It was a typical day at the grocery store where I worked. I was scanning groceries when a woman stormed in, dragging a young boy by the hand. Her face was twisted in anger as she marched straight to my lane.

“Why are you out of organic apples?” she demanded. “I need two bags, not one!”

I calmly explained there was a supply shortage, but she wasn’t having it. Her voice grew louder, and customers around us began to stare. “You’re supposed to keep this store stocked! You’ll lose your job over this!”

I could feel my cheeks heating up, but I kept my cool. Her son, however, tugged on her sleeve and softly said, “Mom, we don’t need apples…”

But she wasn’t finished. Just as she turned to leave in a huff, she slammed straight into the automatic doors, which had malfunctioned and didn’t open on time. The store went silent.

Her face flushed with embarrassment, but before she could recover, her son quietly said, “Mom, you were mean. You should say sorry.”

The tension in the store melted away as all eyes turned to the little boy. The woman paused, visibly struggling with her pride, then mumbled something under her breath and hurried out, dragging her son along.

As the door finally closed behind them, I smiled, knowing that while the woman couldn’t admit she was wrong, her son already understood the power of kindness and humility.