When a rich man sees his 32-year-old son taunting the cashier at a coffee shop, he teaches him a lesson he’ll never forget. But it doesn’t end there. The son soon faces karma for his actions and regrets them.
As parents, we all want the best for our children, right? But what if one day you realize your upbringing was flawed? What if you realize that giving your child the best of everything wasn’t worth it?
When Darren heard his son Tristan taunt a lady at the checkout, he realized the same thing.
“How on earth did you mess up the order? What do you have to do all day besides selling coffee you idiot? Gag, this place sucks!”
As these words pierced Darren’s ears, he immediately turned around and the sight of his son yelling at the cashier made him angry. He had asked Tristan to place the order, but the 32-year-old was busy insulting the woman behind the counter. Darren was shocked by Tristan’s arrogant and rude behavior…
“Sorry for the inconvenience sir,” the woman said softly, “I’ll have your order ready in five minutes. Please understand, it’s a busy day for us.”
“Ma’am,” Tristan said roughly, “those five minutes are crucial for a businessman like me who runs a large corporation! I don’t run a small cafe that sells coffee. Keep that goddamn order to you!”
With that, Tristan threw a few euro bills on the counter and was about to leave when Darren appeared behind him. “You have to apologize, son,” he said, picking up the euro bills. “Apologize to her. Place the order again and we’ll wait until it’s ready.”
“Dad…” Tristan said defensively, “what are you doing? These people aren’t close to us anywhere! Why should I apologize to a nobody?”
“Because the company you just mentioned isn’t yours. You see, I still own all my businesses and I can fire you at any time. Let’s not embarrass the public… Please apologize…”
Tristan was angry, but he cared about his position in the company and his money, so despite his dislike, he apologized.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, staring at the floor, “I’ll place the order again…”
“Not only that,” his father added, turning to face the woman, “on the way here Miss, I spotted an advert on the door saying the cafe is looking for a cleaner. Well, my son would.” Willing to take position as he is temporarily suspended from my company. Please help him…”
Unnecessary arrogance and pride will get you nowhere.
“FATHER!” Tristan’s eyes widened with anger. “Are you out of your mind? I – I –”
“If you want to keep your job, son, you have to understand that you can’t get away with not respecting those around you. I’m sorry I didn’t teach you this before. But it’s not over yet late.”
“Sir,” said the woman at the counter, “thank you very much for your apologies, but we don’t just hire anyone. We’re new and only accept applications via the online form. And no, I’m not the cashier…me am the owner of this cafe.”
“Then I would like to apologize again Miss,” said Darren, “I am sorry for the way my son has behaved. My son will apply via the form and I hope he is a good fit for the role…”
Tristan was upset, but if he wanted his job back, he couldn’t go against Darren. Knowing he had no choice, he applied for the job of janitor. To his dismay, he was hired.
***
“This woman is taking revenge on me!” Tristan grumbled when the supervisor showed him the cleaning supplies room on his first day at work. “Make sure the cleaning is completed each day before the cafe opens,” his manager told him. “I hope that’s clear.”
Tristan nodded and then went about his work. He swept all the furniture, mopped the floor and washed the windows. The work was exhausting and he began to regret his anger at the owner every day he had to show up.
“Ah, it was just the wrong order! I shouldn’t have overreacted…” he said to himself.
Tristan changed over time. He realized it was wrong to taunt the owner over something as trivial as an incorrectly placed order. But that was not all.
Over the months that Tristan worked at the café, he realized that he felt more than guilt for not respecting the owners. He had started liking her. He had developed strong feelings for her.
Susan was sweet, charming and extremely polite and helpful. No matter how Tristan treated her, she never reacted rudely to him. And she was so beautiful that Tristan couldn’t help but fall in love with her.
At the time he was just a janitor working for her. Would she date a janitor? Tristan wondered. He wasn’t sure. But he had his charming looks. That would surely work, he thought.
“So what do you do after work?” he asked her one night, smiling the smile that had made most women fall in love with him in the past.
But Susan didn’t even look at him. “I have to be somewhere. Please excuse me…”
“Oh well, we’ll take time for a coffee another day…” Tristan whispered and she heard him.
“I’m not ready for this. At no time. I’m sorry.”
She hastily grabbed her things and left the cafe, leaving Tristan speechless. No woman had ever rejected him. And this woman hadn’t even looked at him before rejecting him?
Tristan didn’t think so. He thought she had said no in a hurry, so he tried asking her out for coffee again, and this time her answer was stern. “I hope I made myself clear, Tristan. Didn’t you invite me over for coffee last time and I said no?”
Tristan was so embarrassed. He was rejected on the spot. But two months later, Susan said yes to coffee…
Susan broke down in tears that day after receiving word from the hospital that her husband Ethan’s surgery could be scheduled soon. Ethan had been in a bad accident and needed surgery, but Susan had no savings and her insurance wouldn’t cover it.
When Susan got the call from the hospital telling her that the surgery would be covered, she burst into tears of joy. “But who – who paid for it?” she asked.
Then the clerk on the other end of the line gave her the name, and Susan took a moment before replying, “Thanks. I’ll meet him and convey my thanks.”
That day, right after hanging up the phone, Susan walked up to Tristan and thanked him.
“I’m sorry that I somehow overheard your conversation the other day and overheard you talking about your husband on the phone…I’m glad I could help,” Tristan said. He was devastated to learn that she was married, but he loved and respected her enough to let her go.
“It was more than a help, Tristan. You saved my husband… the surgery was necessary… How can I repay you?”
“Uh, well, how about some coffee?” he asked with a smile.
“Oh god! Sure! I can’t say no this time,” she giggled, thanking him again.
After working in the cafe, Tristan changed. His arrogant self was gone, replaced by a humble man who had found a new friend in Susan and whose father was proud of him.
What can we learn from this story?
Unnecessary arrogance and pride will get you nowhere. Tristan learned it the hard way after his father forced him to work as a janitor at the coffee shop. Not only did he realize his mistake, but he also became a better person.
Sometimes parents need a firm grip on their children so that they recognize their mistakes and learn a valuable lesson. Darren’s tough decision to temporarily suspend Tristan from the company and force him to work as a janitor helped Tristan realize his mistake and become a better person.
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