Winter Is Coming, But So Is Kindness

(After being kicked out of my parents’ house and having most of my belongings destroyed, I have only three shirts, one pair of pants, and a single sweater to wear. I live in a state that gets absolutely frigid in the winters. I am freezing my tail off walking to and from work every day and catching all sorts of colds. Then, as my shift is ending one day and I am about to brave the freezing cold again, my manager calls me up to the front, where a regular waits. I’ve helped this customer frequently. She is an older woman with back problems that make trying on shoes — my department — difficult, so I often help put them on her and take them off, offer suggestions, etc. They’re smalltime things that really mean very little in the long run.)

Manager: “[My Name], good of you to join us.”

(My manager is a quirky, funny guy. He’s never 100% serious, except for just now. I am certain I am going to lose my temp position and nine-dollar-per-hour income. Instead, the customer takes out a bag with our store’s logo on it and hands it to me.)

Regular: “Go on; open it.”

(Inside are a pair of gloves and an honest-to-god winter jacket, fur-lined and everything. It is an expensive coat that I’ve been eyeing enviously ever since the temperature started dropping.)

Regular: “You help me out so much, and I can’t give you money, but I worked this out with your manager.”

(Then, she hugged me and treated me out to dinner. This is where I started crying. I hadn’t had a proper meal that wasn’t a peanut butter sandwich or ramen in months. This woman is a saint and an angel, and the world would be a better place if people were more like her.)