Rebe de la Paz

I often stop at a trendy bakery downtown on my one mile walk from work to the train station. My oldest daughter loves the brownies, so I make it a point to bring home one of these posh brownies.

I had plenty of time left until my train was set to leave, so taking the time to stop was not an issue. As I walked in, I immediately noticed there was a crowd of sorts congregating in front of the cupcake counter.

There were several people behind the counter involved in various acts you would expect in a bakery, while one young lady handled the hodge podge line of sorts.

I walked by the counter to peruse the offerings and confirm my selection. Noting the “line”, I decided to post up next to a nearby column and wait for the young lady to handle the impatient customers.

A group of ladies were in a hurry, I assume, and they shuffled closer to the counter and made their way in front of me. I merely smiled and waited patiently for the girl to handle her eager customers.

Another group standing next to the original shuffling group decided to shuffle as well, while side-eying me behind them.

Like magnets to metal, they went wherever the girl went behind the counter. I then noticed another young lady behind the counter working on cupcakes. She stopped and began observing the crowd in the same fashion as I. After a moment, she dusted her hands off, came forward and looked me straight in the eye.

“Can I help you?” she asked me.

I looked over at the magnet group, shrugged my shoulder and answered her.

“Thank you,” I replied smiling and fired off my order.

As she took her time wrapping my order, the magnet group detached themselves from the counter and began to move towards the young baker helping me.

I watched her meticulously wrap each item, while quickly flashing the occasional side-eye glance towards the magnet groups.

After bagging my order, I reached over the counter and thanked her again. As I turned to go pay, I noticed one of the magnet groups literally lift her nose in the air and mean mug me.

I felt insulted and smug at the same time because I had patiently stood back and waited for my turn at customer service, while they doggedly chased the other young lady down.

Had I been wrong to accept the service offered to me? I waited and physically looked toward the magnet group at my initial interaction with the young baker, but she intentionally ignored their direction by staring me straight in the eye.

After I was done, I noticed the young baker helped another customer standing nearby waiting patiently.

Patience truly is a virtue and makes me say sometimes I wonder…