An old widow travels to another town to fulfill her husband’s last wish, but things take an unexpected turn when she runs into a set of 5-year-old triplets at a beach, who look a lot like her late son.
After losing her son, Derek, 17 years ago, Dorothy Weaver was reduced to a desolate soul who hardly had a wish to live. But things became even harder for her when her beloved better half passed away 3 months ago due to a heart attack.
Morgan Weaver was a big man with a big grin on his face, and he had helped Dorothy cope with the loss of their son. But with Morgan no longer around her, Dorothy was at the same spot again: depressed, lonely, and devastated.
Dorothy didn’t leave her house and didn’t speak to anyone for over a month after Morgan died. But one morning, she woke up with the realization that she’d been so engrossed in her grief that she’d entirely forgotten about Morgan’s dying wish.
Of course, it wasn’t a pleasant memory when he was saying it as he lay on the hospital bed, surrounded by the stench of hospital meds. But she couldn’t get that expression out of her thoughts because that was the last time Morgan smiled at her.
“Darling,” he’d said. “You know these docs will tell you that I won’t die…that I’ll somehow make it, but the truth is, I don’t think I have much time. So there’s one last thing I want you to do for me.”
“Please stop saying such things, Mogan!” Dorothy scolded him gently. “You are not going anywhere, okay? And I’m not going to give in to any silly wish of yours. You can tell me whatever you want once you’ve recovered and returned home.”
He laughed weakly. “Please, honey. Listen to me carefully…I want you to go to my hometown and find a woman named Linda Fleming. You,” he coughed. “You must ask her forgiveness…she- she….”
Suddenly, he couldn’t breathe.
“Morgan! What happened? Doctors! Nurse!” Dorothy panicked as she noticed his breathing becoming irregular. She dashed outside to call someone for help, but by the time a doctor arrived, Morgan was no more.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Weaver,” said the doctor. “Mr. Weaver is gone.”
As Dorothy now thought about that fateful day, she couldn’t stop crying. But at the back of her mind, she was wondering who Linda Fleming was. And so, to learn more about her and fulfill Morgan’s last wish, she flew to his hometown.
When she arrived at his house by the beach where he was raised, she couldn’t stop crying. It had a lot of sentimental value for Morgan, so he never put it up for rent. However, with him gone now, it looked sad and depressed. It had all of his pictures still hanging on the tainted walls and his albums stashed in a drawer. She became so depressed touring the home which had all of his memories that she decided to go for a walk by the shore to divert her thoughts.
She stood on the cold beach for a moment, the sea lapping at her feet, thinking that if Morgan had still been alive, things would have been so different – so beautiful.
Suddenly, a ball landed near her feet and interrupted her thoughts. She looked down and was going to pick it up when a young boy ran up to her. “Sorry, I didn’t want to hurt you.” He smiled, collected the ball, and ran away.
Dorothy returned his smile. She turned around and saw the boy playing with two other children – two boys who looked much like him. They were triplets, but what astounded Dorothy about them was how much they resembled Derek! How could that be?
She decided to follow them that evening to find out where they were living and noticed they walked a little further from the beach to a ruined house. They opened the door by themselves and went inside.
That night at home, she couldn’t stop thinking about the triplets and how they resembled Derek, so she decided to have a talk with their parents the next day. But when she arrived, nobody answered the door.
“Hello? Is anyone there?” she called out again. But there were no replies.
Dejected, she motioned to leave the house, but the door suddenly opened, and one of the boys emerged from inside. “Yes?”
“Good day, sweetie. Can I please talk to your mommy or daddy? Are they home?”
The boy shook his head. “Mommy is sick, she went to the hospital, and daddy doesn’t live with us.”
“Good lord!” gasped Dorothy. “Are you staying here alone, honey? Is there anyone looking after you?”
“Mrs. Green used to come to our house, but she fell and hurt herself. So I stay with my brothers Sam and Harry. Mommy promised to return soon.”
Dorothy looked across over the tiny kid and saw the deplorable conditions they’d been staying in. The house appeared to be in need of repairs, and the small kid seemed to be too frail. “What’s your name, honey? Have you eaten anything?”
“My name is Tom. Mommy left us some bread. But I don’t want to eat it. I am hungry, and Sam and Harry are also hungry.”
“Well, then, Tom. How about some sandwiches and cookies? I can come inside and make them for you. Would you like that?”
The boy’s eyes glowed. “Yes! Cookies are my favorite! Mommy also bakes cookies for us!”
“Well, then, let’s make some for you!”
With that, Dorothy made food for the boys, and as they ate, she couldn’t take her gaze away from them. They seemed to be starved as if they hadn’t eaten in ages.
“When did your mother go to the hospital, Tom? Did you know which hospital she went to?” Dorothy asked as the boy finished eating.
“She went two days ago. I have her address!” He dashed to a drawer and returned with a note. “The doctors gave me this when the ambulance took mommy away.”
Dorothy opened it to read the name, but as she saw it, a shock ran through her.
The name was Linda Fleming, and the address was a local hospital. For a brief while, she couldn’t believe her eyes and wanted to see Linda right away.
However, she didn’t want to leave the triplets alone, so she decided to wait until Linda was home. She looked after the triplets for a few days and eventually grew connected to them. Mrs. Green offered to assist her, but Dorothy told her that she would be happy to look after them on her own, adding that she was an old acquaintance of Linda’s and had come to meet her.
But when Linda was finally home, and she noticed Dorothy, the young mother panicked. “Who are you? And what are you doing in my house?” Linda asked sternly.
“Oh, don’t get me wrong. I can explain everything….”
Dorothy narrated the whole story of how she found the triplets on the beach and started looking after them.
Hearing this, Linda calmed down a little and apologized to her. “Oh, I am sorry…I was just scared. I’m Linda Fleming, and you are—”
“Dorothy Weaver,” Dorothy said with a smile, looking right into Linda’s eyes. She noticed Linda’s expression change and a strange fear in her eyes the moment she mentioned her surname. “Weaver?” Linda whispered. “I mean…”
“I know you know Morgan, Linda. He told me to come here and apologize to you. It’s strange that your children resemble my son so much. At one point, I thought my husband cheated—”
“Please, Mrs. Weaver,” Linda cried. “There’s nothing like that! I’m your husband’s daughter! He – He is my father!”
“What?” Dorothy was stunned. “But Morgan never mentioned it!”
“How could he, Mrs. Weaver? Because it was all his fault. It all started when….”
Linda shared her tragic story where she revealed how Morgan abandoned her and her mother years ago because he didn’t want to take responsibility for them. He had been 15 back then, and he was dating Linda’s mother. However, when she got pregnant, Morgan just walked away from their lives.
“Oh, God! That’s shameful…I can’t believe Morgan did that,” Dorothy said, embarrassed. “What happened to your mother, honey? And why are you and your children alone?”
“I would say history repeated itself, Mrs. Weaver. Mom died in an accident, and my husband left me because he didn’t want to look after our children. To be honest, I am surprised how my so-called father remembered me. He never came to even see me all these years.”
“I am deeply sorry for that, Linda. I feel like it’s my fault too. I should have insisted on asking about his past. I think that’s why he wanted to ask for forgiveness in his last days. I’m glad he did that, at least.”
“What? Oh, I didn’t know he….”
Dorothy nodded. “He’s no more.”
Linda apologized to Dorothy for her loss. “I can understand how terrible it feels to be alone. I fear somebody will call CPS and take my children away if they find out how we’re living. So I don’t let anyone inside. And that’s why I was scared to see you here. But thank you, Mrs. Weaver, for looking after them.”
“It’s all right, honey. Actually, I have an idea…”
The older woman suggested Linda and her children move into Morgan’s old house and that she’d look after the children because she was lonely following Morgan’s death.
Linda paused, then nodded, teary-eyed. And from that day on, Dorothy felt like she was blessed with a beautiful daughter and three adorable grandchildren in the disguise of Linda and her boys.
