Snooty Fox

Day 359

“Hello?” I start.  “I’m returning your call.” 

“Were you in our store earlier?” the sales clerk asks. 

I tell her that I was.  I recently rediscovered The Snooty Fox, a high-end consignment shop with insane deals on finds such as 7 for Mankind jeans and Prada shoes.  I’d stopped in earlier to return a pair of pants and ended up purchasing a few can’t-live-without shirts. 

“I made a mistake,” the clerk explains.  “I forgot to run your card.” 

I open my wallet and search for a receipt.  I remember signing something at the store but didn’t look at it in great detail before tucking it into my purse. 

“You’re right,” I say.  “I’m only looking at the return slip.” 

I give her my card number over the phone and wait on the line until she completes the transaction.

“Thank you,” she says again.  “Thank you for calling back.” 

The number of times she repeats these words gives me pause.  Did she think I wouldn’t?  Is it an assumption today that a person will jump on any opportunity to benefit from another’s mistake? 

Author C. S. Lewis wrote that integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching.  I would add the same about kindness. 

Doing the right thing and doing the kind thing are often the same.  Even when no one is watching.