Shop manager throws out mother of three for expired food, then apologises after boss intervenes – Story of the day

Shop manager throws out mother of three for expired food, then apologises after boss intervenes – Story of the day

The woman found expired food outside the grocery store and decided to pick it up, but the manager yelled at her. She threatened to call the police, but then the owner came and did something unexpected.

Rosemary was grief-stricken when she left the grocery store. All she could afford was a loaf of bread, two cans of canned beans, and a packet of cheap cheese.

When she broke up with her ex-husband after she found out about his affair with another woman, Rosemary never thought she would have such a bad life. She was a housewife and didn’t have a job, so she expected her husband to help her and at least pay child support.

However, he managed to kick her and their three children out of the house, and since she couldn’t pay for a lawyer, he got away with it. It was very unfair, but she tried to hold her own.

Rosemary and her children were currently living in her friend’s house, but she could not use this hospitality for long. She was saving up money to afford to rent a flat, but this meant almost no money for food, which was heartbreaking for the mother.

“Mum, look,” said her eldest daughter Michelle, pointing towards the grocery shop.

“What? Garbage cans?” – she asked the little girl.

“There’s canned food in there,” Michelle said and stepped closer.

“Wait, Michelle,” Rosemary warned, but followed the children for a closer look.

 

 

Her daughter was right. There were untouched tins of food and even a few bags of frozen food that looked perfectly normal. She thought it was odd until she realised they were expired.

“Mum, can we have some of this?” – Her son, Justin, asked, grabbing the jar and examining it.

Rosemary was torn. She never thought she would have to feed her children expired food. But these items seemed fine, and it would be a waste just to throw them out. She had read that grocery stores couldn’t legally sell or give away these things, so food around the country was tossed very often, even when so many poor people were going hungry.

Rosemary put aside her pride and grabbed some things.

Suddenly a woman’s voice shouted: “What the hell are you doing?”

 

 

Rosemary flinched and her children hid behind her. “I’m sorry. It’s just… I thought…”

“Get out of here, you dirty little beggar! You can’t go rummaging through our rubbish bins! You know what? I’m calling the police!” – the woman threatened. Rosemary saw the word ‘manager’ on her nametag.

“Please don’t do this. My children need this!” – she pleaded, starting to put things back where they belonged. She could hear her children crying, terrified.

“Maybe someone will take these children away from you! You don’t deserve them!” – continued the manager putting the mobile phone to her ear and with one foot, stomping arrogantly.

“Madison, put the phone down immediately!” a man’s voice was heard, and Rosemary saw an older man coming out of the back door, looking at the manager with an angry look.

 

 

“Daddy! She was digging through our rubbish! Not allowed! We’re responsible!” Madison whimpered, but put the phone down as the expression on her father’s face didn’t waver.

The older man turned to Rosemary. “Ma’am, would you like to come in?”

“No, sir. I’ll just leave these things here and I’ll leave. I’m sorry. I thought it would be all right,” she replied, shaking her head.

“Would either of you like some ice cream?” – He asked Rosemary’s children, smiling.

The kids looked at each other and then up at Rosemary before nodding at the man. He grinned and ushered them into his office inside the building. He asked his assistant to get the kids some ice cream and later allowed them to roam around the office as they ate.

“Ok, so… I want to apologize for my daughter’s attitude. I’m afraid she might have grown pretty spoiled. She’s never had to work hard for anything,” the man started. “My name is Jason. You can call me Mr. Bates too if you prefer. I own this store.”

“I’m Rosemary. It’s really ok. Thank you for the ice cream,” Rosemary replied, looking around awkwardly. She felt so embarrassed about the situation that she couldn’t sit still in the armchair across from this wealthy man.

“Please, tell me what’s going on,” Mr. Bates insisted, and something in Rosemary broke down. She didn’t have a lot of people to vent to, and not many would be interested because everyone had troubles of their own. But Mr. Bates wanted to know, so she unloaded quietly, trying not to let her kids hear anything.

When she was done, Mr. Bates offered her a full cart of groceries. He also revealed that he owned some properties for rent nearby and offered her a place to say. “I can rent you a place for half the going rate, as long as there’s still a deposit. How does that sound?” he proposed.

Rosemary cried because it was a good offer. She had been saving, but rent prices in their area in Florida were rising, and she thought she would never be able to afford a place. But Mr. Bates’ offer was so generous.

“I’ll take the apartment. But I can’t take the cart. It’s too much. I can’t ever repay you for it,” Rosemary said. “Thank you so much.”

“Actually, you can repay me with hard work. I need someone with heart and soul to work for me. Madison is my daughter, but she doesn’t know how to relate to customers or be a good manager.” The offer was too good it made Rosemary’s eyebrows rise.

“Really? You’re offering me a cart of groceries, an apartment, and a job? Why? What’s the catch?” Rosemary asked, shaking her head and wiping her tears. “It’s just too good to be true.”

Mr. Bates sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I was once in your shoes. Well, it was my mother. We were dirt poor with no help, and we dumpster-dived. I would look up at the store lights as a little kid and I promised myself that I would own a food shop one day so no one I loved would ever go hungry,” he recounted, his thoughts a million miles away in the past.

More tears filled Rosemary’s eyes, and she knew she had to accept the offer. She was hired as a co-manager in the store for the same salary Madison received. However, the spoiled daughter’s salary was cut in half, and her father started charging her rent as she lived in one of his properties too. She was obviously not pleased about the situation and tried to make Rosemary’s life a living hell.

However, she soon realized that she relied too much on her father’s generosity. She couldn’t afford her rent or her lifestyle without her father’s help.

Even though her situation was not half what Rosemary had been through, Madison apologized to the single mother for having yelled at her. She also asked for Rosemary’s help to understand how to work harder and be nicer to people.

“I know it sounds odd, but being nice to people has never been my strong suit,” Madison confessed to Rosemary.

Rosemary smiled and promised to help the younger woman, who was never again rude to a customer. Eventually, her father raised her salary again and stopped charging her rent, as he saw her transformation, thanks to being near someone like Rosemary.

Meanwhile, the single mother was doing great. Her apartment was perfect, and she saved as much money for her children as possible. She worked hard and helped at the local soup kitchen when she could. She also convinced Mr. Bates to donate food so that the poorest families in the area wouldn’t go hungry.

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