Catherine’s day took a bad turn when a haughty man spilled hot coffee on her at a café and then claimed she was to blame. He had no idea that the next day, things would go completely the other way, giving him a perfect amount of karma.
Good morning, everyone! This is Catherine. Have you ever had a day when everything went wrong? To the point where the whole world is working against you? That’s pretty much how my Tuesday last week began. On top of that, I had to deal with something that made me think: as women, are we supposed to put up with even more anger?
So, picture this: I have butterflies in my stomach, moving around like hummingbirds do. I’m now leaving the second round of a job interview for this great marketing job.
I did it, you guys! They were sure of their answers to all of their questions, even the hard ones. You can never be too sure in talks, though, right?
In order to calm down, I chose to have lunch at this cute little café close to work. It was a cute spot with doll-like chairs and ceiling lights that looked like fairy lights.
I took a seat at the bar and felt pretty good about myself.
My phone rang while I was waiting for my salad. It was my wonderful husband Josh. We always have a quick chat to talk about everything after my interviews.
I called him and told him everything: how the interview went, how nice the team seemed, and then boom! DISASTER hit just as I was telling him that the final round would happen tomorrow.
Someone walked way too fast and hit the bar next to me with a folder in their hand. My coffee, which was still very hot, flew away. When I say “flew,” I mean it took off like a rocket and landed right in my lap.
“Aghhh!” The hot liquid burned my skin as I screamed.
There was silence in the café. I think everyone looked at me because my scream might have woken the dead.
My first thought was to look at the harm. Another big brown coffee spot showed up on my fancy dress, the one I chose just to look good for the interview. Wonderful.
Let’s call the person who made the mess “Mr. Clumsy McSpillface.” He finally saw how bad things were. He looked down at my torn dress and then back up at me with a look of complete disdain on his face.
He became angry and said, “Seriously?!” as if it were MY fault that he spilled coffee on me. “Watch where you’re putting your stuff!”
To begin with, I wasn’t “putting my stuff” near him. I didn’t pay attention to anything while I waited for my lunch. Second, this guy had the nerve to blame me for his own mistakes.
I thought I heard a tooth crack because my jaw was so tight.
“Excuse me?” I was able to say it, and surprisingly, my voice was calm for the scenario. “You bumped into me and spilled the coffee on ME!”
Mr. McSpillface made fun of it. “Yeah, well, maybe if you weren’t glued to your phone, you would have seen me coming!”
That’s it? Wow, this guy was crazy. He not only didn’t say sorry, but he also made it sound like I was to blame for being on MY phone.
When I opened my lips to respond, I was about to launch an epic verbal assault, but he cut me off.
His voice was full of sarcasm as he asked, “When was the last time you stopped being Miss Clumsy?! Some people just don’t know what’s going on around them.
He wagged his finger at the coffee-stained mess on my lap, then walked over to a nearby table as if he owned the place.
My faces hurt from being angry and ashamed.
There were a lot of sad and funny looks on people’s faces in the café. I could feel tears coming to my eyes. This wasn’t how I planned to celebrate after my interview.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to make things better. I quickly told the barista “Sorry” and grabbed my bag.
There was no reason to stay longer. I wished I could leave, hide under a rock, and never come out again.
I told myself, “Ugh, this is the worst day ever,” as I stormed out of the café.
It turned out that the world had a surprise for me in store for me, and it had to do with Mr. McSpillface and a lot of karma.
It was hard to focus on the bus ride home. I got tears in my eyes every time I looked at the big coffee spot on my dress being mean to me.
Every part of me looked like a wet mess by the time I got to my apartment building.
There was worry on Josh’s face as I slammed the door behind me. He ran out of the living room.
He asked, “Hey, what happened?” after seeing my messed-up dress.
I muttered, “Ugh, don’t even ask,” and threw my bag and interview files on the couch. I got on the ground next to them and put my head in my hands.
The story came out all at once, in a flood of words and tears.
I talked about the interview, the coffee spill, Mr. McSpillface’s rudeness, and the whole embarrassing situation. I was crying like a baby by the end.
Josh hugged me to make me feel better. “Hey, hey, it’s okay,” he said, touching my hair with care. You did the right thing by not getting into a fight with that jerk. Things wouldn’t have gotten better by getting worse.
Of course, he was right. That didn’t make me feel better, though.
“I just feel so… violated,” I said through tears. “And to mess up my dress on top of that?” Name-calling? “How dare he?”
His words, “I know, honey,” brought back a tear to my eye. “But pay attention, karma exists. “That person will definitely get what’s coming to them!” he joked with a wink.
It turned out that karma did have a way of making things right.
When I got to the interview the next day, all dressed up, I felt a strong drive. I had to do this job, coffee spill or not.
I got to the office early, with a knot in my stomach from being nervous. I was surprised to see that no one was in the waiting room. The front desk worker called me in for the interview just as I was playing with my resume.
There were a lot of nice people there, which made me feel right at ease. They seemed impressed with my skills and experience, and we had a good talk.
But a small thing brought down my mood.
They told me that there was another person chosen for the job and that I would be meeting the boss with them.
As I was leaving the meeting room, I saw a familiar face sitting in the hallway. My heart sank when I saw Mr. McSpillface. He looked as neat and put-together as ever.
I got very angry as I thought about the comments he said to me in the café.
At first, he didn’t see me because he was busy with his file.
As I was sitting down, the receptionist told us that the boss had arrived and led us into his office. At that point, Mr. McSpillface, whose real name was Sam, saw me.
He had the most beautiful look on his face.
He was so shocked that his jaw dropped and his eyes got really big. It looked like he had eaten a live frog. He didn’t dare say a word, thank goodness.
Even so, I was still scared about the competition. I did not want HIM to get this job instead of me. There was a tense silence in the meeting room where we were both sitting next to each other.
The door then opened, and a well-dressed man walked in. He said his name was Mr. Felix and that he was the CEO of the company.
Instead of asking a lot of questions, he did something that no one expected.
He started, “Mrs. Parker,” his eyes fixed on me, “congratulations! “You got the job!”
It made my jaw drop so fast it was like a clown at a dance show. “What?” Hired? Like that?” I said, “But… the interview…”
Mr. Felix laughed. “Let me explain,” he said, motioning for us to sit down.
He said it was just a chance that he had been to the café the day before. He had seen the whole thing with Mr. McSpillface, including the coffee spill, the charges, and how calmly I handled things when things got tough.
He went on, “I was very impressed.” “Even though they were being so rude, you stayed calm and professional.” That’s exactly the kind of worker I like. Someone who knows how to handle a tough situation without making it worse.
His eyes went to Sam, who was now a pale green color and was sweating a lot. “As for you, Mr.…”
“Wesley,” Sam whispered in a very low voice.
“Mr. Wesley,” Mr. Felix said in an icy voice, “you can think of yourself as persona non grata.” You’re done with the conversation. He leaned in closer and his voice dropped to a low growl. “In fact,” he said, “I will make sure that all companies in this industry know about your lack of respect and professionalism.”
Fear and shame made Sam’s face twist. He said something incoherently about sorry and second chances, but Mr. Felix wouldn’t listen.
He yelled, “OUT!” and pointed to the door.
Sam jumped up quickly and almost tripped over himself as he tried to leave. It made me feel so much better when the door slammed shut behind him. I had to let out a weak sigh.
Mr. Felix gave a nice smile. “So, Mrs. Parker,” he said, “are you ready to join our team?”
As the saying goes, the rest is history. With excitement in my heart, I shook Mr. Felix’s hand.
I was shocked by what happened. I not only got the job, but I also got the biggest thrill of all when I saw Sam get a huge dose of karma.
In the evening, I walked into my flat with a spring in my step and the official letter of appointment in my hand. Josh, who had been waiting for me to come back, ran over and gave me a big hug.
His wide grin spread across his face as he asked, “So?” “Did you get it?”
“Did I get it?!” I yelled and held up the letter. “I got it, and guess who I saw at the interview?”
Josh’s eyes got bigger. “Don’t tell me…”
I started to tell a dramatic version of what happened, complete with impersonations of a bad Mr. McSpillface and a surprisingly good Mr. Felix.
We laughed so hard that our sides hurt. The event in the café was no longer a source of anger, but rather a funny side note.
“Karma’s a beautiful thing, isn’t it?” Josh finally said as he wiped a tear from his eye.
“The most beautiful,” I agreed, raising a champagne glass to celebrate. “To new beginnings, and to never spilling coffee on jerks ever again!”
We smashed our glasses together, and the sound filled the room. Things seemed to be going well, and I felt truly happy for the first time in a long time. Things seemed to be getting back on track in the world, even if it meant a little spilled coffee and a lot of karma.