What would you have said to Jennifer?

A woman sat on a bench outside Albertsons* yesterday afternoon when I arrived there. She held a large sign reading, "mother hospital heart father dead three young brothers help please thank you"

I reached for my wallet but she obviously needed more. I invited her in to shop with me. She spoke practically no English but we managed to communicate.

I was getting just a couple of things. I went with her as she shopped. She'd politely point at things and I'd nod or say "yes." I tried to smile a lot.

As we were checking out, a woman I knew, Jennifer, a manager, came over and asked me, "Are you paying for these groceries for her?" "Yes," I replied. She said, "You're the third person today to buy her food."

I said to Jennifer, "She obviously needs it." She gave me the side-eye, oozing judgement, and I saw red. I couldn't speak. I looked at my shopper and she was staring, wide-eyed, at Jennifer. I held up my hand to her (shopper) and smiled and said, "It's ok, it's ok."

There was so much I could've said, but I was apoplectic, dumbstruck - and I didn't want to start something..

What would you have said to Jennifer?

Have you had any similar experiences?

*a Southern California grocery chain, part of Safeway and Vons

--This all reminded me of a sparkling comeback in a favorite movie. A man is accused of being a bleeding-heart liberal. "Lady, I don't give a diddly-shit what they call me, and I don't know if the organ is bleeding or not, but according to my EKG, I've got one."