I Stood up for an Elderly Cleaner at a Café When a Rich Man Mocked Her – The Next Day My Boss Called Me Into His Office

By Thursday night I was running on fumes. Parent-teacher conferences had stretched past eight; my voice was sandpaper, my feet were protests, and chalk dust had colonized my hair. The thought of going home to an empty fridge and pretending pasta with butter was a “meal” felt like a personal attack, so I pulled into Willow & Co. Café for something warm and kind. The place is all amber lamps and soft jazz, the kind of space that makes you feel like you’re doing okay at adulthood. I joined the line and let the smell of coffee and bread unknot my shoulders—until a voice sliced through the room…..CONTINUE READING IN BELOW