Man Bothers Elderly Woman at the Supermarket, But She Has the Last Laugh

Eleanor decided to move to such a town because she desired a more peaceful and calm life as she entered retirement. She had this vision in her mind of a problem-free retirement, filled with relaxation and the occasional pampering. Jenkins soon realized that this was the farthest thing from what she was about to encounter. Eleanor even in her wildest dreams did not think she would be thrust into such a conflict.

Some would go as far as to say she may even be a bit in denial about getting older and being at the age of retirement, but who are we to judge? Eleanor’s demeanor is upbeat, and energetic, and has long silvery hair, a smart sense of style, and is excited for the next chapter of her life, retirement, if you can even call it that with all that Eleanor had planned. She hoped that moving into a totally different neighborhood where she didn’t know anyone would be something that would help her channel her energy and hone her focus to finally accomplish all the things she put off for a long time.

Even though divorce turned Eleanor’s world upside down she never gave up on love and on becoming the best version of herself. She used challenging experiences like this one as a motivator and a fuel to pursue her dreams and goals. She was ever so resilient and independent which helped her find her sense of self. She vowed to never again let relationships define her, especially a man. Being the bold lady she is she decided in her twenties to not remarry and enjoy life for herself and since then has stayed true to her word.

Jenkins wanted to be a role model for women, showing girls and women of all ages that they can be fulfilled simply by investing and focusing on themselves. Eleanor pursued a degree and later on a career in criminal justice and just like her deep-rooted values of hard work, discipline, and drive drove her personal life they also drove her professional development. She became a police officer and from the moment she put on that blue uniform she knew she had found her calling.

Despite looking delicate and approachable to the average person she was an officer that you did not want to cross. She became quite skilled and excelled in some of the toughest situations and cases the unit threw at her. She thrived in moments of pressure thanks to her logical mindset and calm and collected attitude. Once she had four decades of service she thought she had seen it all, but little did she know she was about to face one of the biggest challenges around.

Eleanor before long had already packed away her old life and set out for her new adventure moving to Meadowbrook Grove, a quiet neighborhood that she felt was perfect for her new beginning. It didn’t take more for Eleanor to adapt and adjust quite nicely to her more laid-back lifestyle. She eventually understood the benefits of living carefree and in low-stress conditions.

Most people might say that having too much personal time may make them feel alone but Eleanor thrived and enjoyed the time to herself. This time allowed her to stay in tune with her peace of mind and mental health while also helping her not take her independence for granted. She enjoyed the small-town spirit that her new neighborhood had and loved her neighbors which is no small feat. In no time at all Eleanor had already integrated into the community and made friends.

Eleanor was not one for gossip but she was curious about her new neighborhood as much as the next person. Who wouldn’t be? Especially being the newest one there, she had a lot to catch up on. As weeks progressed these weekly meetings with the group became something she looked forward to with the utmost eagerness. Even after the meeting was over she would stay with a few friends in the group for some tea and cookies because they enjoyed each other’s company so much. But none of them expected what happened next. This incident shook the whole neighborhood and pivoted everyone in a direction that they would rather not be in.

Eleanor learned that this woman’s name was Olivia. Olivia was painfully shy and spent most of the neighborhood get-togethers listening to the others in silence and only reacting when the other women in the group said something funny or juicy. Eleanor didn’t know why but she got this gut feeling that Olivia didn’t really want to be there and was waiting for the opportunity to ask her about it. Finally, Eleanor had the chance to speak with Olivia one-on-one and understand Olivia a bit better. Jenkins realized that there was more to Olivia than she realized.

Eleanor and Olivia began going on one-on-one meetings and they learned more and more about each other as time went on. Olivia was the CEO of a tech company and she was seen by many as one of the best and brightest in her field. Olivia spent a lot of her time working closely with her team which consisted mostly of men so she loved having something that had female dominance, like the neighborhood meetings with the ladies. Little did they know though, that both Olivia and Eleanor were about to face the last thing they could have predicted.

For Eleanor, connecting with Olivia felt to her like looking through a window of her past self, while for Olivia it felt like she got a window into what’s to come through Eleanor’s eyes. Although Olivia was shy and quiet, a stark contrast to Eleanor’s loud personality somehow they could see a common ground. The pair began enjoying countless evenings together and opening up. Some would say they even became each other’s confidants, well almost. Ms. Jenkins chose to go by just that, without mentioning that she was actually Officer Jenkins. She decided keeping her police background a secret was best.

She played into the fact that no one would be able to guess what her career is by simply looking at her since she didn’t fit what people typically thought of when they thought of police officers. Eleanor used to get frustrated when people underestimated her but in this case she could use it to her advantage. However as certain situations arose in the neighborhood, her former career might take center stage sooner rather than later.

In the past, the weekly meetings consisted of the usual gossip, nothing particularly juicy or evoking emotions but during this meeting, several of the neighborhood ladies were fuming while retelling their grocery stories. Most small tight-knit communities and neighborhoods have their dramas and issues but this felt different and interconnected in a different way.

The lady “chairman” of the group, also known as Sophie Henderson mentioned that she makes trips to the store almost daily and during the last week alone she had seen the group of men in question causing obscene amounts of ruckus. The men continued to harass shoppers, make rude comments to grocery store employees, and sometimes would even blockade the store’s exit not allowing people to leave for no reason. Many of the ladies didn’t know who these people were and tried to figure out who they were and why they were so keen on causing so much disruption. The biggest question was how had no one tried to put an end to what they were doing until now. This issue had already been going on for weeks with it continuing to know end.

You can take the police officer into retirement but you can’t take the police officer out of the woman. Eleanor’s killer instincts from her time on the job kicked into gear and she immediately needed to solve this issue for the neighborhood. As the meeting came to a close she caught Olivia as they exited the cafe. Olivia seamlessly nudged Eleanor out of earshot of the other ladies so they could talk in private without the risk of someone overhearing and gossiping about it later on without them present. That was exactly how rumors and misinformation started.

Olivia couldn’t be certain for sure but she felt that she knew beyond a reasonable doubt the identity of the disruptive men in the grocery store. It had been many years, nearly two decades since she had seen them since high school to be exact but she seemingly recognized them from that time in her life.

As Olivia graduated she had thought that she would never see them again but somehow they reentered her life as the disruptive men at the grocery store in her peaceful neighborhood. It was saddening to see that their bullying days were not behind them and that they continued to do the same things but worse since it was no longer angry teenagers picking on girls but rather full-grown men who should have known better. As the stories from the meeting were shared it was safe to assume that they were simply picking on any unsuspecting women they could find.

Despite Eleanor still not disclosing the fact that she was a former police officer, she simultaneously thought of all the ways she could use her skills as a cop and what she learned on the job to bring justice. With Olivia’s help, they set on developing a plan to stop these grocery bullies from harassing female customers. In no time Eleanor was really to put her plan into action.

Eleanor made her way into the store with nothing besides her shopping bags, her tote, and her wits. She knew that she would blend into the crowd of shoppers without raising any abnormal flags. If she encountered the bullies she was ready and had a plan which they wouldn’t expect. She was sure that after she was done with them they wouldn’t be harassing anyone at the supermarket or otherwise.

Even though Eleanor only had their high school photos to go off of and they were at least 20 years old it was easy to determine that these were indeed the same bullies from Olivia’s high school days. The throwing of food and kicking displays with complete disregard for others was a dead giveaway.

Most everyone was confused by the need for these men to develop such turmoil in the store and among customers. Eleanor had enough and she was ready to stop it as well as deter them or anyone for that matter, from doing anything like this again. The group of bullying men may have underestimated her as an unsuspecting lady but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. As soon as one of the bullies saw her and began to take things from her cart, Eleanor knew it was time to put her plan into action.

Eleanor knew the problem at the supermarket was bad and frustrating, but even she didn’t think it was as bad as it actually was until she saw it firsthand. She hoped that the group’s aggression wouldn’t escalate if they were confronted. Eleanor came to the conclusion that the main reason no one dared to face them head-on was that shoppers were afraid that the bully’s aggression would escalate and become even more unbearable.

Eleanor had originally wanted to gather more information before getting directly involved but these men left her no choice but to jump into action especially since they directly confronted her as she was about to leave. Two of the men in the group of bullies blocked her from leaving the store while the other aggressively made a point to mention to her that this was a “men’s only exit.” She’ll have to find another way out according to this not-so-lovely human encounter. Eleanor kept her cool and smiled since she knew something they didn’t, they picked a fight with the wrong lady.

At this point, the whole group of bullies began to be upset and annoyed by the interaction with Eleanor. One of them called out to her, “Did you hear what I said? I’m talking to you, lady” and Eleanor without even missing a beat responded in the most indifferent way that they certainly didn’t know who she was but that she knew them.” These bullies were not very bright and became even more confused and frustrated by it all.

Eleanor surprised them and the other shoppers by pulling out a megaphone from her shopping bag. As she did this, Eleanor saw Olivia standing in the corner with a perfect view of what was going on. Olivia clearly wanted to see how this would turn out and offer her support safely from the sidelines. She winked at Eleanor, showing her support and solidarity. Eleanor began to announce through her megaphone to get everyone’s attention.

What seemed to be the ring leader of the group handed the pages over to his crew and all the color in their cheeks went white. They realized that Eleanor had indeed known exactly who they were and soon everyone else would too. The other shoppers looked and gathered nearby trying to figure out what was going on in the meantime.

In the palm of her dainty hands was a silver badge that revealed that she was a retired Police Officer of the Lewisburg Police Department. One of the grocery store shoppers picked up one of the papers with the photos of the men and the photos began to be pasted around. The shoppers began to talk amongst themselves regarding the men and how shocked they were that Eleanor ended up being a former law enforcement officer.

Oliva could not hide her happiness and how thankful she was for what Eleanor had done that she ran over to hug her right then and there. The entire store applauded Eleanor and how brave she was for not backing down and holding her own with the group of despicable men. Eleanor was amused that somehow even in her new life’s chapter her police skills had some in handy. She laughed to herself and thought, once a cop, always a cop. She proved that looks aren’t always so telling when it comes to people.

Eleanor is extremely proud of that and it ironically made retirement a little bit better since it reminded her of her past life which always feels like home. It’s these skills that help make her who she is and it is one of the things that she loves about herself. She vowed to always help those in need wherever she can and just like she vowed to protect civilians during her career she hoped to be able to do the same in retirement too.

If any troublemakers try to cause a stir hopefully now the situation can be defused quickly and thanks to Eleanor a lot of the neighborhood ladies have more confidence to stand up for themselves and others if they see something wrong happening around them.