'It Can’t Be You!' Single Mom Screams When Santa Visits Her Kid & Takes off Fake Beard — Story of the Day

A single woman raising her son alone after separation from her husband loses faith in love until the Santa she invited to her son's party takes off his fake beard and reveals his face.

Dolly was a single mother and nothing more. At least, that's what she considered herself. Her husband had walked out on her and their son a year ago, and since then, she'd been juggling work and parenting while putting her own life on the back burner.

Dolly worked two jobs—one as a cashier at a supermarket and the other as a maid on weekends—to support her son, Patrick. So she never had time for anything, especially not love.

But the single mother who had lost faith that she'll ever fall in love again was in for a surprise when she took the subway one morning to drop Patrick off at school…

When Dolly and Patrick boarded the subway that morning, it was crowded like a cattle truck. There was barely any space to stand when the kind man sitting opposite Dolly offered her his seat.

"Excuse me! You have a child; you can take the seat," he said, getting up, and Dolly quickly sat down, Patrick in her lap.

"Thank you so much," she said shyly, and their eyes met at that moment. Dolly wanted to ask his name, but she didn't.

"So you ride the subway often?" he asked.

Love is patient and kind, so you must be patient and kind with love, too.

She looked up nervously. "Oh, what? Yes… yes, I do. It's the fastest way to reach downtown, where I work. I actually work two jobs. One as a maid and the other as a cashier. I'm a single mother. I need to support my son."

It wasn't long before she realized she had overshared with a stranger, who she thought was grinning at her stupidity.

"Well, your son's a lucky guy," he said kindly instead. "You're one tough woman, Dolly."

"You know my name?" she asked. "How… How did you—"

Before she finished her sentence, the train stopped, and Dolly's stop was there. As she was leaving, the man said, "It's on your work uniform. The name. It was nice meeting you."

Dolly got off the train, bracing herself for the cold winds of the wintry day and cursing herself at her foolishness. She was wearing her work uniform because she headed right to her workplace after dropping Patrick off at his school. Then a kind neighbor of theirs would pick up Patrick and look after him until she was home.

***

"Why am I thinking so much about the subway man?" Dolly thought as he headed to work that day. "Men are crap, in general, Dolly. And it's not like you've got any lesser problems in life that you need a man now!"

Dolly had lost faith in love and relationships. She didn't trust men, and she wasn't ready to give love another chance.

But even she knew deep down that this man she had met on the subway was different. Something about him—maybe it was his kindness or encouraging words—had touched her. So even though she didn't know his name, she couldn't stop thinking about him.

One night, she even dreamed about him, and it was then she realized she needed to move on from her past. She could give a chance to herself.

A new friendship, if nothing else?

So soon after, Dolly started returning home late. Not that she was swamped with work, but she waited for the man every day at the subway substation, hoping she'd run into him and ask him for coffee. She knew it was a stupid idea, considering she didn't even know who he was.

Several months passed, and sadly, Dolly couldn't find him. But while she stopped waiting for him at the subway station, her heart never stopped looking for him. She hoped she'd run into him in some unexpected corner of the city, and it would be all roses from then on.

***

As the snow blanketed the city and Christmas knocked on their door that year, Dolly and Patrick decorated their cozy home together, and Dolly organized a party for all the children in their neighborhood.

"Mr. Henson, I told you I wouldn't tolerate delays!" She was talking to the man in charge of the preparations. "I told you Santa had to be here by 6. It's 6: 30 now!"

"I apologize, Ms. Marrow," said the man apologetically. "I had no idea he would be stuck in traffic. He should be here anytime soon."

Dolly had to wait twenty more minutes before Santa arrived at her house. She was happy the kids didn't leave for their homes before that, making her party a huge failure.

Dolly was happy, looking at Santa playing with Patrick and the other children. Then she noticed his beard was coming off. The man realized it, too, tried fixing it, and ended up taking it off in the process.

When Dolly saw the man's face, tears rose in her eyes, and her hand went to her mouth in shock.

"Jesus! It can't be you!" she found herself screaming at the man dressed as Santa, who looked at her and froze in shock.

"It's you! Oh my God! I didn't know I would find you!" she shouted, unable to believe that the subway man she'd been longing for was standing right before her eyes.

"Hey, hey, it's a party, Dolly. Why don't we talk after that," he said gently, taking her to the side.

"Name!" she demanded. "I want to know your name!"

He smiled. "Rob… It's Rob, but you can call me Derry too. Hey, calm down, alright? I'm here."

"Rob, look, I've spent enough time looking for you, okay? I don't want to keep this to myself, so I'm telling you that I may not love you, but I like you. And I don't want you to disappear again. You can call me a fool for that, but—"

"Shh…" he interrupted her, gently holding her hands in his. "I like you too, Dolly. In fact, I wouldn't be here if I didn't know it was your party. I'm here for you."

"I don't understand!" she said.

Rob smiled. "My friend was supposed to come as Santa. Last minute, I found out it was your party, and we switched places. Look, Dolly, I liked you when I saw you for the first time. I wanted to ask you out on a date, but you left the subway too soon, and I don't take the train often. I tried looking for you, too, but I couldn't find you. Now that we're here together… that's all that matters, right?"

Dolly and Rob were both crying and holding each other close, soon forgetting everything and sharing a passionate kiss before Rob smiled and donned his fake beard.

"If we stay here for too long, Patrick's gonna think I stole his mom. Let's go!" he chuckled.

Rob and Dolly not only found one another that Christmas, but they also tied the knot soon after, and they became loving parents to little Patrick. Even today, their lives continue to be joyful and complete.

What can we learn from this story?

• Love is patient and kind, so you must be patient and kind with love too. Dolly's heart never stopped hoping that she'll find Rob, and her patience eventually bore fruit.
• True love will find you no matter where you are. Dolly and Rob met on a subway, and it was there their love story began.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a single man who dressed up as Santa and visited children's shelters, not knowing he'll find a family there one day.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers 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.