My husband is a garment worker and I usually prepare lunch. Usually his apprentice comes and gets the food. Another lunchtime apprentice came. When I opened the door, the apprentice was surprised because he was a little early.
“You came so early, anyway, come in apprentice,” I said. “There is a serving plate on the table there, put your food on it and fill your stomach.”
The apprentice was a little embarrassed when he saw me in my bathrobe, but I didn’t care much. He went into the kitchen and I was just going to my room when the apprentice’s voice echoed.
“Sister, where is the ladle?” he shouted.
“It’s in the large drawer downstairs,” I said.
“I can’t find it,” he said and called me. At that moment, he had taken off the towel on my head and was about to take off my bathrobe when I said, “Okay, okay, I’m coming,” and went into the kitchen.
“It’s in that drawer,” I said, leaning forward and opening the drawer. The apprentice was staring at me instead of looking at the drawer and ladle. When I realized the situation, I felt a slight embarrassment and pulled myself together immediately.
“Take the ladle and put your food in, apprentice,” I said and headed out of the kitchen. The apprentice said, “Thank you, sister,” and started putting his food on his plate.
After the incident, although I was bothered by the apprentice’s attitude, I managed the situation by maintaining my professionalism. The apprentice ate his food and thanked him, returning to work. This small incident reminded me once again that sometimes people can unknowingly overstep their boundaries and that we should always keep our cool.
When my husband came home from work, he told me that the apprentice had taken his food and thanked him. I didn’t mention this small incident to him because I didn’t want to create unnecessary tension. But deep down, I hoped that the apprentice wouldn’t repeat such behaviors. Life is full of such small tests in some cases; the important thing is to face these tests with maturity and manage them correctly.