Unfiltered Story #177060

(The day is September 11, 2001, and it is about 20 minutes before the first reports of a plane hitting World Trade Center 1.)
Customer: Can you hurry up what is taking so d*** long to make my coffees?
Me: I’m sorry sir, usually we have a large staff to take big orders but today most of the staff are out.
Customer: (irritated) Well how is this my fault? You should be ready to take any order that I give you! I have a big meeting at 9:00 at the World Trade Center! That makes me important and I should be the top priority!
(I ignore him and continue making his drinks)
Me: Here you go sir, your order of (10 various different coffees) ready to go, your total is ****.
Customer: About f****** time!
(He rushes out and then 10 minutes later the news stations are talking about that first plane. The whole ordeal of 9/11 happens and then about a week later the same customer comes in with presumably his wife and daughter.)
Me: Hello sir what is your order today?
Customer: Yeah I’m not actually ordering anything, I just wanted to thank you.
Me: For what sir?
Customer: I’m the jerk from last week yelling about his important meeting in Tower 1. The time it took for you make my coffee made me just late enough that I was walking up to the building when the plane hit it.
Me: (I am tearing up at this point) Oh my god!
Customer: But that’s not important, you saved me from that horrible attack and I am still here for my wife and daughter.
Customer’s Wife: (Starts sobbing on her husband’s shoulder).
Customer’s Daughter: Can I give you a hug?
(I happily give her a hug through my tears and still to this day knowing that I was able to save one family from those terrible attacks warms my heart.)