My wife was seven months pregnant when we stopped at the grocery store one Saturday afternoon.
The place was packed, and we had already been waiting in line for almost twenty minutes.
When we finally got close to the register, a large guy suddenly pushed his cart between us and the customer ahead.
He bumped our cart and nearly knocked my wife off balance.
“Step off,” he said. “I’m in a rush.”
I was immediately angry.
Before I could say anything, my wife grabbed my arm.
“Don’t waste your time,” she said quietly. “Just watch.”
I had no idea what she meant.
The guy rushed through the register, paid for a few items, and headed toward the exit.
Then two security guards stepped in front of him.
They asked him to come with them.
He started arguing.
My wife looked at me and said, “I saw him slipping things into his jacket while we were waiting.”
Apparently, she had noticed him taking several expensive items from a display near the checkout.
A store employee had noticed too and had already called security.
The guy had been so busy acting like everyone else was in his way that he never realized anyone was watching him.
My wife smiled and said, “See? You didn’t need to do anything.”
She was right.
Sometimes the best response is simply letting someone’s own behavior catch up with them.
