Her Toy Knights In Shining Armor

(I work at a popular London tourist gift shop in a busy area. It’s an unusually quiet day, so I’m people-watching. A girl about 10-12 has been staring for a while at the display of toy knights and horses we sell.

Eventually, she leaves, and comes back with her mother and two brothers, who are about 8-9 and 14-15. She asks for one of the toys, but her mother says no. The eldest brother asks which ones are her favourite, the girl shows him, but the mother says no again and has her put them away. The girl looks very dejected, but doesn’t object. The family moves out of view for a few moments when I hear the brothers ask to go to the bathroom. They leave, and the mother and daughter go to the other end of the store.

Seconds later, the two brothers come back in, and are looking around nervously. They walk over to the display.)

Younger Brother: “Which one did she want?”

Older Brother: “The green one, I think.”

Younger Brother: “Okay, let’s get that one. Hurry!”

(They bring the green knight to the till. I ring it up quickly.)

Me: “Do you need a bag?”

Older Brother: “No, we need to hide it in our pockets so our sister doesn’t see.”

Me: “Gotcha. That’ll be [Amount].”

(Each brother places a £5 note on the counter.)

Me: “Thank you, here’s your change. Have a great day! Your sister will love her present.”

(The boys darted off, with the younger one checking that the knight was properly hidden in his brother’s sweater pocket. That girl is very lucky to have such thoughtful brothers, and it made my boring day a lot brighter!)