Hard Of Understanding

I’m out shopping with my parents. I’m an adult and plan on buying my few items myself, while my parents have maybe thirty or so items in their cart. All of the registers have lines except for one. I follow them up to the twenty-items-or-less aisle, where a woman who’s hard of hearing is working.

My parents walk up and my mom starts to put about half of the items on the belt.

The woman, unable to properly speak to her, tries to sign to her that she can’t do that; she has to go to a different register.

My mom is somehow unable to understand this woman is hard of hearing.

Mom: “We’re paying separately; we’re just sharing a cart. I’m buying first.”

The woman continues to tell her the best that she can that she needs to find a different register. She won’t check her out.

Mom: “I have less than twenty items! We’re paying separately!”

My mom puts the divider up and then continues to put everything else on. The woman doesn’t scan her items.

Mom: “Fine! Whatever! I guess you’re too stupid to understand me.”

She grabbed her items and left. I slowly walked up to the woman’s register, put my few items down, and pulled out my card. I mouthed, “Sorry,” to her, but she didn’t see as she had her head down, solely focusing on scanning my items. 

After I paid, I signed, “Thank you,” to her, as it’s the only ASL I know, but the woman had already started helping the next customer. 

I went off on my mom later and told her that the woman was only doing her job. My mom tried to say that no one who’s hard of hearing should work on a register, but I shut her down quickly. Everyone deserves to work. The woman was able to do her job just as well as anyone.