Man Leaves His Old Mother-In-Law with Gang Members, Returns Later and Doesn’t Recognize Her Home — Story of the Day

A man devises a plan involving a local gang to keep his mother-in-law from bothering him about her house renovations. Two days later, when he receives word from the gang members that "the job is done," he hurries over to her house and discovers something surprising.

As a small grocery store employee in Mexico, Michael didn't make a huge living, so he and his wife, Victoria, lived in a small house and did their best to save as much as they could. As a result, when his mother-in-law, Betty, bothered him with her demands, Michael would get enraged.

"What's the matter with that woman? Can't she just leave me alone?" he would often complain whenever she called him.

However, 85-year-old Betty wasn't smart enough to grasp the cue that her son-in-law had no time to help her out, and being a feeble woman, she would often call him and tell him that she needed help.

To Michael's chagrin, her calls had escalated like crazy in the last six months, and this time her requests were that he assist her with home repairs...

"Michael!" she yelled anxiously over the phone. "My roof is leaking, and my bed is broken! Please complete the repairs this weekend!"

"Here she comes again!" Michael muttered to himself.

"What the hell happened?" Michael pondered as he approached the house's front door, which was slightly open.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Lester," he said, trying not to lose his cool. "I'm swamped with work and it won't be possible for me to help you! Why don't you ask a neighbor for help?"

"Oh dear," she naively laughed. "Why would I go look for help from strangers when I have such a beautiful son-in-law? Darling, I am an old bird. If I could manage on my own, I would not have asked for your help. Could you please do it for me?"

"I'm sorry, but—" Michael didn't get to finish.

"Or do you want to get your mother-in-law a new house?" she asked avidly. "Or, how about sending me on vacation to a resort? You know, you can fix my house while I have a little fun. I think that would be a great idea!"

"Uh, well," Michael responded, irritated. "There is no need for extra spending. I'll take out some time LATER to see if I can get those repairs done. Please don't bother me again! I will call you when I'm free. Goodbye!" he snarled and hung up.

But Michael knew deep down that he would not be able to help her with the repairs, so he had to find another way to solve his problem with his mother-in-law. To his luck, three days later, he finally got his chance...

That day, Michael was leaving for home after work when he observed a gang of boys outside his store. They were all in their early twenties, so young but destitute, and they would frequently loiter in that area. That's when Michael thought of a bright idea.

On that particular night, the boys were hanging around at the far end of an alley opposite the shop where he worked, so he quickly looked around to ensure no one spotted him and approached them.

"Hey guys," he said confidently. "You, uh, interested in a gig?"

One of the boys, Peter, who appeared to be older than the others, took a step forward and chuckled menacingly. "Don't you work at the grocery store across the street, you loser? I don't think you can pay us anything with your meager income! And we don't take up gigs for free!" he laughed, and the other boys joined in.

"All right then," Michael sighed. "I guess I'll just give someone else the $200 and get the job done. Fine. Goodbye," he said as he turned to leave.

A voice abruptly halted him. "Wait a minute. Did you say $200?"

"Yes," Michael confirmed, smiling as he turned around. "That's right!"

"Okay, fine," Peter said. "We're in, but we'll take half the payment before the job's done. That's a rule!"

"Well...works for me! Here," Michael replied, pulling out a $100 bill and a note and handing it to them. "This contains my mother-in-law's address as well as my contact information. She's expecting you. Make sure you look after her. The instructions are all in here. Contact me once the job is done!"

"Done!" the boys nodded in unison.

Michael left home, relieved that his problems would be resolved soon. Finally, Betty would stop bothering him, and he would enjoy a peaceful life. He resented having to "waste" $200 on Betty, but he knew it would be worthwhile.

Two days later, Michael was working at the grocery shop when his phone pinged, and a message from an unknown number flashed on his screen. "We had a lot of fun with her! We recommend that you go over to her place and have a look at it!"

Michael smiled when he read the message. "At long last, that woman won't annoy me anymore! I hope they did a good job!" he thought as he grabbed a day off from his boss and hurried over to his mother-in-law's house on the outskirts of town.

When he arrived, he parked his car and got out, only to discover that the house was unlike anything he'd ever seen before. "What the hell happened?" he pondered as he approached the front door, which was slightly open.

He peered inside through the gap and was shocked. Betty was inside, and she wasn't alone. The boys were at her house, and she was offering them tea and biscuits!

Michael stood there, listening in on what they were saying, and heard Betty giggle loudly, having joyful conversations with the boys.

Michael had never been more perplexed in his life. "What is going on?" he thought as he entered Betty's house, which had been repaired so perfectly that it appeared brand new.

Betty approached him as he stepped inside. "Oh, Michael," she exclaimed as she grabbed his arm. "Thank you, dear, for sending these boys to help me. They were extremely generous to me!"

"Won't you join us for tea, Michael?" Peter asked as he approached him and Betty. "You told us to look after her, and she appreciated that you took the time to assist her. We did, in fact, take good care of her as we had promised. Right, Mrs. Lester?" he asked, smiling.

"Oh, of course, Peter!" she responded, blushing. "They are right, Michael," Betty said. "You won't believe it... These boys appear to be frail, but they are quite capable... I was preparing to go to bed two nights ago when these boys unexpectedly knocked on my door.

"I was afraid to answer the door at first because I live alone and am elderly...You know how the news these days are all about thefts and crimes, but as I opened the door, these boys told me you had sent them and that all they wanted to talk about was repairs..."

Michael was taken aback by how different Betty's house looked now. "Wow! I can't believe they did something like this on their own..." he said, gazing around the house, puzzled.

"Oh, stop acting dumb!" Betty hit him innocently. "You sent them to help me, and now you're acting as if you don't know that these boys were so talented. They stayed with me for two days and fixed everything at my house...They didn't charge me a single dime, Michael! Thank you so much for helping me out.

"None of this would have happened if you didn't help me!" she said, wrapping her arms around him. "I know I bothered you a lot with my calls...And that's why you would grumble over everything...But what was the point of being so rude when you were going to help me? And I was right! My son-in-law is the best in the world!"

Michael was overcome with emotion and returned her hug. He just wanted to finish the repairs so Betty wouldn't bother him anymore. He hadn't expected the boys to execute it so perfectly or Betty to be so happy. He was moved to tears by how delighted that nagging old woman appeared now.

"I'm glad they could help you out, Mrs. Lester. I - I..." he replied, fighting back the tears. "I knew your house needed repairs... But I couldn't give you the money because I was saving up for Victoria," he added, holding her hand. "She's pregnant, and you're going to be a grandmother! And you'll be able to play with your granddaughter in your newly refurbished home very soon."

"What?" Betty's eyes widened. "Did you just say... Oh my goodness! I'M GOING TO BE A GRANDMOTHER! Did you hear that, Peter? Oh my God! Let me prepare a cake and see Victoria today. Oh, dear, I shall treat you all! I'm so happy. I'm going to be a granny!" she mumbled as she headed to the kitchen.

Betty's happiness knew no bounds that day. She was thrilled beyond words and seeing her like that made Michael regret his rude behavior towards her. All thanks to Peter and the boys for making him realize his mistakes.

"Thank you, Peter," he said. "What you did for my mother-in-law made me realize that I shouldn't have been so disrespectful to her. Thank you very much. But how did you get everything fixed for just $200?" he asked curiously.

Peter revealed that he and his boys knew their way around basic repairs. When they arrived at Betty's house, they felt sorry for her living conditions. Her roof was leaking, the door was creaking when opened and closed, and the furniture was in awful shape.

"I just couldn't see her that way! So the boys and I helped her! And we had no idea she'd be that delighted! She allowed us to stay over at night and even fed us. She's actually very kind!

"You know what, Michael, money does matter a lot," he added, "but not more than your family. Betty is extremely generous...she was so kind to us that we had to do this much for her!"

Michael understood he was wrong to ignore Betty, and the boys were right to help her out. He wanted to repay the boys' kindness for assisting Betty, so he approached a carpenter friend and got them new jobs, allowing them to earn a living respectfully.

Besides that, Michael began occasionally assisting the boys by providing their families with food from his grocery store.

Later, when Michael and Victoria finally welcomed their daughter, Beth, she had not just her mom, dad, and grandmother to play with her but also a GANG of uncles who adored spending time with her.

What can we learn from this story?

• There's a little good in everything and everyone. While Michael was a mean person who didn't want to be bothered by Betty's requests, he also had the humility to own his error and make amends. Similarly, when the gang discovered Betty's deplorable living conditions, they chose to assist her, even though they were only paid $200 for the entire task, which wasn't much considering the amount of repairs they'd done.
• Older people need love and care, and we should not refrain from giving it to them. Betty was old and just needed a little help around her house. When she eventually received help from Peter and his gang, she was over the moon!
• A small act of compassion can go a long way. The kindness of Peter and his gang in assisting Betty with her house made Michael understand that he had been a terrible person to disregard a feeble elderly woman like Betty.

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