Their Kindness Is Just The ‘Tip’ Of The Iceberg

(It has been a very tiring two weeks. My mother and I, both stretched to our limits mentally and physically, are eating at our favorite Chinese restaurant. We’ve both eaten here regularly for nearly 30 years. We know the owners on a first name basis, and they’ve watched me grow up.)

Co-Owner: “Hello! You’re by yourself? Your husband is not coming?”

Mom: “No, he had to stay behind. It’s been rough.”

Co-Owner: “Oh, sorry to hear that. You sit here. You want unsweet tea and [Soda]?”

Mom: “Please.”

(We get our food and start to eat, and the owner comes over to say hello. It’s a very small place, and we are currently the only customers.)

Owner: “How are you doing? You still work at [Store]? How long have you been there?”

Me: “Yeah, I’m still there. I’m just on medical leave right now.”

Owner: *concerned* “Why? What’s wrong? You sick?”

Mom: “[Owner], it’s been Hell. On the 14th, she was diagnosed with a huge cyst on her ovary and she’s going in for surgery this week, and not a week after she was diagnosed, my mother died.”

Owner: “That’s the grandmother she lives with, right? How awful!”

(My mom goes on a mini rant about everything that’s happened in the past two weeks, including how I’m now being kicked out of the house I live in because of my dishonest paralegal cousin getting my grandmother to sign ownership of the house over on her deathbed. I’ve heard it for weeks, and so I’m just sitting and quietly eating. Eventually, Mom ends her little rant with thanking them for listening and we finish our food. Mom gets up to go pay after handing the co-owner, who was waitressing, her tip.)

Mom: “Okay, [Owner], how much do I owe you?”

Owner: “You don’t pay today.”

Mom: “What?”

Owner: “You have too much to worry about. Your daughter is sick and going to hospital, your mom died, so you don’t pay today. You tell your daughter to get better.”

(Mom gave her a tip, too. That’s only part of the reason I love that place so much.)