When 92-year-old Julie was locked out of her beloved supermarket, she was in shock. The store manager had no clue who she was or what she was capable of. So when she returned a few days later, Julia was ready to tell the story of her “happy place”. Julia didn’t have a lot of time for herself. But when she did have time, she made the most of it.
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Going to the supermarket gave her a sense of relaxation and freedom. It also gave her the chance to walk around and stretch out her legs.
Something wrong
However, the manager couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss about Julia. Even though he was watching her closely, he couldn’t find a good enough reason to banish her from the store. All he could come up with was that she was “uncomfortable” and “distracted.”
Planning something big
The floor manager was looking for a way to banish Julia from the shop for good. Her manager wouldn’t consider banning anyone unless it was a serious offence like shoplifting. He decided to pull a stunt on her the following day. He watched her busy inspecting the pantry and approached her. She was wearing her best smile as she served the customer. “Hey, I can help you with that,” he said. She mumbled something about “no, thanks” and went on her way. On the way out, he slipped a tiny but expensive bottle into her purse.
Faking an emergency
The floor manager went to his boss and told him what had happened. “I saw an elderly woman with a bottle hidden in her bag,” he said, feigning alarm. “I had the nerve to call her crazy.” The floor supervisor Augustine narrowed his eyes. It was the floor manager’s job to check if the statements were true or not. He went to the register while Julia was buying her snack.
An anonymous tip
As Julia was on her way out, Augustine stopped her and asked her politely if she had everything she needed for the day. She looked a bit confused, so he asked her if she had anything that wasn’t her. He could see that she was getting angry, so he decided it was time to get to the point. “Ma’am, can I have a look at your bags? It’ll only take a minute, I promise,” he said, exasperated. “Why would I need to look at my bags? I just bought one thing and I’ve got the receipt!”
Paid in full
Julia scowled and waved her receipt. Augustine sighed and said, “Well, we received a tip that you didn’t pay for something in your bag, so now I’ll have to look at it.” Julia was shocked at being accused of stealing. She was a regular customer but didn’t object to the inspection either. But it wasn’t long before Augustine discovered the bottle of liquor hidden in her purse.
Banned
Julia was in shock. She walked to the store almost every day and it was a big part of her routine. She said she didn’t even drink, but Augustine said he couldn’t do anything about it since they have a zero-tolerance policy for theft. She was banned from the store from that day on. The floor manager was thrilled because he had finally got rid of the ghost who was haunting the shop. Augustine wasn’t so happy, though, because he could see how upset she was and wanted to do something other than just banish her, but he couldn’t.
She’ll be back
At the end of the day, Julia sulked on her way out, feeling like she had failed at everything she had set out to do. As she was about to give up, something struck her: she had done nothing wrong! She wasn’t going to let them push her away like that, and she turned to Augustine with a big smile on her face. She told him she’ll be back and he won’t like it when she does. She walked down the street plotting her revenge. Augustine wondered if she had stolen something.
Feeling uneasy
He told the floor manager what had happened, but he wasn’t expecting the reaction he got. The manager was actually happy that Julia wouldn’t be coming back. It was weird, but he tried not to dwell on it. Perhaps he was reading too much into it, or maybe it was just his own guilt. There’s no way she could have been under 85, and she had the tenacity of a woman half her age. Both Augustine and the manager would come to regret it.
Enjoying the chaos
The store stayed quiet for the next two days, and Augustine was relieved that Julia hadn’t come back, because he didn’t want another confrontation. He hated arguing with his clients, and he was always looking out for the best side of people. The floor manager was really into confrontation and he wanted to ban anyone who was buying too little and spending too much time in the store!
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A different person
He was a totally different person than Augustine, and he was really sneaky. The store had a lot of people in it, but it was also surrounded by a lot of alleyways, so most of the people didn’t shop there every day. He wanted to get rid of all those slow people who were buying almost nothing, but it was going to be hard to convince Augustine to ban everyone else.
A robbery?
Then one morning, just five days after Julia was banned, a bunch of cops showed up even before the store opened. Augustine was freaking out because he hadn’t even opened the door yet. What were the cops doing there? Was it a robbery? The cops walked into the store without a word, and the foreman showed them their badge. They said “Julia” sent them, and then they took them upstairs. It wasn’t a theft, but it was a surprise that Julia would send the agents.
Cops in the store
Augustine watched the cops in awe, and then they left without telling him what they had done or what they found. He didn’t even see what they were looking at on his computer. They came back out 15 minutes later before any other staff showed up, but some of them saw the cops coming out, so Augustine had to tell them what happened. Everyone was really upset, and the staff had a lot of questions. All Augustine knew was that the cops had come because “Julia” had sent them, and when they left, they said they’d come back.
Wondering
Augustine spent the whole day trying to figure out what had happened and why. He hadn’t even left his office when the floor manager came in and asked him to explain. He wasn’t happy about it. The store had never had any issues with the police before. But he couldn’t figure out what the cops had checked out that morning. How could an older woman like Julia get a whole team of cops to come and search his store? Usually, the cops would ask for an appointment.
Was she special?
No police department should care enough about an old lady who’s been banned from a grocery store for no reason. What if it was for shoplifting? Don’t they have more important stuff to worry about? Maybe she knew someone in the department? There must be something special about her that made all this happen. Augustine was sure the police wouldn’t do anything about it. He tried to think of all the possible reasons, but he couldn’t make sense of it.
No information
Augustine spent the whole afternoon trying to find out more about her, but he couldn’t. He went home frustrated and still really confused. He spent all night thinking about what happened with Julia and the police, but hopefully, tomorrow will bring all the answers he needs.
Again
The same team of cops showed up at almost the same time the day before. This time they weren’t four like they had been the day before. They had a special guest, and Augustine recognized her right away. Julia was with them, and she was smiling like she knew exactly what was going on. He thought it was weird that the cops didn’t take anyone with them, since they usually do. The foreman said they could talk to him in his office.
No explanation
He tried to get an explanation right away, but the cops said they needed to wait for someone else to show up. He didn’t understand why they couldn’t give him anything without the floor manager being there. he had no choice but to call him. Augustine requested a meeting with the floor manager in the office.
Caught
Upon arrival, the floor manager was informed that the officers had returned and did not wish to discuss the matter without him present. When he opened the door, he was met with a large group of police officers. His face reddened and he was barely able to speak, but the foreman was determined to have a full account of the incident. She was innocent.
A guilty conscience
He became increasingly agitated. The police officer then explained that they had come to speak to the floor manager. He was Julia’s nephew, which explained why Julio had been granted permission to attend the visit. The lady was highly agitated and denied having stolen anything, claiming instead that she had put the liquor into her bag. The floor manager had requested a few favors from the police to review the surveillance footage from the day before, which is why they arrived the following morning.
New evidence
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They quickly found evidence that the person responsible for the plan put the bottle into Julia’s bag. They said that if she didn’t go back to the shop from that day and if the floor manager got fired, the case would keep going. Augustine was really mad at his employee, so he fired him right away. Julie was allowed to come back to the shop that day and she had all the time in the world. She didn’t have anything against Augustine, he was just doing his job. Things are going back to normal at the store now with the new management.