Husband Demands Wife to Quit Job after Meeting Her Regular Customer

A 41-year-old cafe owner and her husband, five years her junior, disagreed on how she handled a customer in her establishment. The customer had an obvious crush on her, although she never put much thought into it because he had the mind of an eight-year-old.

Located in a popular neighborhood, a woman's cafe seats many guests daily. The establishment sees many office workers and is situated near a facility where people with disabilities work. One of her regular customers is a male in his late 20s with Down syndrome.

One of the staff members in the facility is aware of the customer's habit of going to the cafe and explained that he had the mind of an eight-year-old and was a creature of habit.

The facilitator further checked if the customer was making them feel uncomfortable. However, the customer was polite and pleasant to those in the cafe, especially the woman.

The boy had a regular schedule and would get dropped off at 7:30 in the morning. He only wanted the woman to help him and would patiently wait if she was busy.

He would usually eat breakfast and have coffee at the establishment while facing the woman's workstation. Undoubtedly, he was fond of the woman but never did anything that made her uncomfortable. He would smile and make small talk, such as asking how she was.

At 8:00, he would leave and carry on with his day. Before the cafe closes at 4:00 in the afternoon, he would drop by again and sit at the same table until his ride fetches him at closing time.

The customer never became an issue for the woman, especially because she understood his condition. However, things changed when her husband learned of the situation. One evening, the woman's sister and business partner, along with her wife, joined the woman and her husband for dinner.

During the evening, the sister mentioned the customer with Down syndrome and how he refused to be served by anyone while the woman was on sick leave. According to the woman: :

"My husband was confused. So, my sister explained everything about this customer. My husband was silent the rest of the dinner."

When the couple's guests went home, the husband asked why his wife never talked about the male customer. He believed the customer was disrespectful and wondered if the man knew she was married.

"Then he became angry because I said that he had Down syndrome, and he meant that there are functioning people with this syndrome and that I was the prejudiced one, not him," she said. Regardless of the woman's explanation, her husband remained angry.

The following week, the woman's husband did something that surprised her. He went to her cafe at 7:30 and sat at the table where her frequent customer often sat. When the customer came in, he was flustered and stood nearby, holding his breakfast and coffee.

The woman helped him find another table, which upset her husband even more. Angry, he told the customer that she was married and should be respected as such. He even told the customer not to return nor stare at his wife again.

The boy apologized to the husband then left and waited outside. Meanwhile, the woman's heart was shattered after what she witnessed. She told her husband to apologize and explained that the customer was a creature of habit.

However, the husband was blinded by his impression that the customer was in love with his wife, regardless of his condition. Later, he told his wife to leave her job and let her sister buy her share. He was disappointed that the woman didn't tell him, especially when she received a Valentine's card from the customer.

On her part, the woman thought nothing of the customer's gesture because of his condition. The husband later explained he didn't know the customer's condition and didn't like that his wife ignored his feelings.

It turned out that the customer hadn't been going to the center and called in sick. Upset, the woman told the husband what his actions caused the customer. The husband has since agreed to apologize to him.

The woman posted her story on Reddit and received several comments from users of the platform. Many were angered by the husband's reaction and claimed the woman had every right to be mad. Another person said:

"This is genuinely so sad. She's so deep into his controlling behavior she's doing anything she can to please him. Add to that that the guy has the mental capacity of an eight-year-old???"

"This dude had no problems intimidating a kid with Down Syndrome. He seems like the kind of man who gets jealous over his own kids and pets," another Reddit user said.

Do you think that the man's reasons were justified? What would you have done in her situation?

In a similar story, a man fell in love with a woman who has Down syndrome, despite never meeting her physically.