I’ve worked as a cashier at the same grocery store for two years. It’s not glamorous, but it’s honest work — and it kept food on the table after I lost my husband. I never imagined that one woman’s arrogance would turn one of my worst shifts into the day that changed my life.
Before this job, I had an office position at a logistics company. It wasn’t my dream, but it paid the bills. When the company downsized, I was one of the unlucky ones. I walked out with a cardboard box, a handshake, and no plan. My husband, Tommy, worked construction — long days, hard labor, always smiling. Every night he’d come home covered in dust, kiss my forehead, and joke about “what I burned for dinner this time.” We didn’t have much, but we had each other and our two kids, Jacob and Lila.
