Mrs. Katelyn had experienced almost everything life had to offer in her 78 years on Earth, but something still left a void in her heart: she missed her beloved granddaughter, Letty, tremendously.
When the young woman last came to visit her about four months ago, Mrs. Katelyn complained about how little they saw each other, which was at most three times a year. Upon hearing this, Letty simply smiled reluctantly and again offered her grandmother a solution: that she move in with her granddaughter. The young woman explained that this way, she would have hospitals closer in case of an emergency and be closer to civilization, as Mrs. Katelyn lived on her old farm, far away from everyone and everything.
But the older woman didn’t want to leave her hometown; after all, she had spent her whole life there, and it was almost impossible to think about leaving her beloved home. However, Letty scolded her grandmother for behaving like a child and not appreciating all the care and attention she provided for her. “I only want the best for you!” she repeated constantly. But Mrs. Katelyn understood perfectly well that her granddaughter only wanted to sell the house her great-grandfather had built.
For several years, the older woman had received significant offers but always refused because she valued the memories of her home much more than the money she might make. Letty had repeatedly said that she would invest the money to build a profitable business that would benefit everyone in the family. This discussion had gone on for several years, but as time passed, the older woman grew too tired to resist the young woman’s requests. And as her granddaughter was her only living family member, she finally agreed to move, to Letty’s surprise.
The next day, the granddaughter quickly gathered all the older woman’s belongings and moved her into her apartment in town. The house on the farm took little more than a month to sell, and with the real estate market booming, a significant profit went into Letty’s pockets. But she decided to invest all the money without giving any of it to her grandmother.
Everything went well enough in the first months that the two were living together, but when Mrs. Katelyn met Letty’s husband, she realized that she had made one of the biggest mistakes of her entire life…
He lived in the same apartment with them and was always unhappy about something. Most of all, he was highly irritated by Mrs. Katelyn’s presence and did nothing to hide his feelings. Letty would try to calm her husband down, but this only made him act ruder and more cruelly. Finally, the situation reached such an unbearable point that the grandmother didn’t even leave her room so as not to have the displeasure of dealing with her granddaughter’s husband.
The older woman felt like she was in a sort of hell, where she did not feel comfortable eating her meals or watching soap operas. She couldn’t sleep and wake up whenever she wanted; she was being forced to adapt to a routine that was not hers. The worst of it was that there was no way back anymore… She was distraught, but the last thing she wanted was to bring discord to her granddaughter’s family. If she had known that her grandson-in-law would react this way to her presence, Mrs. Katelyn would never have left her home.
She had lived in that old farmhouse with her beloved husband Walter most of her life, but nine years ago, he passed away from a heart attack. At first, she handled the household chores easily, but as the years passed, it became more difficult to perform tasks that were once so simple. The fact that Letty’s parents died years before Walter, when young Letty was only 13, made the situation even more delicate. The elder tried to give warmth and love to her granddaughter, but she could not replace her parents, a fact the grandmother found difficult to accept.
After graduating from high school, Letty moved to the city and married the man who is her current husband. She rarely visited her grandparents, always saying she was busy with work. The granddaughter didn’t have time to say goodbye to her grandfather in his final days. She didn’t even attend his funeral because she was on a trip, supposedly for work. A year ago, she started to visit Ms. Katelyn more frequently, and every time she offered a room at her house to live with her and her family. Initially, Letty did not hide the fact that she needed the money from selling the farmhouse for her newest business venture. Her grandmother did not even know what it was about, as she was always starting new ventures that usually crashed after a short time.
To show how much she wanted her grandmother’s house, she promised to take care of her parents’ graves from then on, which had, until then, been the sole responsibility of the elderly woman. But now Mrs. Katelyn understood that these were just words and that she would probably not do any of those things. Her granddaughter didn’t charge rent while the older woman was living in her house, but she kept her retirement check every month, claiming she would know how to spend it better than the old lady. “It’s for your own good, Grandma,” she would say. Mrs. Katelyn was sad and silent during this period, but it was as if Letty didn’t realize what was happening to her grandmother. For her, everything was normal.
Two years of daily and constant suffering passed by agonizingly slowly. Every day, Mrs. Katelyn would ask her late husband to take her to him so that she would no longer suffer in this world and finally find the peace and relief she desperately sought. But the older woman thought things could not get much worse than they already were and had no idea what awaited her. She was, however, about to be surprised…
One day, Letty told her grandma that her mother-in-law was very ill, and it was becoming difficult for her husband to divide himself between his family and his mother, so they decided to move her into their apartment. The only problem was that there was not enough room in the apartment for everyone. So her granddaughter suggested that the grandmother move to a nursing home since her mother-in-law needed the space to recuperate and be comfortable.
“You sold my house, took the money, and now you want to send me to a nursing home?” said Mrs. Katelyn, almost shouting at her granddaughter. Letty lost her patience after hearing this and argued that she was only trying to help her grandmother: “You’re just an ungrateful old lady who never appreciated all the good things I did for you. If you don’t want to leave MY apartment, I suggest you move your clothes to the attic and settle in there,” Letty said to her exasperated grandmother. After hearing this, the elder gathered her clothes and looked online for the nearest retirement home, promising she would never set foot in that place again. She worried about living in an institution, as she had never asked for anyone’s help before because she had always been able to take care of herself.
Mrs. Katelyn was shocked by what she had heard; it was hard to believe that Letty had really said those terrible things. The young woman called a cab for her grandmother, and they rode silently to the retirement home. Letty dropped her off at the gate and left quickly, saying dryly, “See you later, Grandma.” A young nurse named Gwen came over to meet Mrs. Katelyn and, seeing the tears streaming down her wrinkled cheeks, told her in a comforting way not to be sad, for she would be well taken care of there.
During the first week, the elderly woman kept observing her new home and the people living there. She listened as the older residents told the tales of their lives and was saddened to see how the paths each had taken to end up there were so similar. Despite this, she felt ashamed to be there and became increasingly withdrawn and antisocial. Several times she observed her roommate’s relatives coming to visit her, continually elated, bringing gifts and telling her what was happening with everybody. Every time a new car pulled up in front of the retirement home, her heart would ache a little as she imagined another elderly woman like her, also rejected by their relatives, arriving at this depressing place.
One day, she was sitting outside on her favorite rocking chair, where she liked to spend her afternoons in the backyard of the retirement home. Colorful autumn leaves were falling pleasantly under her feet when suddenly, Gwen, the same young nurse who had soothed her the day of her arrival, approached her. “Hey, why are you here and not eating lunch? There’s some wonderful chicken soup. I can even bring it over here if you would prefer. After all, lunch with this beautiful view is better than listening to those same old stories from Wilson, isn’t it?” said Gwen, trying to amuse the older woman. Mrs. Katelyn smiled back and said she wasn’t hungry. But Gwen left and less than five minutes later returned with lunch. It smelled tantalizing; everything was so appetizing that Mrs. Katelyn couldn’t resist and ate almost everything.
They sat there for about an hour, chatting and remembering good times. The older woman even spoke briefly about how she had felt psychologically and verbally attacked by her granddaughter. When she thanked Gwen for the delicious lunch and tea, she promptly replied, “Relax, it was nothing. You know, I’ve been watching you for a long time, practically since your first day, and, if I may, I’d like to make a suggestion. Try to get past your sorrows and start living again because your life is not over! I see that you have been sad since you came here, but there are always positive things too! For example, I grew up in an orphanage. After that, I came to work here. Do you know why?”
Ms. Katelyn shook her head, and the young woman continued, “It’s because I am loved here, just as you will be too. So many good and kind people are here to talk to and do things with. Do you want to continue suffering because of those who betrayed you? You have a wonderful life ahead of you. In my case, I have found a way to live for others and take care of other people’s grandmothers and grandfathers. It is my choice, and I am sure I will work here all my life because you are my big family.” Young Gwen finished her speech.
Mrs. Katelyn thanked her for the beautiful words but was worried about the girl, asking if she didn’t think about getting married and starting her own family one day. “How do you think I’m going to get married? I have no education, I’m not pretty, I don’t go to clubs, and I don’t dress like other girls my age. In general, I rarely leave this place. So, there is little chance that I will meet anyone or have time for a relationship. Besides, I have practically no friends, and my parents were alcoholics. The truth is, Miss Katelyn, that the only difference between us is that you were betrayed at the end of your life, while I was betrayed at the beginning. The two women sat in silence for a while, looking away, each thinking to herself, and then Gwen stood up, smiled, and, having wished Mrs. Katelyn a good day, left her alone.
After four years of living there, Mrs. Katelyn was finally getting used to her new life and, more importantly, was enjoying it all. Gwen was always with her, reading books, watching movies, and telling her the latest news. She also found friends among some similarly abandoned grandparents, and life no longer seemed joyless to her. Then, one day, her granddaughter Letty, whom she had not seen all these years, unexpectedly came to her. Mrs. Katelyn observed that the woman was prettier and better groomed, indicating that her life was going well. When asked how she was feeling, Mrs. Katelyn replied snidely that she could wipe her smile off her face because she would not die anytime soon. She added that she had nothing left for her granddaughter to sell, saying that Letty should not waste her precious time on her.
The granddaughter frowned and explained that she simply came to visit her grandmother. However, Mrs. Katelyn knew that no visit of Letty’s was without a purpose, and upon pressing the woman to tell the truth, she finally revealed: “I got a call from the bank, and they said there was some problem. I tried to resolve it, but they said only you could. I wonder if there is some money we don’t know about? Maybe some inheritance for us to receive?” Letty asked, not even bothering to hide her true intentions in breaking that news.
Mrs. Katelyn did not know it until then, but her granddaughter had lost almost all the money from selling the farmhouse, and she was close to bankruptcy again. The young woman was only trying to keep up appearances. She, the original owner of the farmhouse, hadn’t seen a single note of all that money, and now she knew that she would never see it. Yet, Letty remained hopeful that maybe there was something she didn’t know and she could get some more money out of her grandmother.
The older woman said there was nothing to be done and that her granddaughter could leave without looking back. “I’ve had to deal with this before. It’s just a debt your grandfather left,” Mrs. Katelyn said to Letty, who, upon hearing this, left without a second thought. Her granddaughter didn’t know that she was sure what that phone call from the bank was about and that there was no debt at all. With the sudden death of her husband and the lack of money to hire a good lawyer, all of his savings in the bank had been frozen, and Mrs. Katelyn couldn’t touch it. But now, everything was settled, and she could finally withdraw the entire sum with interest!
She called the bank the next day, and besides getting the money, she also found out that her husband had inherited a house in the French countryside many years ago but never knew about it. Upon hearing about the situation, Mrs. Katelyn knew exactly what to do and quickly called Gwen. The newly wealthy woman explained everything to the young nurse and said: “Listen well, young lady! I want to do this while I have the strength and the sanity. I am moving to France, and you are very welcome to come with me. Take advantage of the fact that you are still a young woman, and nothing is holding you here. Live in a different country, meet wonderful people, and have memorable experiences. At the end of my life, I will leave you my house and half of the money that I have left. I will donate the rest of the money to this retirement home that I now love so much and where I have found love and peace. If you accept my invitation, my lawyer will buy your ticket to leave with me tomorrow. Take a few hours to think it over and let me know your decision as soon as possible. You deserve a chance to be happy,” Mrs. Katelyn said excitedly as she hugged Nurse Gwen.
However, the surprises would not end there. No one could imagine what was to come…
The next day, her granddaughter, accompanied by her husband, decided to show up at the nursing home and give her a surprise. Somehow, the couple had found out about the money and the inheritance and went to fawn over Mrs. Katelyn to get on her good side again. Letty told her that her mother-in-law’s health had improved, so her grandmother could move back into her home; she even asked her to pack up her things immediately. “Oh, and also don’t worry about how you are going to manage all this money from my late grandfather or the house in France, I will take care of all that for you. I just need you to sign here,” Letty said, giving her a stack of more than 30 pages to Mrs. Katelyn.
The older woman got up from her chair, pointed to a small suitcase on the floor, and said: “As you can see, my things are packed and ready to go. But not to your house…” She continued, “What you will receive is in an envelope on my bed. Take it, put it to good use, and we will never see each other again. When Letty heard this, she didn’t even look at her grandmother’s face anymore. She couldn’t wait to see a fat check inside that envelope or perhaps some property deed. Quickly, she and her husband hurried down the nursing home halls towards her grandmother’s old room, and upon opening the envelope, the woman almost fell backward…
There was no check or deed to a house, just a $20 bill and a postcard from France with a note saying, “I hope this will be enough for you to buy yourself a new conscience.” Letty was furious, tore the whole thing up, including the 20-dollar bill, and ran back towards the nursing home entrance. But to her misfortune, she only arrived just in time to see her grandmother and a young woman, whom she later learned was Gwen, driving off with a chauffeur in a long black car.
After this, Mrs. Katelyn was finally left with a sense of peace and the assurance that no one else would take advantage of her money, kindness, or innocence. Gwen had always been a great friend, even when she was at the worst moment of her life. And now, she would be happy to explore the world with her.
