A 64-year-old woman raising her orphaned grandson all alone loses her only job after a heated quarrel with her boss. When she thought things couldn’t get any worse, her ex-boss appeared on her doorstep with apologies.
“Ugh, this is ridiculous!” 64-year-old Wendy was stranded in a heavy traffic jam that morning as she frustratingly swore and honked behind the wheel of her old Mustang. “I’ve been sitting here for 30 freaking minutes and haven’t moved an inch. I swear…drivers these days have flushed their humanity down the crapper…Nobody is stopping their darn cars to let a poor old woman pass.”
“Hey, Glams, easy girl…calm down! It’s just traffic, and it happens all the time,” her grandson, 14-year-old Tyler, said while fidgeting with his phone in the backseat.
But only Wendy knew her fears that morning. And her worst fear was her new boss was joining the office that day, and she didn’t want to be late for work. Not when she anticipated a promotion and a little increment to improve their lives! But the traffic was not cooperating with her, and the cars ahead seemed to be moving at a snail’s pace, and Wendy’s heart had already started pounding…
As minutes ticked by, the grandma’s panic increased. Her sweaty hands were slick on the steering wheel as she kept looking at the dash clock and the traffic signal.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the traffic began to ease up, and Wendy breathed a huge sigh of relief. She stepped on the gas pedal and sped towards Tyler’s school, thanking every force on earth for helping her make it on time.
But as they pulled up outside the school gate, Wendy realized that her troubles were far from over when she saw Tyler’s homeroom teacher approaching her.
“I understand that being a ‘working’ grandma can be difficult…But that is no excuse for coming late to the office.”
“Oh boy! Why is your teacher coming this way?” Wendy grabbed Tyler’s hand before he could flee. “Did you screw up in class again? Don’t tell me you did, or I’ll turn into a Grinch!”
“Mrs. Lancaster, good morning!” greeted the teacher. “I was just looking for your contact number on the register. Do you have five minutes, please? There’s something really important I’d want to discuss with you about Tyler.”
Wendy was already running late for her office. She knew that her day would turn into a living hell if she didn’t get into her car and speed up in five minutes.
As it turned out, Tyler had gotten into a fight with his classmate, Billy, and had beaten him up. He refused to apologize, arguing he was right, and Wendy was aware of her grandson’s heightened sense of justice.
After having settled this problem, Wendy sped up, racing the vehicles ahead, and finally reached her office. But the time on the big round vintage clock hanging outside the lobby hit her like a bag of bricks. Wendy was late by 35 minutes! And when she hurried in, the once noisy office was grave silent, hinting that their new boss had already arrived.
Wendy bolted to her cabin, sighing with relief when she reached her table. She put her handbag on her desk and sat down to log into her computer, but before the system could boot, a loud daunting voice of a man spoke from behind.
“Mrs. Lancaster, can you please come to my office?”
Wendy turned around and felt her stomach drop at seeing a tall, middle-aged man grimly staring at her. At first sight, Wendy realized he was the company’s new boss as she’d never seen him around before.
“Yes, sir!” she replied as she hurried behind the man.
Wendy could feel her heart pounding as she swung the door open and took her seat in her boss’s office, trying her best to be calm. Beads of sweat trickled down her forehead even in the air-conditioned room, and her legs started to tremble.
“Good morning, Mrs. Lancaster!” the man broke her silence. “I’m Joseph McCoy, the company’s new director.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. McCoy!” Wendy rose from her chair for an official handshake, but her boss never reciprocated. And the stern clench of his jaw made it clear that this was not going to be a pleasant conversation.
“Mrs. Lancaster, I received reports from the former manager of this company about the staff, and I noticed you are frequently late for work. Can you explain why?” he asked in a grim and cold tone, wasting no time in getting straight to the point.
Wendy tried to keep her voice steady as she explained about the morning traffic and the meeting with her grandson’s teacher.
“I drop him off at school every day and traffic these days, you know, sir….” she said. “And today, there were some issues that needed to be sorted out in his school, so I had to be there since I’m his only guardian.” Wendy did not expose her anxiety and finished with a smile, hoping Mr. McCoy would understand and ask her to get back to work.
To her dismay, her boss smirked and shook his head. “I am a single father myself, Mrs. Lancaster,” he said.
“I understand that it’s not easy…But sometimes, you need to set your priorities straight and make certain sacrifices if you want to be successful. Mrs. Lancaster, I think you’re not taking your job seriously!” added Mr. McCoy.
“But being a working grandmother to a teenage boy is not that easy. And kids, these days, especially teenagers! They are into so much ‘fun’ stuff, and as responsible adults, it’s our duty to keep an eye on them all the time to protect them. I’m not just any grandmother…I’m my grandson’s only guardian, and he is my responsibility. I’m doing the best I can, and I will make sure I come to the office on time from now on,” Wendy boldly replied.
But to her disappointment, her boss was far from convinced. Moreover, he could not digest the fact that an elderly employee had the nerve to defend herself and raise her voice when she was late for work.
“Mrs. Lancaster, I understand that being a ‘working’ grandma can be difficult. But that is no excuse for coming late to the office…You shouldn’t have joined this company if you were not ready to be here on time. You should’ve stayed home and taken care of your grandson!”
“Mrs. Lancaster, I’m afraid we’ll have to let you go….” said Mr. McCoy after a long pause, his words hitting Wendy like a brutal slap on her face.
She had worked hard at this job for years. And now, everything was over. But what hurt her more was she was not the only one late for work. There were more employees who were far from perfect. However, Mr. McCoy fired only her that day to show all the employees what he was capable of, and it made her sick to her stomach.
“Fine, go ahead and fire me… that’s all you bosses can do to make the lives of us simple workers miserable. And you know what? I quit if that is what you want!” fumed Wendy, feeling the weight of injustice as she collected her severance pay and marched out of the office.
She spent almost half the day scouring the internet, looking for jobs, and then drove down the familiar stretch of road to Tyler’s school.
“At least today I can pick my grandson up on time…thanks to that, Mr. McCoy, for kicking me out!” she was frustrated.
Losing her breadwinning job seemed like a deep, nasty dip, as she knew it wouldn’t be that easy for a 64-year-old fired accountant to find a new job so soon. Wendy knew she could never forgive Mr. McCoy for laying her off, but at the same time, she felt that she had not lived up to the standards of her job.
Tyler was her only relief in her hardest moment, and ever since Wendy became his guardian after he lost his parents in a car crash, her life had been a rollercoaster ride full of ups and downs.
When it came to her job and her grandson, she’d always chosen Tyler. He was her everything, and she always did her best to replace his parents. But the only problem was his heightened sense of justice. Tyler got into unnecessary brawls, mostly while taking the stand for others, and that sometimes landed him in trouble. And Wendy was often called to sort things out.
“Heyo, glams! Wassup…you early today!” Tyler exclaimed as he climbed into the car. “Is everything alright? You look upset…Did someone propose to you at your office?!”
Tyler’s smile faded when his grandma told him she was fired for being late to work and needed to find a new job soon.
“Did it happen coz of me?” he asked, looking worried and upset.
Wendy shook her head and forced a smile. “No, sweetie…Don’t be hard on yourself…It was not your fault. I’m not the best employee, that’s all! Many parents juggle between work and children so well. It’s just that I fell behind…Guess I’m becoming too old!”
Tyler was still upset, and Wendy didn’t like the look on his face.
“So, what happened to that boy you beat up in class? Why did you charge at him?” she changed the topic.
“That rogue! You know what he did, glam? He was bullying the new girl in class…She started crying when he cut a strand of hair from her ponytail. And he poured water on her chair before she could sit…The whole class started teasing her when she got up with a wet skirt. I had to show that brute what real fisting was! So I gave him one punch on his face, and his nose started bleeding like tomato ketchup!”
“Oh boy! Did you fall in love with that girl or something?” Wendy teased Tyler, trying to lighten the mood.
“Oh, come on, glams… she’s just my friend,” Tyler rolled his eyes. “I just wanted to help her! Besides, she’s not my type!”
“Sweetie, I understand why you did it. But violence is not the answer. You could’ve reported the matter to your homeroom teacher or even the principal. You are not God or the Judge to take the law into your own hands.”
“I’m sorry, glam! I just wanted to show Billy his place. I promise I’ll never do it again…can you please smile now coz you look ugly when you frown?”
Wendy faked a smile, and deep inside, her heart was slowly sinking as she worried about how she would give her grandson a promising future without a job.
A month passed, and Wendy started working as a cashier in a supermarket. However, the job she landed was much more demanding, and she was exhausted from the increased workload.
A wave of nostalgia swept over her when she remembered her old work and understood how much she had lost. One day, just as she started ringing orders for customers after lunch, her phone rang in her overcoat’s pocket.
“Whose number is this?” she thought as she swiped to answer the call from an unknown number, and the voice on the other end made her blood run cold.
“Mrs. Lancaster, Inspector Dan here…can you please come to the station immediately?”
Wendy’s heart started throbbing as she spoke to the store manager and rushed to the station. When she arrived, she was surprised to see Tyler and a girl with him there. They were sitting on the bench and looked terrified.
“Tyler, what are you doing here, and who is she?” Wendy ran to her grandson.
“Glam, she’s Molly…my friend I told you about.”
“Alright, but what are you two doing here?”
Just as Wendy could fathom what was happening, the inspector informed her that someone had filed a report against her grandson and the girl for trespassing on an abandoned factory.
“Tyler, why did you take her there?” Wendy furiously turned to her grandson, demanding an explanation.
“It was not his fault…I called him,” Molly interrupted.
“You called my grandson to an abandoned factory? Why would you do that, child?” Wendy fumed, and Molly suddenly burst into tears.
As it turned out, she was a spoiled teenage girl who had made a bad decision to hang out with some sketchy senior boys in her school. That afternoon, she’d accompanied them to the abandoned factory nearby, placing bets on who would go in there and explore the place alone.
But things had taken a turn for the worse when the boys pulled a cruel prank on Molly and locked her inside the spooky old factory, and fled. That’s when she remembered her classmate Tyler who’d once taken a stand for her and had reached out for help.
“But why didn’t you call your parents instead?” Wendy chimed in as the rose on Molly’s cheeks turned pale.
“My father was always busy at work, and I knew that he wouldn’t come and would call the cops instead…So I just found a better way.”
“Okay, but you could’ve called your mother,” said Wendy.
“I don’t have a mother…she died when I was born,” added the girl as Wendy’s anger faded.
Eventually, Wendy convinced the guard who had reported her grandson and Molly for trespassing into the factory to withdraw the report. The file was closed in her favor, and just as she left the station with the children, she was in for another massive shock.
“Mrs. Lancaster! Is that you?” Mr. McCoy was startled when he saw Wendy stepping out of the station.
“Mr. McCoy! What are you doing here?” she gasped. And before she could comprehend what her ex-boss was doing there, Molly silently walked past her and hugged him.
“I’m sorry, daddy. It’ll not happen again,” she cried as Wendy’s eyes bulged. To her surprise, Molly’s father was none other than her former boss who had fired her from her job and given her a sermon about parenting.
“You need to set your priorities straight and make certain sacrifices if you want to be successful!” she told him, reminding him of his own words.
“And you know what? I’d rather prefer to make certain sacrifices and be late for work a couple of times instead of sacrificing my own daughter,” Wendy mocked him and walked away. She could not resist taking a swipe at him and held her grandson closer, pride gleaming in her eyes.
As Wendy’s car disappeared onto the streets, Mr. McCoy froze on the spot, trying to process the situation. Meanwhile, Wendy happily drove home, flashing a big fat smile.
“Is he the guy who fired you, glam?” Tyler asked her. “Had I known that I would’ve never helped Molly. Her father was so mean to you, and I saved that sicko’s daughter.”
“No, what you did was right. You have to take a stand for others and help them if you can. I’m really proud of what you did! And always keep this in your mind—Follow your heart and be fair even when others are unfair to you coz good comes to good people!”
Wendy was glad things ended well and slept very peacefully that night. However, she woke up to another terrific surprise the following morning.
The doorbell rang, and when Wendy opened the door, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Mr. McCoy was standing on her doorstep with a bouquet of white roses in his hand. She wasn’t expecting this visit.
“Won’t you invite me in, Mrs. Lancaster? Ugh! Your house is quite far from my office…And the traffic was hell crazy!” Mr. McCoy then apologized to her and revealed that being a single father was his second-most important job.
“But I have always failed as a father, Mrs. Lancaster! I thought I knew my daughter well, but I was wrong. I still need to work hard to win her trust and make her treat me like a friend and not just a father. And you know what? You should be really proud of yourself because you’ve raised such a wonderful boy alone.”
Hearing those words delighted Wendy, and it felt like a weight was lifted from her heart. But nothing compared to the sweet shock that shook her when Mr. McCoy requested her to join back in the company as a part-time accountant for even better pay.
“I hope that would buy you enough time to balance between work and your grandson!” chuckled Mr. McCoy as Wendy shed tears of joy while serving him hot ginger tea and cinnamon rolls.
