If the internet were to be believed, working retail might just be the worst thing in the world.

The bosses are awful, the customers even worse – and all for pitiful pay.

But sometimes there are stories that really turn that message on its head, and for the woman in this story, her retail job was the backdrop for one of the most touching memories from her past.

Read on to find out what happened.

A really human moment

It was close to Canadian Thanksgiving, and as per usual in the city I lived in at the time, it was absolutely chucking buckets outside.

We’d had the usual pre-holiday rush of people looking to buy stuffing and sides earlier, but as the rain started and the sun set, the customers dwindled, and by the time my shift was almost over, the store had been empty for almost an hour.

I was the only one at the front while my coworker stocked the freezers and broke down boxes.

I’d just finished doing the cleaning and temperature checking walk through. I was wasting time at the register (I hated going into the freezers) and was about to cut my losses and actually do some work when a girl ran in from the rain.

Let’s see how her experience with the customer went.

Immediately, I did a mental fist pump, because any excuse to keep me out of those god forsaken freezers was a win for me, so I hung around at the register while she browsed the single serving meals.

Now I may have hated that job, but those single serves saved my life the whole time I was employed there, so I considered myself a bit of an expert – despite the fact that I only ate the same three over and over.

Eventually, the girl came to check out, and I made some light small talk with her while I rang her up.

That was probably my favourite part of the job: I’m autistic and can sometimes be a bit awkward, but I genuinely loved small talk with customers and just chatting and being pleasant.

So she did her best to make the customer feel comfortable during her experience at the store.

She seemed a little self conscious, and I just told her how much of those single serve meals I ate myself, complimenting her choices.

When I was done ringing her up, she asked if she could stay in the store while she waited for her bus instead of waiting in the rain and cold, and I told her of course. We kept talking, chatting about the upcoming holiday and break from school.

She told me that she wasn’t really looking forward to it. All of her friends were going home for the holiday, but her family was back in her home country, so she was going to be all alone in the dorms eating overpriced single serve frozen meals.

I could empathize in a way, with my family being across the country (obviously not the same thing, but still) and said how I’d probably be eating alone during Thanksgiving too. We talked about phone and video calls, and she said: “I love being able to talk to them, but it’s not really the same. Sometimes I just want a hug, you know?”

And the employee’s response to that was not thought through in the slightest.

Now, again, while I love customer service, I’m generally a pretty awkward person. I’ll say things without even realizing I was thinking them.

I’m also a people pleaser and ‘fixer,’ which can cause some issues, as when a problem is presented I usually try to ‘fix’ it or offer solutions before just, like, listening.

So when she said that, I had about a split second impulsive thought of ‘oh, I see the problem, I know how to fix that’ and without even thinking, just blurted: “Do you want a hug?”

IMMEDIATE foot in mouth.

Yikes! Let’s see how she felt as soon as the words had left her mouth.

For a tiny bit of context here, at the time, I was pretty much the definition of a butch lesbian, appearance-wise. I feel like a lot of queer woman or female-presenting people will relate to the dissonance of interacting with other women platonically, while secretly worrying it will be taken the wrong way.

A lot of us have gone through that awkward situation of friends distancing themselves after coming out because ‘I don’t want you to hit on me,’ and the way it taints casual interactions with other women going forwards.

I’m still working through that sort of internalized homophobia stuff, and at the time it was a lot worse than it is now, so you can imagine the sort of panic I immediately went through.

Despite it being a completely impulsive thought and entirely platonic, my mind was racing like, ‘oh my god, I just said something creepy. This poor girl is pouring her heart out to me and I just said that, looking like this, oh no she’s gonna think I’m hitting on her, oh god I’ve just ruined this woman’s day.’

But the woman’s response was far from what she might’ve expected.

“Would you?”

The internal monologue stopped. She was looking at me sort of cautiously, but not like she was thinking any of the things I was worried she was.

I’d been just about to backtrack and apologize, but instead I just sort of nodded and was like, “Yeah, of course.”

So I stepped out from behind the counter and gave her a proper hug, and as stupid as it sounds, I tried to put genuine feeling into it. I wanted to make her feel better. I didn’t know if I’d be able to make the situation better at all, but I mean, I was gonna try.

Let’s see how things were after the hug.

Afterwards, I went back behind the register, and she lingered at the counter. I was still minorly freaking out, but everything seemed to be fine.

After a few moments, she said that she had to go, her bus was about to arrive and she’d have to wait twenty minutes if she missed it. I told her to take care, and wished her a happy Thanksgiving.

Just at the door, she paused and turned around. We were both masked, but her eyes sort of smiled at me.

“I hope I’ll see you here again.” And just like that, she was gone.

And this is a moment that has stuck with this employee through the years.

I sometimes still cringe at myself and my awkwardness, and sometimes still worry that this stranger thought I was some sort of weird creepy lesbian. But at the same time, thinking about that day makes me feel sort of warm inside.

We were just two strangers, both in a place we were unfamiliar with and feeling alone on a day marketed on ‘family togetherness,’ and just had a really human interaction.

I hope she finished school and was able to find other people in her life to lessen the homesickness. She seemed so genuine and kindhearted, and I truly wish her the best.

Even though I never saw her again.

Sure it might’ve made her cringe, but this was an example of one of the beautiful moments that makes being human, being alive, a real pleasure.

For both women, it was likely one heartfelt moment in a difficult time, and made a difference to both of them.

These moments don’t come often, so they’re well worth cherishing.

Let’s see how folk on Reddit responded to this.

This person was really touched by the story.

While others could relate to the other woman’s feelings.

Meanwhile, this Redditor was unsatisfied by the story’s ending.

Sometimes, reaching out emotionally, even to strangers, can be what both parties need.

It can be a lonely world at times, but moments of genuine human connection can make things just a little brighter.

And it’s wonderful to know that this woman’s foot-in-mouth moment actually made someone else’s day.

We all need to be kinder – you never know quite how much someone might need it.

If you liked that post, check this one about a guy who got revenge on his condo by making his own Christmas light rules.