Chapter 10 Simple Acts of Kindness

Kennedy handed her phone to Emily.

Emily carefully examined it and discovered that Kennedy had accidentally toggled the silent switch on the side of the phone. All she needed to do was flip it back.

When Kennedy got her phone back and realized it had sound again, she broke into a delighted smile. "Thank goodness Emily was here! I wouldn't have known what to do otherwise. I've already missed several calls today."

Despite being well-educated seniors, these women knew very little about phones. Their children were too busy with work, and they didn't want to bother them, so they simply made do with malfunctioning devices.

Seeing how quickly Emily fixed Kennedy's phone, the other two ladies eagerly pulled out their own phones and handed them to Emily.

"Emily, dear, could you look at my phone? It's terribly slow—takes forever to open any app. Is it broken?"

Emily took the phone and saw that the memory was critically full, with a red warning indicator. The phone was so sluggish it was practically moving at a slideshow pace.

The solution was simple: clear unnecessary photos and files, and uninstall unused apps. Within minutes, the problem was solved.

Delighted with her newly responsive phone, the woman presented another issue. "Emily, why can I only access the internet at home but not when I'm out? Do I need to add more to my phone plan?"

Emily checked the phone and found that mobile data had been accidentally turned off. She enabled it and showed the woman how to fix this issue herself in the future. She also reminded her to be mindful of data usage while away from Wi-Fi to avoid excessive charges.

"Wonderful! Now I can use my messaging apps when I'm out. Emily, you're so knowledgeable—being a housekeeper seems like such a waste of your talents."

"Indeed! With everything you know, Emily, you could be a professor yourself."

"Ladies, you're far too kind," Emily replied, feeling slightly embarrassed by the praise.

She thought it was silly—solving basic phone problems hardly qualified her to be a professor.

"I'm being completely honest," one of them insisted. "Emily, would you mind looking at my phone too? I wiped it with a damp cloth yesterday, and now the camera doesn't work. I hope water didn't get in and ruin it."

The woman opened her camera app, which showed only a black screen, though all other functions seemed normal. When Emily turned the phone over, she nearly laughed out loud—the camera lens was completely covered.

It turned out the woman had put her phone case on backward after cleaning it, blocking the camera lens entirely.

"I see! I put the case on backward." Everyone laughed as they teased her about being absentminded.

"It's so wonderful having a young person around," one of the elderly women sighed. "In our neighborhood, we're all old folks. When we have problems, we can't find anyone to help. Our children are busy, and they get irritated if we ask too many questions. Paying for help seems more reliable than depending on our own children these days."

"Isn't that the truth," the others agreed with heavy sighs.

Many of these seniors rarely saw their children due to busy work schedules. Some had children living abroad whom they might not see for years. Finding help for everyday problems was a genuine challenge.

Seeing their predicament, Emily offered a suggestion. "There's a phone repair shop next to the neighborhood. Perhaps you could ask the staff there to help with your phone issues. I'm sure they'd be happy to assist."

At this suggestion, the elderly women exchanged looks of disdain.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked curiously.

Elena explained, "That man is dishonest. An elderly gentleman once asked him to add a hundred dollars to his phone plan, but he only added fifty and pocketed the rest. Imagine stealing from the elderly—he should be ashamed."

"Really?" Emily could hardly believe it; the employee had seemed quite pleasant.

The women began discussing the issue animatedly. "Yes, the elderly man only discovered it when he checked why his credit was being used up so quickly."

"Several people asked for his help with their phone plans, and when they checked later, they all found discrepancies. But it had been too long, and without proof, they couldn't do anything about it."

"There was also an elderly woman in our neighborhood who had a problem with her phone and asked a young man at the restaurant to help. He installed some kind of loan application and borrowed Two hundred thousand dollars in her name. She only discovered it when she received payment demand messages."

"I don't dare let anyone touch my phone anymore. These unscrupulous people are capable of anything."

"Neither do I. It's fortunate that Elena has Emily to help us. You've been such a tremendous help today."

Emily felt her cheeks warm. She hadn't expected such appreciation for what she considered simple assistance.

That evening, Elena's card-playing friends didn't stay for dinner. Emily prepared a hearty meal: roast chicken with herbs, a garden salad with vinaigrette, grilled vegetables, and a carrot and corn soup with tender beef—including Oliver's requested honey-glazed chicken wings.

Though simple, the meal was enjoyed thoroughly by everyone.

Emily always served herself a small portion of each dish and ate alone in the kitchen.

Arthur and Elena consistently invited her to join them at the table, but Emily politely declined their kind offers. Maintaining appropriate boundaries with employers was important to her professionally.

During dinner, a light rain fell, though it stopped quickly, leaving puddles on the ground.

Oliver was eager to ride his bicycle outside. Elena initially objected, but Arthur thought it wasn't a big deal and insisted on taking his grandson out.

"It's just a bit of rain. We'll ride slowly. We can't keep the boy from exercising just because of a little weather," he reasoned.

Elena gave him a stern look. "The ground is slippery. What if Oliver falls and hurts himself?"

Oliver quickly raised his hand in promise. "Grandma, I'll be very careful! I won't fall, I promise. Please let me go ride for a little while?"

Faced with her grandson's pleading, Elena had no defense. "All right, all right. Arthur, you'd better keep a close eye on him."

Arthur gave a playful salute. "Mission accepted!"

The pair happily rode off on their bicycles. Surprisingly, just thirty minutes later, Elena received a call from Oliver. Through the speaker came his tearful voice. "Grandma, Grandpa fell down!"