By Kyra Gillespie
Pakenham resident Dorothy Stevens, 78, has celebrated many wedding anniversaries, but her 55th is one that she will never forget.
After her husband was put into a nursing home five years ago, things have been pretty tough for Mrs Stevens. But thanks to the generosity of a local business and two complete strangers, their troubles were far behind them.
“I thought it would be nice to go for a meal for our anniversary. We hadn’t gone for a meal in such a long time. So I went to Shanikas in Lakeside and told them it was our anniversary, but that we had a tight financial situation.
“They were so sweet, bending over backwards for everything we needed. My husband doesn’t eat a lot, but when I told them he liked trevally, they said they would try to get trevally. My husband has Asperger’s, and likes to sit in the corner because he doesn’t like crowds and doesn’t eat very well, and they said they could arrange that too,” Mrs Stevens said.
“So when we arrived on Friday night, there was a table in the corner and they had cooked the trevally especially for my husband. Then they gave us so much food – I even had champagne! When I realised I had forgotten to bring my phone, I was disappointed as I would have loved some pictures. Well, Shanikas told me not to worry, and they took all the photos for us.,” she said.
At the very end, they brought out a platter bigger than a dinner plate which had ‘Happy 55th Anniversary’ with chocolate sauce and a big dessert.
“When we went to get the bill at the end of the night, the waiter said that he had something to tell me about the payment. That’s where I thought that we must have gone over our limit,” she said.
“The thing is, a couple two tables down from you had seen that you were celebrating a special occasion and have paid your bill,” said the waiter.
“How on earth do I thank them?” said Mrs Stevens, shedding a happy tear.
“I just wanted to share my story because there is good news and good people out there. There are many terrible things happening in this world, but there are also so many wonderful little miracles happening too.”
Mrs Stevens wants to extend her gratitude to the anonymous couple who paid for their dinner and for Shanikas for giving them an unforgettable night.
