Mother Teaches a Lesson to Her Daughter Who Ruined Someone's Family - Story of the Day

A mother discovered by accident that her daughter ruined someone's family—she decided to have a conversation with her and teach her a lesson she'd never forget.

A white Toyota Prius pulled up in front of the house when Betsy was preparing dinner. The sky was glowing with a bright orange tint as her daughter stepped out from the front passenger seat.

As her daughter was walking towards the house, the driver’s door opened and a man in his late 30s stepped out. Her daughter turned back, walked towards the man, and gave the man a soft and tender kiss on the lips.

Must be her new boyfriend, Betsy thought to herself, and what a handsome fellow. Sure, his hairline might have been receding a bit prematurely, but through the misty evening fog, she could see his rough jawline and tender smile. She could tell the man was madly in love with her daughter through the shadow of his smile.

Nancy finally found someone, and a good-looking fellow as well.

“Handsome fellow isn’t he?” Betsy asked right away as Nancy stepped into the house.

But Nancy didn’t respond to her mother’s witty remark. Betsy then turned her eyes towards Nancy, but when their line of sight met those of one another, Nancy simply blushed and walked away.

It must be someone special then—sure, Nancy might be in her mid-20s already, but when it comes to dating she’s still rather inexperienced.

Can’t blame her though, she did send Nancy to a rather conservative Catholic school—the best in town, as she used to tell her friends—and the boys she dated prior to that were also young and naive, if not more naive than Nancy herself.

And the fact that her father was not present when she grew up … no wonder she looked up to older men.

Nancy loved the fellow. Nothing could get past Betsy's eyes.

The next day, Betsy went to the local Costco to do her groceries. It was probably a bad idea to go there on a Saturday—but she didn't have much of a choice as her job pretty much took over all her time over the weekdays. It wasn't pleasant, but year after year one is bound to get used to it.

Swarms upon swarms of people filled up the place, the air was still … suffocating even. Just get all the things she needs and she can get out of this stifling madness, she thought to herself. Maybe she could even catch the rerun of “The Notebook” on TV if she was fast enough. She always makes sure she never misses a single Ryan Gosling movie on TV.

She wished she was younger and that he was born American.

It was then when she noticed a somewhat familiar face.

A family was standing before her—a man and his wife with their kid by the shopping cart. The kid was seven years old at best judging by her appearance. She even looked like Nancy when she was still a kid … how adorable.

Lord, it felt like a lifetime ago.

But the man … wasn't he the man outside her house just the day before? The man with the Toyota Prius? What was he doing here? Was that his wife?

Maybe he was divorced. That happens sometimes—people got married, had a kid, but things didn't work out between them. Every weekend they would just get together for the kid. Whatever happens, a kid deserves to grow up with both parents.

Just as Betsy was lost in her own thoughts, the woman reached up to the man for a kiss. She could see it in her eyes, the loving gaze that glowed through the corner of her eyes … but that loving gaze was only reciprocated with an indifferent smile.

She then noticed the rings on their fingers.

The sun already sank below the horizon by the time she got back home. The sky was a pale shade of blue, projecting shapeless shadows through the window curtains. It was already too late for “The Notebook.”

Nancy sat on the couch mindlessly scrolling through her phone, her hoodie draped over her forehead.

"Darling, aren't you supposed to meet someone today?" Betsy asked as she was unpacking the groceries.

"Nah mom, he's busy tonight," responded Nancy, without taking her eyes off the phone.

The idea of talking to her daughter about what she saw in Costco today dreaded Betsy—was she aware of that? Did she know that the man was married to another woman, that the woman he was married to loved him dearly?

"Who was that fellow from yesterday? Someone you know from work?" Betsy asked.

Nancy didn't respond to that. But after a minute of absolute silence, she knew that she had to respond—she knew how her mother would persist on something whenever she's not answering. She might as well just get it over with. "Yea, he works in HR," she finally responded.

"Handsome fellow isn't he?" Betsy asked.

Nancy blushed.

"How old is he?"

"37. Turning 38 next month."

"Was he married? It's rare to find a man this good-looking and still not married at his age."

But Nancy grew quiet. Betsy looked at Nancy as she turned towards the couch, trying to drape the blanket over her entire face. It was apparent that Nancy knew about the man's marriage.

But why would Nancy date a married man? Betsy thought to herself. It wasn't like her. Perhaps her daughter has yet to learn the difference between lust and romance? She was still young after all. There was much to learn, much to experience.

"He's different. I can talk to him," Nancy finally responded.

Betsy then walked towards the couch and sat at the corner, placing her hand on Nancy’s leg.

“It’s okay, darling, we all fall in love sometimes,” Betsy responded softly.

“I know it’s wrong mom, but I just couldn’t help it … it all happened so quickly, so naturally. The feeling that you can finally share your life with someone, just being able to talk about anything, no matter how mundane they are …” Nancy said meekly as her voice trailed off, her hands clenching the blanket.

“Shh … honey, it’s okay,” replied Betsy as she was trying to comfort her daughter. “We all make mistakes, and sometimes we are not sure if we are making the right choices. It happens to the best of us,” Betsy added.

Meanwhile, darkness befell outside the window. Shadows were cast by the speeding headlamps outside, shifting and flickering as the cars drove on by.

After a brief moment of silence, Betsy continued, “You’re a big girl—I am not going to tell you what’s right or wrong. I don’t think I can either. I just want you to think about it before making any rash decisions."

“I never told you this—but your father ran away with another woman years ago,” Betsy added, and Nancy could now hear the meekness in her mother’s voice.

“It was a woman from Argentina, and like you and that handsome fellow, there was a strong connection between them,” Betsy continued. “There was nothing much I could do about it, sometimes you just have to accept life as it is.”

“But I thought dad went there for work?” Nancy added.

“Well, he did. That's how it all started. But we decided to keep the whole thing a secret. We didn’t want to hurt you,” Betsy responded. “And it was nearly impossible to divorce someone as a Catholic, anyway,” she jokingly added.

“That’s why dad only comes back once every few years …” Nancy responded.

“But you knew that Roy is married, didn't you?” Nancy suddenly came to that realization—she had to admit that her mother was great at asking questions she knew the answers to already.

“I saw them in Costco today,” Betsy responded, “and what grown man in their 30s would still drive a Toyota Prius unless he's married?”

They both shared a good chuckle.

“But I also saw their daughter, and I thought about you,” Betsy continued. “I just thought it would be a shame if she’d grow up without her father around her.”

Nancy then grew eerily quiet.

“Listen, darling, there's never 'the one' when it comes to relationships. People come and go. We might fall in love with someone, but there are also others out there, just waiting for us to find them,” Betsy said. “Sometimes everything can feel so right, but it just isn’t meant to be, and we need to know when to move on.”

“It’s like going on a trip—you might find yourself a nice companion, and you might travel together for a while. But maybe after some time you’d realize that they have somewhere else they need to be, and that it's time to say goodbye.” Betsy added, “That’s what your grandma used to tell me.”

Nancy laid still on the couch for some time, and after a few minutes of silence, she sat up and placed her head against Betsy’s shoulder.

“I will love you regardless of what you're gonna choose,” Betsy continued, “You’re all I have left, darling.”

The two huddled together as the moon rose from behind the hills.

What can we learn from this story?

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Before we make a decision, think of the outcome and how it'd affect others, and how would you feel if you happened to be in their shoes. Understand the consequence of our own actions.

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For another great read, find out what happened when the daughter of a rich woman mocked a poor girl with a disability during a dance class.

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