so there i was… minding my own business, trying to get some last minute christmas shopping done. i was in the mall – a place i tend to avoid like the plague between thanksgiving and new years. it was crowded, but not overly so, thanks to boyfriend’s willingness to go shopping mid-day versus in the after-work hours.
we were in bath & body works, trying to figure out what all we wanted for free (cause you know they’ve got some righteous sales this time of year). we’d made our selections and headed for the counter in the back. there were, perhaps, six people waiting to check out, and three clerks. a good ratio. no one seemed overly perturbed. i was in the center line. to my right, a little girl, perhaps four, stepped up to the counter with a bottle of bubble bath and what appeared to be upwards of fifty bucks in assorted bills crumpled in her little fist. i hadn’t noticed at first, but then the woman behind her (whom, out of the corner of my eye at the time, i thought was her mother) said to the clerk, “do you know who’s little girl this is?” which caught my attention.
i pause here to explain that, though i’ve never had a child myself, i’ve cared for a great number of them in my lifetime. and i have this awkward condition that causes me to suddenly choke up and feel panicked whenever i hear of a child that’s gone missing or is lost or separated from their parent. this first emerged a few years ago when i nearly burst into tears in the middle of wal-mart during a code adam announcement. it’s wierd. mom says it’s cause i’m compassionate. i say it’s cause i’m crazy. meanwhile, back to my story…
so the clerk says, “no,” so the woman then looks around her, notices another wad of cash stuck on the shelf behind the little girl – we’re now up to about a hundred bucks – turns back to the girl and says, “is this yours? where’s your mom?” at which point a woman that is behind the woman that is behind me and the boyfriend cuts off her conversation she was having with a woman behind her (her friend?) to say, rudely, to the concerned customer, “is there a problem here?” and snatches the money out of the concerned woman’s hand and snaps, “where’d you get this?” and then looks pointedly at the little girl.
the concerned woman says, “i believe she (the girl) stuck it on the shelf here (indicating where) and i didn’t think she’d want to lose it, are you her mom?” to which the mom replies, “you just need to mind your own business.” the concerned woman, taken aback, replies, “i’m sorry, i was only trying to help.” and the clerk interjects, “she (the girl) was up here all alone.” and now the mom says to the crowd in general, “there’s nothing wrong here. people need to just butt out.” about this time, boyfriend has muttered into the back of my head, “what the f&*k? what a bitch!” and i’ve nearly bitten my tongue in two – so i speak up, “look, no one was butting in, she was here all alone, and she was just making sure everything was alright.”
to which the mom icily replies, “well, she’s not here alone, i’m right here and she (the concerned woman) and everyone else can just mind their own business and make sure that they’re alright. i don’t need any help here.”
well!
well, merry friggin’ christmas, lady. i hope your dog pees on your christmas tree and you burn your gingerbread men in the oven.
bitch.
unfit parenting