Teen Boy Raises Sister Alone after Mom’s Death, Discovers Their Father Lives Next Door – Story of the Day

After losing his single-parent mother at 18 years old, Jimmy was left with no other family but his little sister, Susan. However, after coming across a picture of his neighbor in some of his mother's old stuff, he discovered an integral part of his family he never dreamed he'd know.

Jimmy was the son of a single mother who raised him to be kind. His mother, Lily, had raised Jimmy and his sister, Susan, alone. Lily worked a minimum-wage job, so she struggled to put food on the table for her children.

However, Jimmy got a scholarship at a prestigious school in another state which made things a little easier for Lily. Lily was incredibly proud of her son. Jimmy loved his mother and had always wanted to help her, so he worked tirelessly to secure his scholarship.

One day, when Jimmy was only 18 years old, his mother suddenly passed away from an unknown illness. Jimmy was utterly devastated and worried even more for his sister, who was only four years old at the time.

Having no other family to count on, Jimmy decided to leave school to find a job so he could look after Susan. He moved back home and started looking for a job, fully taking on the role of his sister's guardian.

"To my beloved Lily, a long memory from Ed."

And so, Jimmy got a job as a waiter at a local restaurant and looked after his sister. Jimmy would always assure his sister:

"It's just you and me now, princess. I know it doesn't seem like much of a family, but we'll be alright."

One day, Jimmy was sorting out some of his mother's stuff, seeing what they'd keep and what they'd donate to charity. As he went through one of her drawers, he saw an old picture of his mother with a man.

Weirdly, Jimmy recognized the man. It was his neighbor, Ed! Could that really be him? he thought.

However, the picture was fairly old, and he couldn't be sure. As he continued going through his mother's things, he came across a couple of other pictures of his mother and this man, including one of the duo standing next to each other, holding Jimmy as a baby.

Jimmy flipped the photo over and saw a message at the back that proved his suspicions. It read, "To my beloved Lily, a long memory from Ed."

Jimmy was confounded by this discovery and decided to get to the bottom of it and question Ed himself. He headed to Ed's house, and as he knocked on the door, a million thoughts rushed through his mind. Did my mother and Ed have a history? And if so, why had they never mentioned anything? Jimmy thought.

As he stood at the door knocking, he began to consider how crazy all this was.

Even if they did have some deep hidden history, where would Jimmy even start? In a state of panic, Jimmy turned around, ready to leave.

"Jimmy?" a voice said as the door opened. Still with his back to the door, Jimmy began to well up. He turned to Ed, walked up to him, and without a word, he handed Ed the pictures. Ed turned pale, stunned, as he looked at the picture in his hand.

"Please come in," Ed said.

"It's time you learned the whole truth."

Ed made coffee in the kitchen while Jimmy anxiously sat at the dining room table, wondering what the man had to say. He remembered his sister, Susan, mentioning that he had been around at the house while Jimmy was at school, but he didn't think much of it at the time.

But now, here were these pictures, and judging from Ed's reaction, he definitely had a story to tell. As Ed approached him with the coffee, Jimmy began to regret coming to confront him.

"I—I—I have to go! I shouldn't have come here," Jimmy said, readying to leave.

"No, Jimmy! Please! It's time we talk," Ed insisted.

"I can't!" Jimmy said, heading for the door.

"I'm your father, Jimmy! I'm you and Susan's father. That was a picture taken shortly after your birth. It's time you learned the whole truth," Ed confessed.

Jimmy could not believe what he was hearing. He felt as if his knees were about to give up on him. He reached for the nearest chair and sat down as Ed brought him his coffee, pulling a chair for himself from the dining room table.

"I'm sorry you had to find out like this. After your birth, your mother and I broke up because our relationship got ugly. We didn't communicate for a long time. Not until you left for school. We thought we'd give it another try, but things didn't work again," Ed confessed, tearing up.

"All this time? And you never said anything?!" Jimmy retorted.

"Believe me; I wanted to reach out to both you and Susan. But, after the second break-up, your mother forbade me from seeing you both. I tried to stay as close to you as possible, so I moved in next door but kept my distance," Ed said.

"And when were you planning on telling us all this? Huh?" Jimmy said, getting frustrated.

"You'd just lost your mother. I thought I'd give it a little time before dropping it on you. I'm sorry. That was selfish of me. There's just... There's no formula to this kind of thing, you know? I messed up," Ed said.

Jimmy began to break down. Ed embraced him, finally holding his son in his arms as they shared a warm tearful embrace.

In the end, Ed took Jimmy and Susan in, and they established a family relationship. Ed was very sorry that he had never before taken part in the lives of his children. His life was finally complete, and they were a family again.

What can we learn from this story?

• Good can come from tragic moments. The loss of Jimmy's mother hurt him and his sister dearly, but it finally allowed them a relationship with their father. Also, Ed and Lily's relationship was not amazing, but it resulted in the birth of their children.
• Second chances do exist. Ed probably thought he'd never get a chance to be with his children. However, in the end, they united as a family again. Ed got his second chance at fatherhood.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a man who, after his father's death, appears on the doorstep of his estranged mother for the first time in 32 years.

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.