Poor Older Man Tearfully Begs Store Owner to Hire Him as Cleaner in Exchange for $2K Suit — Story of the Day

A poor older man begs a clothing store owner to hire him as a cleaner in exchange for renting a $2000 suit. The owner eventually hires him but doesn't learn the reason behind the suit rental until days later. In the end, it left him in tears.

75-year-old Matthew Hudson was always alone and lived an impoverished life. He supported himself by working as a watchman at a school during the day and a restaurant near his home at night.

His neighbors mocked him for leading such a poor, miserable life. They had heard through rumors that his wife was wealthy and they had a daughter and suspected his family abandoned him since he had become a bother to them due to his advanced age.

One day, Matthew visited a clothing store and approached the store owner, Mr. Combs, with a unique request.

"Excuse me, sir," he said shakily. "Would you employ me as a cleaner in exchange for your $2000 suit? That one..." he said, pointing to the suit a salesperson was carrying. "I really need it, but I don't have the money to pay for it."

Mr. Combs laughed. "I guess you're at the wrong place, sir. We don't rent out suits like that! I can't really help you if you don't have the money."

When Mr. Combs arrived at Matthew's house, he noticed the front door was open. "Matthew? Are you home?" he called out as he stepped inside.

"Please," Matthew insisted. "It's very important for me, sir!"

"Well then," he paused. "If that's the case, can you tell me why it's so important?"

"Ah…" Matthew hesitated.

"Let me guess. Is it because you've found a young lady whose affection you seek?" Mr. Combs joked. "If not, how about you give me the 'real' reason. I promise I'll hire you."

Matthew's eyes welled up. "Please, sir," he begged tearfully. "I - I…" But before he could finish his sentence, Mr. Combs cut him off.

"Alright! Alright! Don't get too worked up over it! We happen to have an opening for a cleaner here so you're hired. But mind you! If you don't do your job properly, forget about the suit!"

"I promise I will do my best! Thank you! Thank you!" Matthew replied, teary-eyed.

Over the course of the next four months, Matthew worked at Mr. Combs' store as a diligent employee and finally earned the suit. Mr. Combs was waiting for him at the store on the day he was supposed to get it, but he didn't turn up.

Mr. Combs dialed his number, but his calls went unanswered, so he looked for Matthew's address in the staff records and decided to visit him. Even though Matthew had only been his employee for four months, he was impressed with his hard work and developed a close bond with him.

When he arrived at Matthew's house, he noticed the front door was open. "Matthew? Are you home?" he called out as he stepped inside, only to find the man lying unconscious on the floor.

"Jesus! Matthew, are you all right?" he ran up to Matthew's side, trying to rouse him, but the old man wouldn't respond. Finally, he dialed 911, and soon Matthew was taken to the hospital where doctors revealed he had suffered a stroke.

Matthew didn't wake up until the next morning. Mr. Combs stayed with him at the hospital the entire time, knowing he lived alone and had no one else to attend to him.

While waiting outside the ward that morning, Mr. Combs spotted a young woman dressed in expensive attire asking the staff for Matthew's ward. He wondered whether he was correct in assuming Matthew had a young girlfriend. But when the woman approached him, he realized he was wrong.

"Mr. Combs? You're the one who brought my father to the hospital?" she asked.

"Father?" Mr. Combs was stunned. "Ugh, well, yeah…I didn't know Matthew had a daughter! Where were you before?"

He noticed the woman looked embarrassed. "I happened to visit him today," she said, her cheeks flushed with shame, "and the neighbors informed me that he had been brought here. Is he all right now?"

"Well, he regained consciousness a while ago. He's currently resting. The doctors performed some tests, and I'm waiting for the results."

"Thank you so much for helping him. I'll just go check on him. Excuse me, please..."

Mr. Combs nodded and the woman went inside.

Later that day, he found out her name was Clara, and she was getting married, which is why Matthew needed the suit. He also learned that several years ago, Matthew's wealthy wife, Patricia, kicked him out of the house and walked away from his life, taking Clara with her. She forbade Clara from seeing her father and cut communication with him. All the letters Matthew sent Clara never made their way to her as Patricia hid them from her.

But one day, Clara found them and confronted Patricia. That's when she learned that Patricia had tried to drive a wedge between her and Matthew all these years. She couldn't forgive her mother for it and began to search for Matthew on Facebook. When she found him, she messaged him about her wedding and asked him to be there.

But because Matthew was poor, he didn't have enough money to get a suit, so he quit his day job to work for Mr. Combs and earn the suit, and with his night job, he saved enough money for her wedding present.

"Oh, dad, I am so sorry," Clara said, hugging her father for the first time in years. "I wish I knew the truth earlier. I love you so much! I missed you, dad. I really missed you!"

"I am so happy you're here, honey. There's no need to apologize for anything, okay? After all, it wasn't your fault," Matthew replied, hugging her back, his years of longing finally relieved.

"And you didn't need to do so much work just for the wedding, dad! You could have just told me you needed a suit. Oh, I love you so much!"

"Your fiancé's family is rich, honey, and I was ashamed that I didn't have anything to give you. I had to look presentable at the wedding, at least."

"Oh, dad! I just want you to be there! I don't care about what others think! You're my dad, and I love you...."

Witnessing the emotional reunion, Mr. Combs couldn't keep his tears at bay. He felt bad for being rude to Matthew earlier and apologized to him. He gifted Matthew the $2K suit and a pair of shoes which Matthew proudly wore on his daughter's wedding day.

Clara decided to postpone her wedding until Matthew was better. And when the day finally came, Matthew was the happiest man, looking stunning in his suit as he walked his daughter down the aisle.

What can we learn from this story?

• A father's loving heart always forgives his children. Matthew never resented Clara for leaving him, and when she returned and asked him for forgiveness, he happily forgave her.
• Don't judge someone if you don't know the whole story. Mr. Combs assumed Matthew was after the suit because he had a young love interest, but he was so wrong!

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