An Oklahoma woman who noticed her wallet had been stolen at a grocery store gave the thief two options: Deal with the authorities or return the wallet and let her pay his grocery bill.
“I saw this gentleman down the aisle from me,” Jessica Eaves, from Guthrie, told Yahoo News. “He walked behind me, and when I got a couple of aisles over, I realized my wallet was gone.”
“I spotted him in a crowded aisle and approached him. I’m a pretty out-there personality, but I was quiet and calm,” she continued. “I said to him, ’I think you have something of mine. I’m gonna give you a choice.”
The choices were free groceries and forgiveness, or the back of a squad car.
“He reached into his hoodie pocket and gave me my wallet,” she recalled. “He started crying when we walked up to the front. He said he was sorry about 20 times by the time we went from the pickle aisle to the front. He told me he was desperate.”
Mrs. Eaves followed through on her promise and bought the man milk, bread, bologna, crackers, soup and cheese, Yahoo reported.
“The last thing he said was, ’I’ll never forget tonight. I’m broke, I have kids, I’m embarrassed and I’m sorry,’” she said.
Mrs. Eaves said that helping others has become a big part of her life.
“My brother and I lost my dad to suicide when I was seven, and I remember him telling me years ago that no matter what I become in life, to always, always be kind,” she told Yahoo.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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