Bus Karma

So I was in Victoria last weekend and got on a bus, paid my fare, stuffed my transfer in my wallet which I shoved under my armpit, and quickly proceeded to the upper deck of the bus.
I got off about half an hour later, to wait at this stop for 50 minutes.
I walked to the DQ across the street for somewhere warmer to read, and decided not to get anything.
I crossed the street 45 minutes later, just in time for my bus and got on.
I was fumbling with my backpack to find my wallet and the driver said, "Oh, don't worry about it. I believe you have it" *happy face*.
So I went upstairs again and was still looking for my wallet with my transfer.
I was frantically fingering through my bag and my backpack, and rushed downstairs.
The driver saw me and said,
"Did you find it? I said you didn't have to worry about it" to which I responded
"No, I have to get off, I think I lost my wallet."
So he pulled over on the side of the road, gave me a free transfer and directed me
to the last stop.
50 minutes of waiting to drive two blocks and have to walk back.
It was cold, my phone was dying.
I had to catch the next bus for sure to make the ferry to meet my friend and get home.
I had no numbers, no money, no I.D. and bad shoes.
I disrupted a couple at DQ to see if I could crawl around under their table. They giggled as I sobbed beneath their Peanut Buster Parfaits, banging my head on the table.
I hobbled back to the shelter to wait another 50 minutes.
After five minutes in the cold, I started accepting loss.
I made a list of everything that was in my wallet on the back of a paycheque envelope in my bag and looked at it.
There was:
real I.D., fake I.D., sin card, douglas student card, debit card, library card, starbucks card, sephora card, coquitlam centre card, love letters, rollies, a bunch of change, $35 worth of cash, a receipt to return boots I bought, a bunch of business cards, a drink umbrella, 8ish bus tickets, marble slab coupons and probably some other things.
It didn't take long for me to forget about it and know it was out of my control.
Mid-thought:
a homeless-looking man with a pony tail started talking to me. He was telling me about his day at work as a steel fabricator and how he really loves working. He continued to discuss the four wives that he's had and how every single one of them has left him for another man even though he treats them like gold. He just loves work so much, so he spends a lot of time doing it. And it wasn't even about the money. He threw all his money at his wives, made them happy, gave them things - anything.
He fidgeted to get out a little black book so he could tell me his phone number in case I ever got in trouble in Victoria again (after I told him I lost my wallet), and how he always protects his friends. Most people thought him an asshole but really, he only has a select group of people he cared about and do anything for.
He asked me if I had a smoke, I didn't.
He went up to a guy at the stop and asked if he could buy two smokes off him, the guy said
"Two?!" and Andy (was his name) said
"Yeah, one's for my friend".
So we smoked together until his bus came.
He dropped his smoke and boarded.
Another homeless guy got off the bus, picked up the still-ambering smoke and put it in his mouth, assuming the seat next to me.
He asked me if I was a model, told me I could be if I took my nose ring out. And I told him he could be too (haha) and then he got defensive. I told him I was joking and he said he knew I was joking but why was that funny? Wasn't he good-looking enough?
Then he clarified that he wasn't hitting on me - he had a wife at home two blocks away that he loved more than the entire world. She was 42, beautiful and had a laugh that sounded like birds.
He had two cats, thinks people are mean and was surprised to find good conversation these days.
He offered me a beer, I declined - my bus was coming.
He leaned into his sack that hung from a wire rack and pulled out a Lucky beer.
We had a cheers, I thanked him, finished my drink and got on the bus.
No time seemed to have passed.
I sat down in my seat and couldn't wipe the smile off my face.