On an ordinary Saturday morning, Madeline and her husband Ryan planned to go shopping after breakfast. They needed to buy fruit for the week and replace their broken vacuum cleaner. Their four-year-old son Sam was with them.
At the store, Ryan went to look at electronics while Madeline and Sam went to the vacuum aisle. Madeline asked a saleswoman about a high-end vacuum she’d seen online. The saleswoman, however, looked Madeline up and down and said disdainfully that it was extremely expensive and Madeline didn’t look like she could afford it. She also eyed Sam.
Before Madeline could respond, Sam, who was usually a bit nervous when out, suddenly let go of his mother’s dress and reached out to touch the saleswoman’s skirt. He slowly lifted it to just above her knee, revealing a large, distinctive tattoo on her thigh. Sam excitedly exclaimed for his mom to look, which made the saleswoman’s face turn bright red as she quickly covered herself and angrily yelled at them.
