The poor old lady began to cry when the waiter brought her bill.

Someone helped an older woman find a quiet spot to eat, then left. But a short time later, she saw her cry uncontrollably when she saw the bill.

At the restaurant where littleaprilroses worked, he was used to having different people over. But one customer stood out to him. An older woman who looked nice walked in and looked confused while she was filling a host shift.

Someone on Reddit tried to seat her in the main dining area, but the woman asked to be moved to a quieter area so she could talk to her son. The waiter looked around, but there were no more seats available.

One table finally opened up after almost an hour. The person who posted the original message (OP) gave the woman a seat and then left to help other guests. She became aware that something was wrong with her later on. The OP said this:

“After about 30 minutes, I saw that her son still wasn’t there.” She’s still sitting alone after another 30 minutes.

The woman looked antsy as she poked at her food and looked at her phone all the time. Even the later guests left early, but the woman stayed in her place and looked upset.

Following a short time, the OP heard another waiter talking to the boss about the customer at table 11. When she saw that it was the older woman’s table, she asked her coworker what had happened. The OP went into:

“On top of that, her son was supposed to pay, but he never showed up or called to cancel.”

The older woman started to cry and said that seeing the bill made her feel like a dark cloud was over her. The boss walked right over to her table. There was no way she could help her. The boss told her she didn’t have to pay for the food when she left, so everyone felt bad. The OP also said:

“She said she was sorry several times and said she would pay for her food tomorrow.”

The OP heard her leave a message on her son’s voicemail as she was leaving. She asked him if he was okay because she sounded worried. The woman didn’t mind that he didn’t show up. After the OP told the story on social media, people began to argue about whether the woman would come back to pay her bill.

What did people on Reddit say about OP’s story?
Some people on Reddit thought the older woman had lied about everything to get free food and walk home. A Reddit user named 20InMyHead strongly denied these claims, saying:

I don’t think a con artist would wait 45 minutes for a quiet spot. And the fact that she didn’t pay the next day could mean that she really needed her son to pay because she can’t.

The person also said that the diner staff might be a little too nice, but that if she came back the next day, they’d know if she was a con or not. LaMalintzin had a similar experience with an older mother and her son who got together for lunch every Wednesday.

After reading his update, some users got upset and said they were going to call their mom right away.

“She came in and waited for him one Wednesday.” “When she finally called him, he had to remind her that he had an appointment that day and that they had to cancel their planned lunch,” the person said.

In a similar thread, 2068857539 shared a story about an older woman with dementia who was waiting for her late husband and son to show up. She had memory loss, confusion, and trouble focusing, among other signs.

The OP asked his boss if the older woman he met was having the same problems and didn’t hear back. “She did come back to pay her bill, and she even told me why he didn’t show up that night,” she said.

The OP said that the woman had forgotten about their lunch time and mixed up the dates by mistake, which is a sign of early dementia. After reading his update, some users got upset and said they were going to call their mom right away.

A Reddit user named zompreacher wrote: “Oh my god, my heart! It is cracking! I can’t help but picture this as my mother… “I’m going to call her right now.” The OP said she felt the same way.