Christine graciously accepted the payment, but she didn’t stop there. She warmly invited Olivier to come in and join them for a cup of coffee. As they sat and spoke in the living room, Olivier could see for himself that Christine was a truly friendly and generous-hearted person. He found himself deeply admiring her compassion and the determination she showed in helping his father, especially knowing the difficult consequences it had caused for her.
He also noted that she was a humble and down-to-earth person, someone who had helped his father without passing any judgment on him. It was then that Olivier decided to reveal an important detail, something he had kept secret until that very moment. With an expression of profound gratitude, he looked directly into Christine’s eyes and said, “Look, Christine… there’s something else. Actually, I’m the owner of the gas station. The one where everything happened today.”
Christine’s eyes widened in complete surprise at Olivier’s revelation. “You… you own the station?” she stammered. “I had no idea.” Olivier simply nodded, his expression still full of gratitude, and then he decided to share another, more personal secret that he had held back until then.
He wanted to emphasize just how much he appreciated the kindness and understanding she had shown. It was then that Olivier shared the truly important information. “My father,” he began softly, “has been experiencing some significant memory issues lately. He was just recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.”
He continued to explain the specific, confusing events of that day. “When my father appeared at the station, he wasn’t actually there to refuel his car,” Olivier said. “He was on his way to visit me. But due to the confusion in his mind, he must have had a spontaneous impulse and just… forgot the reason he was there for a moment.” He explained that, unfortunately, he himself had been stuck in heavy traffic and wasn’t able to contact his father in time to help. He also emphasized that the whole family was still trying to get used to these new, difficult issues with his father, and that they knew they could no longer leave him alone. “That’s why,” Olivier said, his voice thick with emotion, “we were all so moved. It just… it meant so much to feel that there was still kindness in people, especially during such a vulnerable time for my dad.”
Olivier’s heartfelt revelations cast a completely new light on the entire situation. It explained everything about the elderly man’s confusing behaviour earlier that day. Christine, who had been listening attentively to every word, felt a deep and profound compassion for Olivier and his entire family. She felt genuinely grateful that she’d had the opportunity to help, even though she had been completely unaware of the underlying circumstances at the time..
