“My husband and I, post-workout, headed to the gym’s kids’ center to collect our three-year-old daughter. Another dad was there, picking up his daughter, who looked to be around six. As I was finalizing the sign-out process, this man, with a brazen move, grabbed my daughter’s favorite jacket from her cubby.
‘Mommy! My jacket!’ my daughter exclaimed, clearly confused.
The employee, equally bewildered, interjected, ‘Sir? That actually belongs to them. I don’t recall coming in with a jacket.’
Even his own daughter piped up, ‘Dad, she’s right. That’s not mine.’
He just stared blankly at the employee and began to walk away, jacket in hand. My daughter started to protest, and I tried to soothe her, promising we’d get it back.
‘Excuse me,’ I said, raising my voice slightly, ‘That’s ours.’
His daughter, again, tried to reason with him, ‘Dad! That’s not mine!’
He ignored her, grabbing her hand and continuing his exit. My daughter, now in tears over her beloved jacket, prompted me to leave her with my husband and pursue the man. I caught up to him just as his wife joined them.
‘Are you guys ready to go?’ his wife asked, glancing at the jacket. ‘Whose jacket is that?’
‘Isn’t it ours?’ he mumbled, feigning confusion.
‘No,’ his wife retorted, ‘We didn’t bring one. It’s not even her size!’
I extended my hand, demanding the jacket back. His daughter, looking mortified, took it from him and apologized profusely as she returned it to me.
He, meanwhile, muttered under his breath, ‘Someone could have said something.’
His daughter, exasperated, rolled her eyes and said, ‘I did! You didn’t listen!'”
