An evening walk in City Square Park became a nightmare for two overly possessive grannies after their only grandson was taken in an ambulance. They cried their way to the emergency ward and blamed each other for the tragedy that fateful evening.
In fall 2018, Julia, 50, moved to Williamsburg, Virginia. She was excited to live next door to her daughter, Amber. But Amber’s mother-in-law, Rose, 52, wasn’t pleased with Julia’s move into the neighborhood.
“Oh, Jeez! Now, she’ll come and say Brandon this…Brandon that… That woman is crazy…I don’t want her near my boy,” Rose fumed.
Brandon was their 10-year-old grandson. And if there was anything Rose and Julia often quarreled over, it was about who was a better grandmother to him. But one fateful fight to win the boy’s attention turned into a nightmare.
“No, he’s having soup,” shouted Rose from the kitchen. But before she brought the bowl to the table, Julia had already stuffed a bacon sandwich in his mouth.
But Rose wouldn’t give up yet. “He’ll have soup after the sandwich,” she insisted. The boy had no idea what was happening, but he happily feasted on the sandwich and the soup.
“I shouldn’t have left my son with you two crazy women…You broke my trust.”
However, Rose and Julia’s battle for Brandon’s attention didn’t end there. They argued almost every other day about who would groom and dress him first.
If Julia put on a blue sweater on Brandon, Rose would remove it and make him wear a black sweatshirt. Their overly possessive feud saw no end.
Amid their ongoing friction, Amber and her husband Charlie left for a business trip to Ghana. They trusted their son with his grannies, only to regret it later.
Brandon’s parents left for a business trip, leaving him under his grannies’ custody. | Source: Unsplash
“Mom, did he have his breakfast?” Amber asked her mother, Julia, after landing. “NO, DON’T EAT THAT BURGER, HAVE THIS PORRIDGE,” sounded Rose’s voice in the background.
Amber sighed and hoped both grannies took their responsibilities seriously. But little did she know what was about to happen on a fateful Friday when Rose and Julia took Brandon to City Square Park for a walk.
“No, he wears the sweater because it’s so cold,” Julia argued. “Don’t you see? It’s breezy, and he will fall sick, lady!”
Rose wouldn’t listen. Even if it was visibly cold and her skin shivered, she decided not to go by Julia’s words. “Oh no, you don’t…Here boy, let me help you remove that woolen junk…Oh boy! It’s so warm today….”
For the next few minutes, the passers-by and those walking dogs smirked at the two older women verbally assaulting each other. “You moron, it’s cold, and he’s my grandson!” Julia shouted.
For her part, Rose argued that it was scorching. “Do you want my grandson to get baked in that sweater, foolish lady?”
Meanwhile, Brandon slipped away from his grannies’ attention and climbed a huge tree in the park’s center.
In a couple of minutes, he had almost reached a quarter height of the tree when Julia and Rose heard a loud crash behind them. “THUD!”
People rushed to the spot. “BRANDON? WHERE IS HE? BRANDON?” the grannies screamed.
They steered through the crowd and saw the boy lying unconscious on the lawn. “Oh my goodness! What happened???” they cried. “Can someone please call an ambulance?”
Around ten minutes later, an ambulance arrived, and Brandon was scooped up and laid on the stretcher. Julia and Rose hurried behind in a taxi, sobbing and anxious. The boy was rushed to the intensive care unit.
“It’s all your fault!” Rose lashed out.
“Oh, look who’s talking! It’s your fault, crazy woman!” Julia retorted.
The grannies kept blaming each other for what happened, refusing to admit what was obvious — it was both their fault. They argued non-stop until the doctor opened the ward door. He looked tense and called them to his office.
Brandon was rushed to the hospital. | Source: Unsplash
“Your grandson is fine, but he needs to stay here for two weeks due to internal injuries,” the doctor said. “We require homemade food for our patients, so you have to arrange for that…Also, someone has to be with him here.”
Rose and Julia nodded and left the room grinning. “You did this to him!” Rose lashed out again.
“Not me! It’s you who did this to my Brandon!” Julia jumped in defense.
“BUT WHAT DO WE DO NOW?” they chorused together.
At this point, Julia and Rose looked at each other. “I’ll go home and bring food…you stay here and look after him,” Rose said, and Julia agreed.
Brandon was moved from the ICU to a normal ward minutes later.
The grannies took good care of their grandson for the next few days. They never argued about who was better but had their best foot forward to nurse him to health.
“Rose, I’ll go bring food this time. You stay here and take care of him… You’ve been rushing to and fro, and you need to rest a bit,” Julia told Rose.
The grannies smiled and hugged each other. They realized they were in this together and sighed relief, looking at the calendar. “Two more days to go, and he’ll be home with us!” Rose exclaimed.
Just then, Amber and Charlie arrived at the hospital. “Mom, what the hell is wrong? I trusted you with my son!” Amber fumed at Julia.
Charlie was equally upset with Rose. “I shouldn’t have left my son with you two crazy women…You broke my trust.”
Julia and Rose were crushed. They were speechless because they realized it was their fault indeed. “Were you two blind? Out of your senses? What happened? Can anyone just open their mouth and explain?” Amber shouted.
Brandon, who was watching everything, got up from his bed. “Mom! Dad! You’re back!” he exclaimed.
Julia and Rose were glad to see their grandson in good health. But they remained calm and guilty, looking at each other. What they heard next brought tears to their eyes.
“Please don’t scold them… I love them both, and they are the best grannies ever!” Brandon said. “It’s my fault, not theirs. I shouldn’t have climbed that tree!”
Julia and Rose were emotional after hearing this. At that moment, they realized their mistake and apologized to each other. “I’m sorry!” they chorused. They eventually agreed that nobody was better than the other and loved their grandson equally.
Although the minor accident in the park was painful for Brandon, it taught his grannies a lesson for life. From that day onward, they never competed for his attention. Instead, they helped each other with their routines and never argued about who was a better grandma to him.
What can we learn from this story?
- Every family member is important, so don’t fight for attention: Julia and Rose often argued and quarreled to win Brandon’s attention. But after a minor accident in the park, they realized they loved him equally and stopped seeking his undivided attention.
- Do not try to divide the love a child has for you: Brandon’s grandmothers competed with each other for his love and attention. But in the end, he told them that he loved them equally and did not choose one over the other.
This account is inspired by our reader’s story and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only.
