need.”
Check out the video below to see more on this life-changing act of kindness.
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