There is nothing like the joy of childbirth, but this waitress was “hysterical” with joy when a police officer left her a massive tip in honor of her pregnant belly last week.
23-year-old Courtney English is a server at the Lamp Post Diner in Gloucester Township, New Jersey. Despite being eight-months pregnant, she has been “working her butt off” in order to save up money for her approaching due date.
She was given an unexpected financial windfall, too, thanks to a policeman who stopped by for lunch.
The officer, who chose to remain anonymous, ordered nothing but a salad and water – but he overheard English telling other customers about how she was excited to give birth to her first child.
“He recently just had his first child so he was a little emotional and saying that was the greatest day of his life and it’s gonna change her life,” Nick Hionas, the owner of the diner, told KGO-TV.
English did not realize it at the time, but the officer left her a $100 tip on top of his $8.75 restaurant tab and a note that read: “Enjoy your 1st. You will never forget it.”
She felt overwhelmed with gratitude, but he left before English had a chance to thank him for the gift. The waitress says she usually makes $100 over the course of a single shift—never at one table. “I thought it was a mistake, I didn’t think that that was right,” she told KGO. “But I asked the hostess like four different times, ‘Is that right?’ and she confirmed it was and she showed me the receipt.
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“I started crying. This doesn’t happen. It was really genuine, it was really nice.”
News of the anonymous good deed has been shared across social media after English’s father, Brian Cadigan, posted a photo of the receipt to Facebook with a note of praise for the officer.
“What a wonderful person to not only leave a VERY generous tip, but a lovely message,” he wrote. “I don’t know you Mr. Police Officer, but you made my little girl cry, and you made her year. Thank you, I always had the utmost respect for officers, but you went above and beyond [by not just being] an officer, but [also] a beautiful human being.”
(WATCH the news coverage below) – Photos by Courtney English and Brian Cadigan
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