When I was a little girl, my mom would take us all to the General Store every day after school. The man that owned the store had three sons, all older than me. The two oldest boys worked in the store and would always call me 'Miss Katilyn.'
When I was 7 or 8, the oldest boy (who was maybe a sophomore or junior in high school at the time) was ringing up my purchases and wanted to know if he could keep the change from my ten-dollar bill 'as a tip.' I, being a precocious child, handed him a penny.
Every day from then until I was a senior in high school, I always brought him a penny. He didn't always work at the store, but even after he left for college he would come back and work in the summers. Every time I went to the store, I made sure I had a penny in my pocket JUST IN CASE he was working that day.
He kept track, too. Right after I started driving, he informed me that we were getting close to the dollar mark, and I promised to bring him a framed one-dollar bill once we hit a hundred pennies. And I did.
I moved away to go to school and only went to the store if I absolutely had to if I happened to be home. As it happened, I didn't see him for roughly four years.
The other day, I rolled up to the little General Store to buy gas. The oldest boy now owns it. I walked in to pay for gas, and though it wasn't the first time I'd seen him since we moved back, he smiled at me when I walked in and said, "Hey do you remember when you used to always tip me a penny?" I started laughing because I hadn't thought about it in so long. His response? "I really depended on that..."
When I was 7 or 8, the oldest boy (who was maybe a sophomore or junior in high school at the time) was ringing up my purchases and wanted to know if he could keep the change from my ten-dollar bill 'as a tip.' I, being a precocious child, handed him a penny.
Every day from then until I was a senior in high school, I always brought him a penny. He didn't always work at the store, but even after he left for college he would come back and work in the summers. Every time I went to the store, I made sure I had a penny in my pocket JUST IN CASE he was working that day.
He kept track, too. Right after I started driving, he informed me that we were getting close to the dollar mark, and I promised to bring him a framed one-dollar bill once we hit a hundred pennies. And I did.
I moved away to go to school and only went to the store if I absolutely had to if I happened to be home. As it happened, I didn't see him for roughly four years.
The other day, I rolled up to the little General Store to buy gas. The oldest boy now owns it. I walked in to pay for gas, and though it wasn't the first time I'd seen him since we moved back, he smiled at me when I walked in and said, "Hey do you remember when you used to always tip me a penny?" I started laughing because I hadn't thought about it in so long. His response? "I really depended on that..."
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