The owner of a popular Tucson, Ariz., restaurant received a letter last week from a former waitress who was so full of remorse over money stolen 20 years ago that she was paying it back — with interest added. Included in the envelope was $1,000 in cash.
“It definitely restores your faith in humanity,” wrote Ray Flores, the son of the owner, on Facebook.
The anonymous waitress didn’t sign the letter but said she pocketed extra cash in the 1990s by not ringing up drinks. She included in the envelope multiple $100 bills. She also said she “grew up in church” and “knew better,” but did it anyway. CBS News reported that El Charro Café is well-known in the area.
“It’s been 20 years, but I still carry great remorse,” the anonymous person wrote. “I am very sorry that I stole from you. Please accept my apology and this money as a repayment + 20 years of interest. May God forever bless you and your family.”
Incredibly, the letter was received one day after the owner, Carlotta Flores, 72, was robbed. Her purse was stolen while she was buying groceries.
The letter lifted her spirits.
“She came up to me and said in Spanish, ‘baby Jesus is still around.’ She hands me an envelope and this money falls out,” Ray Flores told CBS News. “And I say ‘Are you for real?’ Her eyes welled up and she said, ‘Can you believe it?’”
Ray Flores wrote on Facebook, “Thank you to whomever you are for sending us this letter in a week I really needed to see the good in people.”
The full letter reads:
“I worked for you as a waitress very briefly back in the 1990s, while a student at U of A. One of the waiters I worked with had encouraged me to ‘forget’ to ring in a few drinks a shift and pocket the cash. And for some stupid reason, I did it. I grew up in church, I knew better. I hadn’t stolen a dime before then, nor have I since. Thankfully, I was a terrible waitress and you all fired me before it could amount to more than a few hundred dollars total. It’s been 20 years, but I still carry great remorse. I am very sorry that I stole from you. Please accept my apology and this money as a repayment + 20 years of interest. May God forever bless you and your family.”
It was signed, “a thankful former employee.”
Photo Courtesy: Facebook
Michael Foust is a freelance writer. Visit his blog, MichaelFoust.com
Publication Date: August 2, 2018
Photo Courtesy: Thinkstock
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