Everyday hero: Aaron’s dedication to his job led to a very special gift from his boss

After his car died, 21-year- old Aaron Brunert was spending most of his paycheck on Uber rides to and from his job at a gelati shop. His dedication not only impressed his boss, it inspired a very special gift

Aaron Brunert climbed into his car, turned the key in the ignition and…nothing. “Come on. I have to get to work” the 21-year-old pleaded, and tried to start it again. But it was no use: The car was dead.

With a sigh, Aaron called an Uber. The fare wasn’t in his budget, but there was no way he was going to miss work.

When he’d applied for a job at Montclair, New Jersey’s Gelati by Mike two years earlier, Aaron’s self-confidence was shaky. At his last job at a supermarket, he’d been overlooked for a promotion more than once. So when Mike Guerriero hired him on the spot, Aaron was determined to earn his new boss’s respect.

During his downtime as a server, Aaron learned how to make the gelato, ice cream and Italian ice. He handled customer phone calls and even made special deliveries to housebound patrons.

When after a year on the job, the store manager gave notice, Mike told Aaron, “The job is yours. You’ve earned it.”

The promotion couldn’t have come at a better time. In the coming months, Aaron

experienced a medical scare, had to move out on his own because of trouble at home and his beloved Aunt Christina was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Mike wasn’t aware of Aaron’s latest setback. He had no idea Aaron was spending $ 40 a day Ubering to and from work, and another $30 on weekends to visit his aunt and help care for his young cousins.

Until one day when Mike happened to see Aaron arrive to work in an Uber.

“He’s spending most of his paycheck catching rides, and he’s never missed work or complained once,” Mike told his wife, Bre, that night. Having come to think of Aaron as family, her heart ached for him.

A few evenings later, Mike came across a Facebook listing for a used Hyundai that the owner had deeply discounted because he was moving away. The next day, Bre encouraged her husband to buy it for Aaron.

I’ve got some cash set aside for a rainy day. It’s not enough to meet your price, but he’s such a deserving kid— would you consider taking less? Mike texted the seller, sharing Aaron’s story.

Impressed by his dedication, Ron Brown agreed. That evening, the two men and their wives drove the car up to the gelati shop.

When they arrived, Aaron thought his boss was showing some friends the store. But then Mike explained that he and Bre had just bought a car from the couple. “We bought it for you,” Mike said, and handed Aaron the keys to a blue 2006 Sonata.

“No way!” Aaron blurted, fighting back tears because the shop was packed with customers. But after hugging each of them, he slipped into the back and let the tears fall.

“No one’s done something like this for me… ever,” Aaron says, his voice choked with emotion. “My heart is full.” As is Mike’s. “Nothing I could have bought for myself would have given me the same warm feeling as seeing Aaron’s smile,” Mike explains. “He goes out of his way to help others. He deserves appreciation and good things to happen to him.”