Fiction
Two Faces Megan Kyhl I was in line at the grocery store when I saw one of the greatest acts of kindness I have come across in my life. A young family was checking out their groceries and the cashier took their money and counted it. Her face softened and then she looked at the young mother. “I’m sorry ma’am but you are twenty dollars short.” The old woman standing in between me and the family at the register saw what was happening. While the mother searched her wallet for any spare change she had, the old woman behind her reached into her purse for something. family. “Please, take this. I know how hard it is to raise a family nowadays.” The young mother was grateful and tried to come up with a way to repay her. The old woman placed her hand on the mother’s shoulder. “Hon, you don’t worry about a thing. Take your babies and get on home now. God bless you.” The old woman didn’t take even two seconds to think before she took out the money to cover the rest of the expenses. I thought to myself, see, the world is still good and has generous people like this old woman. The young mother went on her way with her cart full of groceries, and the old woman moved forward to the register. The cashier felt so touched, just like the rest of us who had witnessed the encounter. “Ma’am, I would just like to say it was so kind of you to step in and pay the rest of the mother’s groceries.” The old woman’s face contorted into a sick grin. “You wanna know a secret, hon?” A look of confusion spread across the cashier’s face. Without her saying anything the old woman continued. “I don’t give a rat’s ass if she couldn’t pay for it. I just wanted her to get going so you could scan my groceries. I don’t want to be here any longer than I need to.” I could tell the cashier was surprised by what she said. Hell, so was I. The cashier mustered up a fake laugh and small smile, and mumbled. “Oh, yeah.” The cashier scanned the old woman’s items in silence, still shocked by what had just come out of the old hag’s mouth. When she read the total amount for the woman’s groceries, the old woman had the nerve to surprise us all again. “Oh, and I have enough money for this purchase.” She winked.
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KIOSK2021
