No Good Deed

Okay...you know how they say "No good deed goes unpunished"? Well, here's what I have to say to that...

I worked tonight from 1 pm until 7 pm, and before work, I did a little bargain shopping. I'm always hard-up for good shirts to wear to work, so I hit the clearance racks and found two nice shirts. When I took them to the register to pay for them, Miss Johnetta informed me that I should have waited until 3 pm to buy them, because of the VIP coupon I could have used to get an extra percentage off. The coupons were sent in the mail, and all JCPenney employees were supposed to get one, but one never came to me. So, since I was entitled to one, Miss Johnetta said that the managers had approved us to keep an emergency coupon behind the counter for associates who didn't get one in the mail. That's all fine well and good, but the sale didn't start until 3 pm, and bear in mind, my store closes at 6 on Sundays. They schedule us until 7 so that we have time to clean up the store after the customers leave.
So, thinking I'd missed out, I just wrote it off as "Oh well", and paid for my shirts. I had no sooner clocked in than I overheard one of the managers discussing the schedules...turns out my store was open until 9 tonight! So that gave me time to return what I bought, rebuy it (which I cleared with a manager first, and just FYI - it's completely legal, and most stores honor that practice since they no longer accept rainchecks) and get my extra percentage off!
Fast forward to about 7:20 pm. By then, I was off the clock, had returned the two shirts I bought earlier and was doing a little extra shopping to celebrate my incoming coupon. In addition to the shirts I found for work, I found another nice shirt and a good inexpensive pair of jeans for BJ, since he needs a new pair of good dress jeans. After the coupon and my associate discount, they'd be even less expensive, so it was a pretty good deal for a pair of name-brand jeans.
I took my bounty to the register, only to find that there was only one register open, and it was PACKED with customers. As I was about to take my place in line, another register opened up, so I went to the back of the new line. Not long after, yet another register opened up, and Nadine (one of the ladies I work with) called for the next customer and looked at me. I shook my head and told her "Nah, the people around the other side have been waiting longer than me. Go ahead and take them first, I've got time to kill."
So, the next customers came over and as Nadine was waiting on them, one of the ladies in front of me turned around and said "Why did you do that?" I told her that those people had been waiting longer than I had, it was only fair to let them go first. She looked at me a little funny and said "You work here, though, right?" and I said that yes, I did. She said "Honey, you've got to be sick and tired of being in this store, you're probably ready to just go home and fall over!" I said "Yeah, but that's just part of working. Besides, I'll get home when I get home, I'm not in a big hurry." She smiled and said, "You know, you're a really sweet person! Not everyone would be that nice to total strangers!" I thanked her for the compliment and blushed it away with a quiet "Well, I try..." She went on about her business, and soon it was my turn to be waited on.
Then disaster struck...the emergency coupon behind the counter had been misplaced! My heart just dropped, cause that was my chance to save a few bucks and still get what I needed.
As I was putting my clothes up on the counter and preparing to tell Linda (another lady I work with) to put the jeans and the additional shirt back, I felt a little tap on my shoulder. I turned around, and who should be there than the lady who'd just complimented me! She smiled at me and said, "I have something for you..." and handed me a duplicate coupon for the extra percentage deal I'd been hoping for!
The coupons had come in sets of two, with the wording "One for you, and one for a friend!" and since a customer can only use one, she had an extra. She put it in my hand and said, "You deserve to have this. You were so nice to let those people in front of you, and I can't very well use this one. Besides, it says one is for a friend, and you seem like you'd make a pretty good friend, so, you take it!" I almost cried! I thanked her, and she just winked and went on her way.
So...no good deed goes unpunished, huh? If generosity is considered punishment these days, I suppose I'll take my punishment! Gives a new meaning to the term "grin and bear it", I think!