Tipping The Scales Towards The Good

(I work at an old family restaurant that has been in the area for generations. One of our regulars is a woman who has been coming here every week for a while now, since she works right down the street, and the wait staff have gotten to know her. I oversee the following between one of our waitresses and the regular, between the waitress’s trips to her tables…)

Waitress: “The usual today?”

Regular: “Yeah, same as always. You doing okay?”

Waitress: “Things are rough at home, that’s all.”

Regular: “What’s up?”

Waitress: “My husband got arrested last night. His probation was almost up. It was something really stupid. He was fine, good behavior, he’s been great…Now I’m alone with the kids, and they don’t really understand what’s going on, and they want their dad, and it’s just been hard…”

Regular: “That’s really awful. Let me know if you need anything, all right?”

Waitress: “It’ll be okay. He’s going to get off light, they say, if he behaves…It’s just a few months…”

Regular: “It’ll be okay. He’ll be home soon.”

Waitress: “Yeah.”

(Later, the waitress hands off the receipt, the regular pays with card, she hands back the receipt for signing. The regular leaves, and then this happens:)

Cashier: “Hey, [Waitress]… she left you a two hundred dollar tip.”

Waitress: “What? You mean twenty dollars. That’s ridiculous.”

Cashier: “No, look at this.”

(The tip has “$200.00” written on it, with a note of well wishes on the side. After glancing at it, the waitress flees out the door with the rest of us chuckling behind her in the entryway. She returns after a bit, out of breath.)

Waitress: “I caught up with her down the sidewalk. That’s ridiculous! She never gets to tip me again!”

(We all laughed. The regular still comes back every week. I’m glad people have each other’s backs in this world.)