It’s not every day that a 20-year-old boy takes notice of a mother’s struggles.
But then again, not every young man is Nicholas Tate.
The Newcastle, Oklahoma, resident has worked at his local Walmart for nearly two years. He’s met a lot of people and seen a lot of things in his time with the company, but this particular Friday night is one he’ll never forget.
Just before the end of his shift, Nick noticed the line at his counter starting to grow with customers. He patiently served each guest despite his workday coming to an end.
One of those guests was a mother of three, who had her children in tow as she shopped and checked out.
Sensing she was overwhelmed by her two young daughters and the baby, Nick engaged in conversation with the woman asking, “Is it one of those days?”
She explained to him that she’s fostering a baby and having to use WIC—part of a federal program that provides assistance to low-income and foster families with children–for the first time. Having just set up WIC earlier that day, the woman had never used it before.
“She had a good amount of items,” Nick said, “and most of them went through. But she apparently didn’t have the right formula,” making it difficult for other purchases to be processed. “We had to run a separate transaction for the rest.”
As Nick helped the woman through her purchases, his line continued to grow with impatient customers and dirty looks.
“[There were] more customers, more grumbling and dirty looks as they moved to the other lane and I’m frustrated and trying not to cry,” the customer, who wishes to remain anonymous, wrote in a Facebook post. “At this point, a lady we know came up and asked why I was causing so many problems. I told her I was just failing as a foster mom because I can’t figure out WIC and almost burst into tears right there.”
As Nick called the manager over for assistance, he says he was ready and willing to take care of the mother himself.
“I already had my card out at that point. I felt like God was telling me to pay for it,” he explained. “The second it didn’t work I swiped my card.”
The woman looked at him in shock and asked him what he was doing as he paid for $60 worth of her groceries. It’s a day’s wages for the Walmart employee.