Joanne’s son, who lived miles away from her, was critically ill. But despite her best efforts, she couldn’t find a way to visit him. When she least expected someone to help her, she saw a helicopter land near her house and a familiar man step out of it.
Joanne sat in her modest, empty apartment, looking through her son’s old photos. Tears sprang from the poor, elderly mother’s eyes as she ran her fingers across the pictures and recalled their happy days.
Joanne hadn’t seen her son, Adam, in two years. He’d promised to visit her frequently but never followed through on it. Joanne had since lived feeling lonely and abandoned.
As she flipped to the next page of the album and saw a picture of Adam smiling, Joanne could no longer keep her tears at bay. “My baby…” she whispered to herself. “Oh, how much I’ve missed you. I wish you’d visit me again…”
But something in Joanne’s heart told her it wouldn’t happen any time soon. Adam had forgotten about her. He didn’t even have time to return her calls or visit her on New Year’s or Thanksgiving.
If only she had the means to travel miles away to see him, she would have. What mother’s heart doesn’t yearn to see her son? But Joanne didn’t have any money at all. She was retired and received a small pension, most of which was exhausted in monthly groceries and utility bills.
Joanne barely had any savings or the patience to stay from her son, so she did what any mother would do. She decided to look for a job.
Joanne closed the album and wiped her tears. “I’m going to see my baby!” she told herself. “Your mother is not a loser, Adam! She’ll find a way. You just watch!”
Respect and appreciate your parents; no one will ever care for you as much as they do.
Joanne went to her living room, pulled out several newspapers, and started looking through the job advertisements. Her computer skills were atrocious, so finding a job online wasn’t so easy for her.
As Joanne looked through the job ads in the paper, she stumbled across an opening for a babysitter’s position at a rich man’s house. Joanne found a number at the ad’s bottom and dialed it. A female voice appeared on the other end of the line.
“Good day,” she said. “This is Mr. Lowe’s residence. I’m his secretary, Lily. How can I help you?”
“Oh, sure, lovely day,” Joanne anxiously replied. “I would like to try for the position…the babysitting one. It’s still open, right?”
“Just a minute, ma’am,” Lily said. Joanne could hear her murmuring and typing before her voice reappeared on the line. “Thank you for reaching out, ma’am. The position is still open, yes. I just need to verify a few things about you first.”
After a long exchange of information, the woman said pleasantly, “We’ll put you on trial for a week, just like every other applicant, and if you pass, we’ll be happy to consider you for the position.”
“Oh, thank you, thank you!” Joanne cried gratefully. “So when should I come for this trial?”
Lily briefed Joanne about the job’s roles and responsibilities and asked her to visit Mr. Lowe’s residence the next day.
When Joanne arrived at the rich man’s house, she was shocked. “WOW!” she gasped, looking at the massive villa before her eyes. Joanne had never seen anything like that. Two security guards escorted her to the mansion’s entrance, where she met Lily.
“Hello, please follow me,” she said.
Lily led Joanne to a room on the first floor, beautifully painted in light pink. “This is Crystal,” the secretary said, scooping Mr. Lowe’s baby in her arms.
“Mr. Lowe will compensate you with any amount of money you desire. It can be any ridiculous sum! He just wants the best nanny for his child,” she explained. “Not many people made it because Crystal can be a handful. But good luck!” she added as she handed the baby to Joanne and disappeared from the nursery.
Crystal was beautiful. Joanne could feel a connection with the baby girl almost right away. She was confident she’d be hired for the role. However, things started getting tough for Joanne when she met Mr. Lowe.
He was a middle-aged man who never went easy on his employees. He demanded perfection and complained about even the most minor mistakes.
“I heard Crystal crying as I walked by her room. She sounded quite agitated. Is the babysitter not doing a good job?” Mr. Lowe asked Lily as he saw Joanne enter the house.
The older woman stopped in her tracks. “I’m sorry, Mr. Lowe,” she apologized, even though it wasn’t her fault. “I’ll be careful.”
“You don’t get a lot of chances here!” Mr. Lowe said stiffly. “Because we can always find a replacement! If I find my daughter like that again, you’re fired!”
Joanne had only recently gotten the job and couldn’t afford to lose it. After all, she needed to see her son. So despite Mr. Lowe’s snide remarks, Joanne remained patient and focused on her work.
One month passed. Crystal became comfortable with Joanne, and somewhere in her old heart, the older woman also developed an affection for the little baby girl. Crystal reminded Joanne of her early motherhood days when Adam was a baby.
One day, Joanne was leaving after work when she happened to notice Mr. Lowe enter the house. Her hands went to her mouth in shock as she realized how frail he appeared.
“What happened to him?” she wondered. “Is he not eating or sleeping well?”
Mr. Lowe had lost a lot of weight, had thick dark bags under his eyes, and sunken cheeks. Joanne was concerned that her boss was so focused on his work that he wasn’t taking good care of himself. So the next day, Joanne brought him a homemade pie when she arrived at work.
She handed it over to Mr. Lowe’s cook, asking him to serve it later to her boss. Mr. Lowe, unfortunately, overheard her conversation with the cook.
“I don’t think I hired you to pry into my personal life!” he snapped. “You’re not supposed to trick my cook into serving me things like that! What if you tried to poison me?”
“Oh, dear!” Joanne cried, clutching her chest. “MR. LOWE! I would never do something like that!”
“How can I trust you?” he asked. “Are you going to eat that?”
In tears, Joanne sliced the pie and tasted it in front of her boss. “See, I’m perfectly fine, Mr. Lowe! I was only concerned about you! You hardly ever eat at home, and I saw you bringing takeout! It’s not good for your health!”
Mr. Lowe cleared his throat and straightened his back, realizing Joanne was not at fault. But he was too proud to admit it. “Whatever!” he said coolly. “It’s not your place to tell me what I should and shouldn’t do!” and walked away.
Mr. Lowe’s words hurt Joanne, but she was still worried about him. She was well aware that one simple mistake could get her fired and deprive her of the chance to see her son. Yet, she slipped the pie box into Mr. Lowe’s office bag when no one was around. She hoped he would eat it and not order takeout again!
***
Mr. Lowe’s stomach began growling on the way to his office. He hadn’t eaten in a while and was starving. Right then, he saw something peeking out of his office bag on the car seat. Joanne had hidden the box of pie inside his bag.
When Mr. Lowe pulled it out, he decided not to take even one bite. But the aroma of the pie tempted his nostrils, making him salivate like a small child. He took a big bite of the baked dish and was surprised at how delicious it tasted!
“I shouldn’t have been so harsh on her,” Mr. Lowe thought, moved by Joanne’s kindness. “She’s a kind lady, trying to help me out!”
A few days later, Joanne noticed Mr. Lowe was walking around in thin socks during winter, sniffing and coughing. She knew she had to help, so she knitted him a pair of socks and left them in his study.
When Mr. Lowe found the socks, a smile appeared on his lips. “Thank you, Joanne,” he found himself appreciating the older woman’s kindness. Mr. Lowe was grateful to have an employee like Joanne, who treated him like family, but he had no idea about the pain and worries buried in her heart…
***
Joanne was overjoyed! She had finally received her paycheck and could visit her son now! Joanne was excited and eager to hold Adam close, to see him in good health, and to tell him how much she had missed him.
Suddenly, her phone rang, and the voice on the other end broke her heart. “Mom…” Adam stammered. “Would—Would you mind coming to see me for a few days?”
Joanne’s heart dropped. Adam hadn’t called her in two years, and when he finally did, he sounded distressed.
“Honey, what’s wrong?” Joanne asked worriedly. “What’s the matter, Adam?”
“Mom…” he replied. “I’m sick, Mom. Just sick. The doctors, well…can you please come to see me? Please, Mom?”
Joanne’s heart began to pound as Adam continued to speak. He was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disorder, and the condition left him feeling very helpless and lonely. He begged Joanne to come over.
“Oh, of course, of course, I will,” Joanne replied hastily. “I’ll be there tomorrow. OK? Don’t you worry! Look, Adam, I love you. We need to stay strong.”
“Thanks, Mom,” he said. “I’ll be waiting for you.”
As Adam hung up, Joanne clutched the phone close to her chest and cried. She called Lily and explained everything, requesting an emergency leave to see her son. Mr. Lowe, thankfully, approved her leave.
But the next day, their city was hit by a massive snowstorm. The weather was so terrible that people were warned not to leave their homes.
Joanne sobbed uncontrollably as she stood by her living room window, gazing at the snow-covered streets outside. Her son needed her, but she couldn’t even leave the house! Joanne’s front porch and driveway were covered with thick layers of snow. She had tried to shovel it off, but the back problems that came with her age wouldn’t let her clear even a square inch of the snow. Helpless, she called her neighbors and begged them to help her, but they were also trapped in their homes.
A wealthy man is one who is wealthy at heart.
Joanne had given up hope that she would be able to visit Adam. But then she heard a loud noise like a helicopter’s blades whirring. Joanne pressed her palms to her lips as she gazed out the window at the sky. “OMG! Is that… a helicopter?”
Joanne froze when she saw a helicopter land in the field near her house. Then a man stepped out of it and approached her front door with a shovel. Joanne burst into tears as she recognized the kind man who had come to her aid.
“Oh, Mr. Lowe!” she cried, opening her door. “What—What brings you here?”
“I was afraid you’d be stuck here, Joanne. Listen, this is not the time for the hows and whys; first, let’s get you out of here!”
Mr. Lowe shoveled the ice off Joanne’s front porch and cleared the way for her. Then he gave her a lift to Adam’s house in his chopper. “You were only hired to look after Crystal, but you cared for us like family,” Mr. Lowe told Joanne on the way. “I was very alone after my wife died, Joanne. Only my mother would look after me the way you did. So please don’t ever think I’m doing you a favor. Lily told me everything, and I knew you couldn’t leave your house in this weather. Just relax. We’ll be there shortly.”
When Joanne arrived at Adam’s house, the young man sobbed like a baby and tightly hugged his mother. He didn’t even notice Mr. Lowe, who’d accompanied Joanne.
“Oh, mom!” Adam wept. “I’m sorry, I was such a fool not to appreciate you enough. I’m sorry, Mom. Sorry that I ignored you. I promise I’ll visit you often and make it up to you.”
“Young man,” Mr. Lowe intervened. “Never take your mother for granted! Because nobody loves you the way your mama does! Sorry for intruding on your private affairs. I’m her boss, Mr. Lowe,” he added, extending his hand for a shake.
“She…she’s working for you?” Adam asked as he returned Mr. Lowe’s handshake. “Why didn’t you tell me, Mom! What’s—”
Joanne smiled through tears. “It’s a long story,” she said, holding him close. “Let’s go inside!”
Adam was in tears as he learned why Joanne had taken up a job. He was embarrassed to tell her he was running out of money for his treatment, but Joanne somehow found out and promised to help him.
Mr. Lowe and Joanne’s neighbors started a crowdfunding campaign to fund Adam’s expensive treatment. And Mr. Lowe donated more than half of the needed sum.
Months later, Adam was doing great, and he and Joanne became closer. Joanne moved out of her old apartment to Adam’s home to be around him and care for him.
When she looks back on her life now, she realizes she was never alone. There were kind people like her neighbors, Lily, and Mr. Lowe, who jumped in to help her when she needed it.
What can we learn from this story?
- Respect and appreciate your parents; no one will ever care for you as much as they do. Despite Adam’s harsh treatment and words, Joanne never wavered from her motherly duties. When Adam needed her, she was always there for him.
- A wealthy man is one who is wealthy at heart. Mr. Lowe was a grumpy rich man, but his heart softened when he realized how much Joanne cared for him and Crystal. His change of heart made him rich, not his wealth.
This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only.
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