Debbie, living in a quiet neighborhood, becomes close to her elderly neighbor, Mrs. Jenkins, and begins to care for her. But when Deb\u2019s mother has to undergo surgery, she has no option but to go home and care for her mother\u2026 only for her to receive a horrible phone call from Steve, Mrs. Jenkins\u2019 son, accusing her of not doing enough.<\/p>\n
Look, I didn\u2019t want revenge on anybody, especially not for just being kind to an elderly neighbor.<\/p>\n
I live in a quiet neighborhood, and my next-door neighbor, Mrs. Jenkins, is an 82-year-old widow. She\u2019s frail, lonely, and honestly, sad. It\u2019s like she\u2019s been forgotten by her own family. Her only son, Steve, lives just 20 minutes away but rarely visits.<\/p>\n
Whenever I saw her on the porch, she seemed so lost, staring off into the distance. My heart went out to her, so I started helping where I could.<\/p>\n
For over a year, I\u2019ve been running small errands. Groceries, appointments, clearing her driveway of leaves in the fall and snow in the winter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what I\u2019d do without you, Debbie,\u201d she said to me one morning after I dropped off her groceries, including some freshly baked bread for her breakfast.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m here for anything you need, Marlene,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Honestly, it wasn\u2019t much, but I felt good knowing that I was helping. Especially since her real family was so absent.<\/p>\n
\u201cSteve?\u201d she said one day when I asked about him. \u201cThat kid means everything to me, but I know I don\u2019t mean as much to my son. It\u2019s okay. You\u2019re here.\u201d<\/p>\n
She would always smile like I was her favorite person.<\/p>\n
This man, who barely knew his mother\u2019s daily life, had the audacity to accuse me of not doing enough.
\nBut things took a dark turn when I had to leave town for a few weeks. I couldn\u2019t help it, my mother was in the hospital after being diagnosed with fibroids and cysts that needed to be removed.<\/p>\n
I had to be there with her. There was no way about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m coming, Mom,\u201d I said. \u201cDon\u2019t you worry about a thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut, Deb,\u201d my mother whined. \u201cI don\u2019t want to disturb your routine. Dad\u2019s here, I\u2019ll be fine with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom, I work from home. I can work from anywhere,\u201d I said sternly. \u201cAnd anyway, Dad\u2019s idea of taking care of someone is making chicken noodle soup. That\u2019s pretty much it. You\u2019re going for invasive surgery. You need me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before I left, I stocked Mrs. Jenkins\u2019 house with groceries, made sure that she had everything she needed, and asked our neighbor Karen to check in on her from time to time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be back as soon as I can, Marlene,\u201d I said. \u201cDon\u2019t you worry about a thing. And I\u2019ve asked little Josh to come over and check your mail. He knows that if there\u2019s anything in your mailbox, he has to bring it right to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you, darling,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019re too good to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought I\u2019d covered all my bases.<\/p>\n
Ten days into my stay with my parents, my phone rang while I was cooking dinner. I didn\u2019t recognize the number, but I picked up anyway.<\/p>\n
\u201cDebbie?\u201d the voice snapped when I answered. \u201cAre you the neighbor who\u2019s supposed to be taking care of my mom?\u201d<\/p>\n
It was Steve. Mrs. Jenkins\u2019 son. The man who barely showed up for his own mother.<\/p>\n
For a second, I got nervous, hoping that nothing had happened to her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just got a call from my mother,\u201d he continued, not even stopping for me to speak. \u201cShe ran out of milk. And you\u2019re out of town? Why didn\u2019t you make sure she had enough before you left?\u201d<\/p>\n
I was absolutely floored. This man, who barely knew his mother\u2019s daily life, had the audacity to accuse me of not doing enough.<\/p>\n
Me?<\/p>\n
\u201cSteve,\u201d I said, trying to remain calm. \u201cI\u2019m out of town because my mom is in the hospital. This is where I need to be. I stocked your mom up before I left. And I spoke to Karen, our neighbor, to check on her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead of apologizing or offering to help like any normal person, he shot back.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, that\u2019s just not good enough, Debbie. If you\u2019re going to take care of my mother, then you need to do it right! I can\u2019t be running around getting her things whenever you drop the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost screamed. The audacity of this man was astounding.<\/p>\n
How could he accuse me of dropping the ball when I\u2019d been doing everything for her? Especially while he sat back and did nothing!<\/p>\n
I took a deep breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cSteve, she\u2019s your mother. You can\u2019t expect me to do everything for her while you\u2019re right there, and do nothing! Maybe you should help her out for once.\u201d<\/p>\n
His response was just sad.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re pathetic,\u201d he said. \u201cYou don\u2019t even do that much for her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before I could retaliate, I just cut the call. I didn\u2019t want to say anything worse, and I also didn\u2019t want to risk it getting back to Marlene and upsetting her.<\/p>\n
Later, as I sat with my mom in her hospital room, I couldn\u2019t stop replaying that conversation. By the time I got home, I knew exactly what I needed to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cGo home, honey,\u201d my mother said when I told her about Steve\u2019s phone call. \u201cI\u2019m doing just fine, and my progress is great. The doctor is really happy with me. I told you, Dad and I will be fine!\u201d<\/p>\n
I really didn\u2019t want to leave, but I missed my own home. And I missed working from my own space, too. So, I left a few days later.<\/p>\n
When I got back, the first thing I did was check on Mrs. Jenkins. Thankfully, she was fine. It turns out that Karen had taken care of the milk situation, and Mrs. Jenkins had no idea about the chaos Steve had stirred up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat? Really? He said that?\u201d she exclaimed, shocked.<\/p>\n
Steve had to step up. He was not happy about it. Not at all.<\/p>\n
As glad as I was that Steve hadn\u2019t fed her any stories about me, I wasn\u2019t going to allow him to get away with this.<\/p>\n
The next day, I gently told Mrs. Jenkins that I wouldn\u2019t be able to help her as much anymore.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have other commitments, Marlene,\u201d I said sadly. \u201cI have to check on my mother more often, too. She\u2019s going to need me for the next few weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked disappointed, but she reassured me that she understood.<\/p>\n
A few weeks went by, and Steve had no choice but to step up. Naturally, he wasn\u2019t happy about it. Sometimes, as I worked from my living room, I could see him showing up to his mother\u2019s house. He always looked irritated, like running an errand for his mother was the biggest burden anyone could have placed on him.<\/p>\n
When I did visit Mrs. Jenkins next, she smiled and told me that she was relying on Steve more.<\/p>\n
\u201cI call him for everything,\u201d she said. \u201cMilk, teabags, and even help with the gutters.\u201d<\/p>\n
One afternoon, Mrs. Jenkins asked me to help her sort through some old papers. That\u2019s when we stumbled upon her will.<\/p>\n
Naturally, Steve was listed as the sole beneficiary.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a shame that Steve cannot spend more time with you,\u201d I said casually. \u201cYou know, with work and whatnot.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know, dear,\u201d Mrs. Jenkins sighed. \u201cBut he\u2019s been like that. Sometimes I think he only sticks around for what I\u2019ll leave him.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was all the confirmation I needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, Marlene,\u201d I said. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to leave everything to Steve. It might be nice to donate some to charity or leave something for the people who have always been there for you. That\u2019s a sweet gesture. Think about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re right, Debbie,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ll think about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
A week later, Mrs. Jenkins updated her will. Steve still got his share, but she also included several charities to get vast portions of her estate. She left a little something for me, too, though I didn\u2019t ask for it.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t about the money. It was about showing Steve that neglect and greed have consequences.<\/p>\n
When Steve found out, he stormed to my house, knocking furiously on my door.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou convinced my mother to give away my inheritance? You manipulative little\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
I cut him off before he could finish his sentence.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t convince her of anything. Maybe if you spent more time with her, you\u2019d know what she really wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Steve spluttered, his face turning red. He shouted a few more insults and stormed off, but I could see it in his eyes.<\/p>\n
He knew that he had lost.<\/p>\n
Now, the lovely Mrs. Jenkins is happier than ever, and I\u2019m taking her to the ballet later this week. Steve is sulking, likely regretting all the time he wasted.<\/p>\n
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\nAnd as for me? I\u2019m happy knowing that Mrs. Jenkins isn\u2019t being taken advantage of by Steve.<\/p>\n
Sometimes, the best revenge is just letting someone realize their own failure.<\/p>\n
What would you have done?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"