One Group Deals With Births And Deaths, The Other With Marriages

I work for a twenty-four-seven gas station that has locations in six states on the east coast and is very popular in my home state. It’s late summer, and there are a few locations nearby that are perfect wedding spots, as well as a hospital that gives us a HUGE amount of business.

It’s about 12:30 or 1:00 am, and we’re in a rush due to a wedding party coming in, as well as hospital workers going home. Lines are at least seven deep, and my coworker on the other register is a bit slower than me. We also have three in the kitchen making food as fast as possible, but we’re SO packed it’s not fast enough. Most people know each other, but there are still a few strangers amongst the crowd.

I have a tipsy gentleman with his partner, and he turns to the next guy.

Tipsy Gentleman: “Put your s*** up; I’m buying.”

Despite the guy trying to say no, the tipsy gentleman is insistent, so the guy complies.

Tipsy Gentleman: “All I want is that one day you pay it forward.”

As a result, this guy paid for the next woman’s things. The line was a good mix of drunk wedding attendees and sober hospital workers, and at this point, they were all cracking jokes with each other, making new friends that some would totally not remember the next morning, and having a good time.

The woman, not having to pay for her things, in turn, paid for the next person’s. All in all, twelve people had their things bought by the person in front of them, so they bought the next person’s. I just kept laughing because, like I said, everyone was cracking jokes, even to the chick behind the counter, and because I was legitimately happy.

My store is in a town where people can be a pain in the rear, and they’re majorly wannabe r**-necks, but whenever I get to see displays of kindness like this, it makes me really proud of the town, and that despite being in a state where they could be destructive, all these people want to do is keep up the happy atmosphere.