Poor Old Lady Buys Business Class Ticket to Meet Estranged Son, He Pretends He Doesn’t Know Her — Story of the Day

A poor old woman uses her last dollar to purchase a business class ticket to see her estranged son. However, when she finally meets him, he pretends not to recognize her and walks away until she hands over a letter to him.

Charlotte Adams was only 16 years old when she became pregnant, but her boyfriend refused to accept responsibility for their child and walked away from her life, stating he had nothing to do with her and wanted to live his life as a free man.

Unsure what to do, a heartbroken Charlotte returned to her parents for assistance, but fate didn't aid her there either, and they kicked her out, screaming, "You would be welcome to our house only if you got rid of that man's blood, Charlotte! Otherwise, forget you ever had a house or parents!"

Having lost both her parents and boyfriend in an instant, Charlotte was at a loss of what to do. She didn't want to terminate her pregnancy and resolved that she'd prove everyone wrong by giving the best of everything to her child.

However, months passed, and she remained on the streets, heavily pregnant and asking passers-by for food and money. Even her son was born in adversity when she was scraping by, and she was obliged by her circumstances to give him up for adoption.

Almost five years later, Charlotte married George Adams, her boss and a restaurant owner in NYC. He fell in love with her at first sight, and when he proposed, Charlotte nodded yes without hesitation.

However, God didn't bless them with any children, and at that point, Charlotte wanted to take her son back. She discussed it with George, and he joyfully agreed, but it was too late.

"What? Adopted?" gasped Charlotte when she arrived at the orphanage where she'd left her son.

"Yes, ma'am. Just a few months after you left him here, your child was adopted by a family."

"But…" Charlotte's eyes welled up with tears. "Can I at least have his adopted parents' contact information? I'd like to talk to them and see if I can persuade them..."

"I'm sorry, ma'am," the orphanage director replied. "We can't share the details with you. If you'd like to see another child, we can help you with that, as you've filled a form with our orphanage for adoption. But we can't divulge confidential information as we don't want our clients to face any issues in the future."

"Issues?!" Charlotte lost her cool. "Shove your rules! They took my son away from me! I will find them no matter what I have to do! You wait and watch!"

Charlotte stormed out of the orphanage and sobbed her way back home, knowing she might never see her son again. But she saw a ray of hope a few weeks later when she received a phone call from Patricia Banks, her son's adoptive mother -- only for it to be dashed later.

"Look, Mrs. Adams," she told Charlotte on call. "I found out what happened at the orphanage. See, I understand Gabriel is your biological son. But I can't just give him up. Please spare him! He's only a child!"

"Well," Charlotte said. "I guess I deserve it all. I abandoned him years ago, and now I'm paying for it. Please do me a favor and, at the very least, let him know about me. Tell him that he is adopted, and his biological mother misses him."

"We'll do that when Gabriel turns 18, for we believe he has the right to know about his biological mother, but I hope you won't bother us again. We don't want any more trouble, please! You created quite a scene at the orphanage, I heard. So, goodbye!" she said and hung up.

Charlotte was reduced to tears, and from that day on, there wasn't a single moment when she didn't curse herself for abandoning her son. Who knew fate would reunite them one day?

Several years later…

One morning, Charlotte received a letter from Patricia. It spoke about how Gabriel had become a successful pilot and even included photographs of him.

"He is doing great, and I thought you'd be happy to see him like this," the letter read, "so I thought of contacting you. Gabriel is now Captain Gabriel Banks. If you want to see him…." The message included information about Grabriel's upcoming flight. And that brought a broad smile to Charlotte's face.

"Thank you, Patricia! Thank you!" she whispered to herself, teary-eyed.

In the past few years, Charlotte's life had undergone several changes, many devastating, to say the least. George had passed away due to a cardiac arrest, and since they'd dismissed the idea of adopting a child, they were childless.

As a result, Charlotte was very sad and alone. However, after all these years, she was happy when she got the chance to see her son. It might be her first and last chance to see him, she reasoned, given that she had been diagnosed with cancer and had only two months to live, but at the very least, she could see him before God called her.

So she used all her savings and got herself a business class ticket to the flight where her son was the pilot.

Once inside the flight, Charlotte was waiting when the journey would be over to see her son. And three hours later, when the wait was over, she quickly called a flight attendant for help.

"Yes, ma'am. How may I help you?" The attendant, Stacey, asked her.

"Can-Can you please call Captain Banks for me?" 65-year-old Charlotte gently said. "I can't wait to see him."

Stacey shot her a concerned look. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but that goes against the protocol. Could you please tell me why you need to see him?"

"I'll tell you everything. Call him first! It's urgent! Why don't you understand?!" Charlotte screamed at the top of her lungs, which drew the attention of several passengers.

"Ma'am, please calm down! Ok, I'll see what I can do for you," Stacey responded, giving up on persuading the older woman otherwise. "Let me have a word with the captain."

A few minutes later, she returned with Gabriel, but when he saw Charlotte, his face turned pale. "Mrs. Adams. This is Captain Banks," Stacey said, introducing him to her.

Charlotte's eyes welled up when she saw her son. He was handsome and charming, just like she'd imagined.

"Oh, Gabriel! I waited so long to see you! How are you doing, son?" She asked, her voice trembling.

"Excuse me!" Gabriel shot her a scornful look. "I'm not sure what you're talking about, MA'AM, but I feel you're mistaken. My mother's name is Patricia - Patricia Banks," he said. "AND I DON'T KNOW WHO YOU ARE!"

Charlotte's heart skipped a beat. "Oh, Gabriel, you…."

"And yes, ma'am," he said, preparing to leave. "I'd appreciate you to respect the rules and not violate them like how you did just now!"

Charlotte was reduced to tears as she knew Gabriel had recognized her. When he initially emerged from the cockpit, his face was beaming with delight, but the instant he saw her, his smile disappeared into oblivion.

"Gabriel!" she said as she got to her foot. "I know you haven't forgiven me, but please, I hope you wouldn't say no to this," she handed him a letter. "Once you've read it, you can decide whether or not to forgive me."

"Look, ma'am, you're wasting your time! I have to leave!" he walked away from her in front of everyone, leaving her embarrassed, but back in the cockpit, Gabriel read the letter.

"Dear Gabriel,

Please forgive me for what I did. I'm sorry, but I had no choice then but to leave you. I was homeless, Gabriel, and I didn't want you to suffer with me. Your biological father and my parents had kicked me out of their lives. When I came to get you back, you were already adopted. You can ask your mother Patricia about me. She knows everything.

I'm glad she sent me a letter a few days ago so that I could see you. I thank her for that. Unfortunately, son, I don't have much time left. I was diagnosed with cancer, and two months is all I have. I'm happy we will finally see each other before I die. I love you, Gabriel.

With love,

Your mom."

Gabriel couldn't hold back his tears after reading the letter. He ran over to Charlotte's seat, but she had already left. Not wasting another minute, he contacted the airport authorities and made an announcement for her. "Mom, I'm sorry! Please find your nearest coffee shop and stay there. I'm coming!"

Gabriel dashed over to the airport, and when he spotted her, he hugged her and cried. "I'm so sorry, mom! Please forgive me! Please! I didn't know anything about your past and blamed you. I shouldn't have done that," he sobbed.

Charlotte hugged him back, and she was in tears too. "You shouldn't be sorry, Gabriel. I should be the one apologizing to you. Thank you for forgiving me, son. Thank you!" she cried.

Everyone at the airport was emotional at the mother-son reunion. Some were applauding, while others were dabbing their eyes with a handkerchief.

Sadly, two months after this emotional reunion, Charlotte left for heavenly abode, but Gabriel was glad that he was by her side in her final days.

What can we learn from this story?

• Learn to forgive and forget. Gabriel was angry with Charlotte, but he realized it wasn't her fault for abandoning him. Her circumstances compelled her.
• We can't change our past, but we can try to make our future better. Gabriel realized this and forgave Charlotte.

If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a man who visits his father 17 years after parting ways with him and finds his house in shambles.

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. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.