Crying Old Man Calls Granddaughter He Hasn’t Seen for Years Begging Her to Come – Story of the Day

Robert wanted to see his granddaughter, Pauline, but she was always too busy to visit him. One day, he desperately called her and begged her to return but didn't explain why he was hysterical. Pauline had to hang up, but a complete stranger rang her a few days later and said something shocking.

"Everything is fine, Grandpa. I don't think I can come see you anytime soon. My husband is busy with work, and so am I. We don't have a lot of paid time off. But I'll see what we can do for the holidays this year," Pauline told her grandfather, Robert, when he called.

He tried calling at least once a week, as she was the only family he had left in the world after his daughter, Pauline's mother, died years ago. However, they had not seen each other for several years because she had moved from Utah to New York City, and her life was hectic.

He missed her terribly and wanted her to visit more often. He couldn't travel to her because he lived on a strict budget and couldn't afford it. Meanwhile, Pauline had her excuses every time why she couldn't come, mainly regarding work, but he always tried to convince her.

Pauline raised her eyebrows in confusion. "I'm sorry. His social worker? Why does he need a social worker?"

"Sure, honey. Have a good day," he told her, and they ended the call on a happy note.

Other the next few months, the calls became shorter and less frequent because Pauline was up for a promotion at work and needed to focus harder. She often ignored his calls or spoke for less than a minute, excusing herself quickly.

However, one day was different. His call came just like any other, and she decided to answer it as she had a little time before a meeting. "Hello, Grandpa," she said casually.

"PAULINE!" he wailed. "You need to come here quickly! Please! Please! You have to come here! I need to see you! It's important!"

"Grandpa, what's going on? What's happening?" she asked, worried about her grandfather's tone. It seemed like he was crying and desperate for something.

"I just need you here! Please! Please! You have to return!" he begged, the cries clear through the call.

"But what's happening?" Pauline insisted. She needed to know why her grandfather was so agitated. Then her boss entered her office suddenly, and she had to put the phone down for a second, although she could still hear him wailing.

"Pauline, let's go. The meeting is starting right now. The client wants to get this over with quickly," her boss said and rushed away.

Pauline didn't know what to do. She couldn't delay the meeting because their client was calling from abroad, but her grandfather was desperate.

She put the phone back in her ear and said, "Grandpa! I'll call you in a few hours. I have a meeting I can't miss. I swear I'll visit soon. Don't worry!"

Leaving her cellphone on her desk, she rushed to follow her boss and forgot all about the call.

A few hours later, her grandfather had not called back, and Pauline was exhausted from a hectic day at the office. There were no missed calls on her phone, so whatever happened with her grandfather couldn't be that urgent, she thought. She decided not to return his call and wait for him to call her again. He never did.

Several days later, her phone rang again, and this time, she was looking forward to talking to her grandfather. But the number on her screen was unknown, so she answered with a frown. "Hello?"

"Hello, yes. Is this Pauline Sterling?"

"Yes, speaking," she answered.

"Hello, Mrs. Sterling. I'm Anastacia Garrison. I'm your grandfather's geriatric social worker. I was hoping to speak with you about his care," the voice explained.

Pauline raised her eyebrows in confusion. "I'm sorry. His social worker? Why does he need a social worker?"

"The state took in your grandfather and he now resides in a nursing home," Mrs. Garrison revealed, taking Pauline entirely off guard.

"Excuse me? My grandpa owns his house. That's impossible. Are you sure it's him? Robert Matthews?" she asked, flabbergasted.

"Yes, it's him. And I see that you're unaware of the situation, although your grandpa assured us you were coming soon because he told you what happened," the social worker continued, sounding snippy.

"No, I don't know…," she trailed off, thinking that her grandfather probably said something while she pulled the phone away from her ear. But why didn't he call again?

"Well, it would be nice to speak to you in person. You should come soon, and we'll discuss some things," the lady added, speaking with authority.

Pauline was so confused, and she didn't know if she could take off work, but something serious had happened to her grandfather and she couldn't just ignore it this time.

"Ok, hmm. I'm in New York so I'll be there in a few days. Where is this nursing home?" she asked, and the social worker gave her all the details.

Pauline was able to arrange for some days off from her work to travel to see her grandfather. When she arrived at the nursing home in Utah, she met with Anastacia, who seemed nice, but she was all business.

"I would like to take my grandfather back to his house. This must be a mistake," Pauline said immediately, not wanting Robert to be in that nursing home a second longer.

"Mrs. Sterling, your grandfather's house burned down some time ago. He said he called you that day. The firefighters called me because he was hysterically crying and calling out for you. We brought him here and calmed him down. He kept assuring us that you were coming. But when you didn’t, I decided to call you myself," the social worker explained, shocking Pauline.

"Oh my God! His house… I can’t believe it! He called me, but I was… too busy," Pauline responded, her eyes starting to tear up.

"I see," Mrs. Garrison muttered, seemingly judging Pauline but not wanting to be too obvious. "Well, now that you're here, we can decide some things. Your grandfather might need a medical check-up just in case, and we need to know if you want him to stay here permanently."

"No! Definitely not. I want to get him out, and I'm taking him with me to New York," Pauline responded immediately, wiping her tears.

She might have been a lousy granddaughter in the past, but she would rectify that starting now. The social worker finally smiled at her and nodded. She expedited everything, and Pauline bought plane tickets for them that afternoon.

Robert was so excited to see his granddaughter and delighted that she was taking him to New York. Eventually, she and her husband bought a new house with an in-law suite, which allowed him privacy in their space.

They visited the doctor and put him on meds, but otherwise, Robert was healthy even at his advanced age. "You're going to be around for a while, Mr. Matthews," the doctor told them excitedly, and he was right.

Robert was around to meet his granddaughter's two children when they were born, and he bounced them on his knees. Meanwhile, Pauline was so grateful to him, and she never took her family for granted ever again.

What can we learn from this story?

• It's best never to ignore older family members, especially when they sound desperate. Pauline dismissed her grandfather's call, not realizing a big emergency had occurred.
• Check up on family members. Life might get busy sometimes, but it is important to check up on our family members every once in a while and see if they are alright.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about an older man who found a little girl in the forest, and she turned out to be his granddaughter.

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