Bookstore Clerk Kicks Poor Old Lady Out, Owner Sees It on Security Camera and Rushes to Her – Story of the Day

A book store clerk kicks out a poor woman who hangs around the shop reading books and is astounded when his boss unexpectedly runs out of the store after her.

Jeff Gordon was thinking about asking his boss for a raise. He’d been at the book shop for over three years, and he felt it was time Mr. Tyrell showed his appreciation. He’d hinted and hinted, but no cigar…

Then something caught Jeff’s eye. A familiar figure was walking through the door, and she gave Jeff a brilliant idea. He’d show his boss how valuable and proactive he was! He’d kick the freeloader out of the store!

The ‘freeloader’ Jeff had decided to target was a lady in her late sixties who dropped into the shop every single afternoon and spent two or three hours reading and browsing through the stacks.

Marjorie Brooks had been coming to the store for over a year now. She was a former high school English teacher, and shortly after retirement, her husband George had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. 

An act of kindness can change a life.

Over the next two years, they had fought for his life while the medical bills gobbled up their savings. As a last resort, Marjorie had sold their house, and after George passed away, she found herself living in a tiny ramshackle apartment.

It was all she could afford on her pension, and what she received barely stretched to the utility bills and food. Books were a luxury she simply could not afford, so she treated herself to a daily browse at Tyrell’s Bookstore. It was one of the few pleasures she had left, but Jeff was about to take it away from her.

Marjorie was leafing through a fascinating treatise on late Gothic architecture when Jeff walked up to her. “Excuse me, Ma’am?” he said crisply. “I see you’re  a frequent visitor, and I wanted to recommend…”

Marjorie turned to him with a sweet smile. “Yes?” she asked.

“I recommend that you GET OUT and stay out before I call security!” Jeff yelled.

Marjorie gasped and blushed. Several of the other customers were staring. “I don’t understand…” she whispered.

“Can you even afford to buy a single magazine?” asked Jeff scornfully. “I bet you buy cat food so you can have a solid meal!”

Marjorie’s eyes filled with tears. She drew herself up. “Young man,” she said with quiet dignity. “I’m old enough to be your mother, and I ask you to treat me with respect.”

“Respect?” sneered Jeff. “I have no respect for FREELOADERS! Go find somewhere else to hang out, like the train station. Maybe you can pass the hat around. You’ll get nothing here.”

“I’m not a beggar!” Marjorie cried. “All I do is look at the books…”

“And put your dirty hands all over them!” Jeff said viciously. He was about to say more, but Marjorie had had enough. With a soft cry of distress, she ran out of the store. It was at that moment that Mr. Tyrell ran in from the back office.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asked Jeff angrily. “I’ve been watching you on the security camera and your behavior is disgraceful! You’re FIRED!” Leaving Jeff staring after him, Mr. Tyrell ran out the door and down the street after Marjorie.

“Wait!” he shouted. “Please wait!” He caught up to Marjorie and touched her arm. “Please, I’m so sorry! I’m the owner of the store and I’ve just fired the man who insulted you. I want you to come back, every day if you want.

“Bookstores and books are for people who love them, and I can see you love books!”

Marjorie wiped her eyes and smiled. “Yes, I do love books,” she said. “I was an English teacher you know, and seeing kids discover the world through books was my greatest pleasure. I’m retired now, and this is my only pleasure.

“To tell you the truth, it’s my only escape.”

Mr. Tyrrell looked at Marjorie and he had an idea. “How would you like to work for me?” he asked. “I want to put in an armchair in the children’s section and I want you to come in every afternoon and read stories for the kids. Get them to fall in love with books! What do you think? In this era of social media and video games, I think interaction is something they’d love!

Marjorie started crying. “Do you mean it?” she asked. “I’d be talking and teaching again?”

“Yes,” said Mr. Tyrell happily. “And of course, I’ll pay you a decent salary!”

“But…please,” Marjorie said, “please don’t fire that boy. I can’t stand the idea of him losing his livelihood over me.”

Mr. Tyrell reluctantly agreed to keep Jeff on and he took Marjorie back to the store. “Jeff,” he said coldly. “Mrs. Brooks had asked me not to fire you, but one chance is all you get. This lady will be working with us and you will treat her with the utmost respect!”

Mr. Tyrell set up a cozy corner of the bookstore for Marjorie with a pretty armchair and colorful footstool for the kids. Her storytime every afternoon became a favorite with children and their parents.

Marjorie’s salary from the bookstore allowed her to live in greater comfort, and she was constantly surrounded by her beloved books. As for Jeff, he was a changed young man and he became one of Marjorie’s greatest admirers.

What can we learn from this story?

• Show respect to everyone you meet, so that people will respect you too. Jeff was arrogant and disrespectful to Marjorie and it nearly cost him his job.
• An act of kindness can change a life. Mr. Tyrell’s kindness gave Marjorie a new lease on life and an opportunity to make a difference.

Share this story with your friends. It might brighten their day and inspire them.

If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a lawyer who dropped by a florist to wire a dozen roses to his mother for her birthday and saw a little crying girl who ended up teaching him a lesson he never forgot.

This account is inspired by our reader’s story and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com