Woman loses it at gas station when man says, 'you're too pretty not to smile' right after her mom died.
"Didn't look 'pretty enough' 4 hours after my mom died."
dasbarr
This happened a really long time ago now. But I have never seen anyone run away from a situation quite so quickly and sometimes I do wonder what the guy thought or if he learned his lesson.
So my mom had been terminal and was in hospice care in our home. We knew time was limited, however when I'm upset the first thing to go to hell is my sleep schedule. I had slept 2 hours that night and hadn't been getting much more sleep than that for the few weeks preceding this. But she ended up passing slightly before 4am the morning that this took place.
After she passed I decided I needed caffeine to get through the day. So, I went to the nearest gas station that opened up at 8am. I headed over there for some energy drinks. I likely did look a bit of a mess. It's easy to tell when I'm tired and I was wearing college merch that was much bigger than my usual size.
I got out of my car and started shuffling through my clothes. I couldn't remember which gigantic pocket I had put my wallet in. While I did that, this man pulled up to a pump in a very shiny car. I don't remember what he looked like beyond that he looked a bit like a very put together game show host.
This man turned to me (he was 20 feet away so this was all said loudly) and said "It's a shame someone so pretty can't improve everyone's day with a smile".
I burst out crying. Ugly crying with the sobbing mouth thing and shaking. Just went from standing there hoping I hadn't left my wallet at home to bawling in a mostly empty parking lot. I did manage to yell something like "I'm sorry I'm not f*cking pretty enough for you when my mom died 4 hours ago"
Dude turned on his heels and left. Didn't pump gas, didn't go inside for coffee. Didn't apologize. Just got in his car and left. I was saved from standing in the parking lot sobbing by a woman who I think was jogging and heard what the man and I said to each other and the employee of the gas station who were very kind.
Edit: Some people seem to be confused thinking that being called pretty was a compliment. But really I didn't look great. I was wearing a hoodie that literally went past my knees and sweatpants stuffed into duck boots. I had dark circles bad enough that someone asked me if a snowball hit me in the face a couple days after this. They thought I had two black eyes.
My very long hair was piled on top of my head and hadn't been brushed properly. I also get big red blotches on my face when I cry or am cold. Considering it was January, I definitely had a blotchy face even if it wasn't from crying earlier.
Best case scenario he was complimenting me first to "sandwich critique". Worst case scenario, he was being actively passive aggressive about how I looked.
I don't think he woke up that morning and twirled a moustache wanting to make a stranger cry. I think he did an awkward thing he shouldn't have (don't tell women to smile. Seriously.) and got embarrassed. Something that's probably happened to literally every person who has commented or liked this.
Here were the top rated comments from readers:
canvasshoes2
Oh my heavens. I know it was a long time ago...but I can feel the hurt from here. Virtual mom hugs to that long ago hurting young woman. Sigh.
ClimbingQueen
Same kind of comment happened to me on the day of my grandmother's funeral. Wish I had said something to that guy.
d1mawolfe
Of course, he ran like a sniveling coward.
The OP responded here:
dasbarr
To be fair the jogging woman was P*SSED so idk if she's what scared him off lol.
WearierEarthling
That comment is rude whenever a man says it; I can’t imagine having to hear that on such a sad day. Add me to the virtual hug list 💜
Ok-Many4262
Ohhhhh OP. I lost my mum last year and the ugly cry in the carpark where I got the call was epic…I think if someone had said something like that to me, I would have scratched out his eyes. I’m sending you another hug and a high five for the lesson you delivered with such finesse.
NoTransportation9021
Imagine thinking it's a woman's job to "smile and making everyone else's day better"! I'm sorry for what you went through!