At the small grocery store where I worked, things were usually calm — until one afternoon, when a furious woman stormed in, dragging her young son behind her. She marched up to my register and exploded over us being out of organic apples. Her yelling drew the attention of the whole store. I stayed calm,
but her threats and insults stung — especially with her nervous little boy watching. Just as she turned to storm out, she slammed straight into the malfunctioning automatic doors, stunning everyone into silence.Red-faced and rattled, she stood frozen. But before she could lash out again, her son tugged on her sleeve and said, softly but clearly, “Mom, you were mean to that cashier lady. You should say sorry.”