Motherly Love Knows Some Bounds

I work in a gas station kiosk with no store, just pumps. Most people don’t realize how sensitive my microphone is and that I can hear a lot more than they think I can.

I have a regular customer who is always in a big hurry, and because of this, she ends up taking longer than if she would just take the time to do things right instead of trying to take short cuts. Her elderly mother has come up to pay with a check.

Elderly Mother: “Can I write my check over by $10 and get cashback?”

Me: “No, ma’am, our company won’t allow us to do that. I am sorry.”

Elderly Mother: “That’s okay. I understand.”

She starts to write her check. I then hear her daughter grumbling, obviously not thinking I can hear, because she is back at her car pumping gas.

Daughter: “This b**** is always so g**d*** slow. She doesn’t know what the f*** she is doing. Always wasting my time and making me late. I tell my boss that this stupid b**** is always making me late for work…”

She continues in this vein while her mother finishes. Her mother must see a look across my face. I am usually good at hiding my feelings; working in retail has given me a lot of practice! But it has been a bad morning. The mother leans in and whispers.

Elderly Mother: “If you think she is a b**** now, you should try living with her!”

She then gave me a big grin and left. That lady made my day!