“Excuse me. Do you have the time?”

What he really wanted to say was, “you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen and I just have to meet you.”

I have a gift that can be a blessing and a curse. I can hear the things people wanted to say to someone but didn’t.

Given human nature, most of the time it feels like a curse. There’s the mother diagnosed with cancer who I overhear tell her daughter at coffee that she’s feeling great. Or the guilt ridden teenager who I know wants to tell the convenience store clerk to run out the door, but can’t, just moments before he pulls a gun on him and demands the till.

There are also times that it’s truly a blessing to be able to hear what someone wanted to say but didn’t. I get to hear people kindly spare each other’s feelings. There are the countless silent acts of generosity, when someone drops off a donation or buys a street paper and I can hear they want to say “let this help even a little to make your world better.”

But my appreciation for my gift grew immeasurably yesterday, when a young girl came into my restaurant yesterday with two adults who could have been her parents. They were seated at a fourtop near the front window. As I approached their table, I noticed the girl and her “father” make eye contact. The man was stern and she looked scared.

“Are you ready to order?” I asked. The adults mumbled yes. “What would you like sweetie?” I said, looking at the girl. She said “a hamburger, with ketchup and fries.” But that wasn’t what she really wanted to say. She wanted to say “Please help me, they took me and I don’t know where we are going.”

I had to work hard not to react in that moment. I kept a small smile on my face and took the adults’ orders. I walked casually from the table, past the counter, into the kitchen, pulled out my phone and called the police.

The officers arrived just as the “family” was getting up to leave. I saw one officer look at the girl, look at the picture on the paper in his hand, nod and put a hand on his gun. The other commanded the two adults, now racing for the back door, to stop.

Next thing I knew guns were firing, ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ went down, and the little girl ran sobbing into my arms.

I don’t know what happened to the little girl after that, but now I know the true power of my gift and I plan to use it!