Went to the Dollar Store today to get some stuff, and the head manager was working. I've known her since I've moved here 5 years ago, but just from the store. She lives in my same small town, but we never hung out or anything even when I was still married. A couple months ago, her son committed suicide, and when I came in today, she was looking just fucking wrecked man. Had put on a lot of weight, makeup all over, and just looked like she was ready for it all to go. So I checked out my items, and she was asking how I was and how my kids were doing, and just small talk. I grabbed my bags, and I was about to walk out and she was staring at nothing, and I was going to just walk out, but then in a quick decision, was like "HEY. You okay? Like. Seriously. Okay?" And she says "no, I'm not." And she tells me how depressed she is over her son dying. And I said "you need a hug?" And she didn't skip a beat, and I mean literally nearly crushed my fucking spine lol. And for several seconds, it almost got weird. I mean I only know this person from buying toilet paper and $1 candy lol. But I could tell she was in a rough spot, and shit sometimes a hug helps. Even it's from someone you only interact with over things like butt wipe.
And that was that. I grabbed my shit and left. That's my story of trying to be more human than human for a day.