By Lisa Chmelecki,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Bryan Reed was finishing his last oil change for the day when the couple walked through the door.

They had been driving on Lincoln Street on their way to get something to eat before heading home to Augusta when a tire on their 1999 Chevy Cavalier went flat.

They quickly pulled into VIP Discount Auto Center, hoping the $20 cash they had between them would be enough. The plan to treat themselves to steak subs after spending the day painting their new house in Jay would have to wait.

“Hey, man, do you think you can fix my tire?” Gary Steadman asked Reed.

The 29-year-old mechanic pulled the Chevy into the garage, then returned to the lobby with the bad news.

“There’s no way I can fix that tire,” he told Steadman and his girlfriend, Becky Belanger. “It has a big slit in the side. You must have run into something.”

A new tire would cost at least $34.

Steadman told Reed he only had $20 – no checking account, no credit cards. He explained that they had just bought a house, not knowing he was about to lose his trucking job.

“Do you have an old, used tire that you can throw on there?” Steadman asked. “Or maybe you can put the spare on?”

Reed explained that he couldn’t sell them a used tire for liability reasons. Then he opened the trunk to look at the spare. It was in worse shape than the original tire – completely flat.

Steadman didn’t have a chance to respond when Reed made the offer.

“Listen, I’ll buy you a tire,” the young mechanic said. “There is no way that car would make it to Augusta, and I can’t go home knowing you may be broken down on the side of the road.”

“It blew my mind,” Steadman said. “I had never met this guy in my life.”

“I was shocked,” Belanger added. “Not many people would do that for someone else.”

Steadman reached into his pocket, pulled out the $20 and asked Reed to take it. Reed shook his head, remembering the baby seat in the back of the couple’s car.

“Use that for something else,” he said. “All I ask is that the next time you see someone broken down on the side of the road, pull over and help them.”

A father himself, Reed knew what it was like to be faced with an emergency without any money. Two years ago, he and his wife bought a trailer in Lisbon, not knowing that he was about to get laid off from his job.

Unable to make the payments, they lost their home. With the help of some relatives, the couple and their 2-year-old son moved into an apartment in downtown Lewiston.

Reed eventually got a job fixing tires and doing oil changes.

He lives paycheck to paycheck. Some months, he has to ask his landlord for a few extra days to pay rent. Other months, he gets by with little to spare.

“The week that Gary came in here, I just happened to have a little extra money in my pocket,” Reed said. “Many people have helped me in the past, and it made me feel good that I was able to help someone else.”

With his employee discount, the tire came to $25.

Reed stayed late to put it on. Then the two men shook hands. Before leaving, Steadman promised, “If I can help someone, I will.”

The next morning, Steadman went to VIP’s corporate offices in Lewiston to tell them what Reed had done. He has also written a thank-you letter that company officials are now framing.

Reed isn’t sure what to make of the attention.

“I was just trying to help the guy,” he said. “I really didn’t expect anything to come of it.”

All he hoped is that Steadman would return the favor by helping someone else – somewhere, somehow.

It happened two days later on a cold, windy day.

Steadman and Belanger were driving from Augusta to Jay when they noticed a car on the side of the road. The hood was up and the hazard lights were on.

They looked at each other and smiled. Steadman pulled over, and Belanger rolled down her window.