Karen is shocked to see her son driving a new sports car a week after her savings were stolen. He says it’s from a new job, but Karen doesn’t believe him. Karen is desperate to find out the truth about her son’s sudden wealth, so she gets into a heated argument with the other person.
My husband had left twenty years ago. I worked late nights, ate meals that were put together, and looked forward to payday every week for twenty years.
Being a single mom should have made me used to having to balance everything all the time, but it still felt like one slip and everything would fall apart.
But Jake was my life. My artistic, bright-eyed son was what kept me going no matter how hard things got. But there was a big issue.
At age 25, Jake still hadn’t found his balance.
He didn’t have a job or any money. He loved his art very much, but it wasn’t enough to support him. And believe me, there were
so
A lot of bills. Someone broke into my lockbox and took all of my cash. This made my money problems even worse.
“Mom, trust me.” I’ll find the person who took your money. Jake told me last week, “Everything will work out,” after my house was broken into.
His voice was too quiet, though. I might have been used to things going badly. Still, the feeling of unease in my stomach got worse as I thought about that night. I lost all the money I had saved up for years in an instant.
Then one day, everything changed. Jake had left, most likely to work on a new project that wouldn’t pay him anything.
The bright red sports car caught my eye while I was at the corner shop. It screamed cash. That looks out of place in our area and costs a lot of money. Jake was walking toward me as I was about to get into my beat-up car.
His steps led him to the racing car, where he took the wheel. My jaw dropped.
As I walked home, my mind was full of options, each one less likely than the last. Jake was sitting on the kitchen counter and spinning the keys to the sports car in my driveway like they were nothing when I got inside.
“Where did you get that car?” I begged, struggling to keep my voice steady.
He looked up and shrugged. “Oh, that?” Mom, it’s not important. “I got a new job.”
“Work?” I laughed and crossed my arms. “What are you doing?” Jake, you’ve never had a job in your life.
Jake looked at me funny and pushed me aside to get a soda from the fridge. “If that’s what you want, I’m not working for minimum wage.” “It’s real.”
“Legit?” I laughed so hard I couldn’t hold it in.
His jaw got tight. “If that’s what you think, I’m not stealing.”
“Really?” Then where did you get the money for the car? Or do you think I’ll believe you “came across it by accident?”
“I don’t have to explain myself to you,” he snapped. “You’re not going to get it anyway.”
My chest got tight. Now there was no getting around it. The awful suspicion that had been bothering me since the theft became strong all of a sudden.
“I didn’t give you my money, did you?”
He quickly turned against me. “You have no right to ask me that!” I can’t believe you think that about me. I only tried to make things better, and this is what I got?”
And then he stormed out the door and slammed it behind him.
I didn’t want to think that my son was stealing, but I had to find out. I took my keys and went after him. I had to find out what he was doing.
It was easy to follow his new car. I went with him to a fancy beauty shop across town. I scowled as I watched him get out of the car and wait by the curb. Afterwards,
she
showed up.
Someone older than Jake, maybe in her mid-40s, came out of the studio. I stood still and watched as she kissed and wrapped her arms around Jake. Also, it wasn’t just a quick peck. This was… close.
As I sank lower in my seat, my throat got tight. What kind of woman was she? How the hell did Jake end up with her?
I chose to keep following them after they pulled away and got into the car together. As they got farther from town, the houses turned into huge homes. When Jake’s car pulled into the driveway of a huge estate, my stomach turned.
My heart beat fast. It wasn’t just weird; it was wrong. I felt like I had to stop this in every way.
I didn’t give it another thought. I got out of the car and slammed the front door so hard I thought it would break.
The woman from the salon walked in when the door opened. Jake came out from behind her, and as soon as he saw me, his face turned pale.
“Mom?”
I yelled, “Oh, yeah, it’s your mom!” “Jake, what the hell is going on?”
The woman’s smile was always there. “Your name must be Karen.” “Jake has told me a lot about you.”
“And you are?” I lost it and didn’t try to hide the anger in my voice when I snapped.
It looked like nothing was wrong when she put out her hand. “Doris. The girl Jake likes.
“Boyfriend?” I almost choked on the word. “Jake, what’s going on here?” How long has this been going on?”
Jake said, “Three months,” but he didn’t look at me. “Calm down, mom.”
Relax? Did he really say that?
“Can you calm down?” I said again. It was broken into my house, and you showed up in a sports car. Now I find out you’ve been living with a rich woman for months.
Lydia’s smile got a little weaker. She said, “Karen, I think you’re not understanding—”
“No, I understand perfectly,” I told Jake, my eyes getting narrow. “You are using her.” For her money and this way of life. Was that car also part of the deal? “Have you been doing this, Jake?”
Jake’s face turned darker.
“That’s not how it is.”
“How is it then?” I fired back. “Because I see nothing else.”
Jake’s eyes were red with anger, but I saw hurt behind it.
To his mom, he said, “I love Lydia.” “Even if that’s hard for you to believe.” Don’t get into a fight with me about my relationship. We’ll talk again later.
He then shut the door in my face.
I was waiting in the dark when Jake got home later. When he came in, I didn’t turn on the light.
He said in a low voice, “Mom, we need to talk.” He was no longer mad. He just seemed tired instead.
I took a big breath. “You’re right.” Yes, we do.
The man across from me rubbed his hands together like he was having trouble putting them together. I made things harder for him.
He said in a soft voice, “Lydia isn’t just some rich woman I’m using.” “She’s been there for me.” Every time I worked hard on my art, no one ever really liked it. Besides her. I had to show my work, and she put me in touch with people in the business who saw what I could do.
I blinked at him as the weight of what he said slowly hit me. “Jake…”
He told her, “I know I should have told you about her sooner, but I was scared.” His voice cracked a little.
“I didn’t want you to think I was up to no good because you’ve been through a lot.” I got my first real show thanks to Lydia’s. Mom, I’ve already sold enough to pay off your bills. Everything.”
I just looked at him and couldn’t say anything for a moment. “You…”
What?
“
“The money and car didn’t come from doing something wrong.” It came from my art. Lydia helped me get everything ready for the show, which starts in two days. That was my plan—I worked really hard for it—to surprise you.
I whispered, “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”
It had been a long time since I had seen my little boy Jake. He always had big plans, even when they seemed impossible.
The next day, I went to a show and saw lots of people looking at Jake’s work. After years of getting lost in his art, my son was finally being seen for the talented person he was.
Jake got up to speak at the event.
“Thank you all for coming.” This night is very important to me. There would have been no this without my mom, though. I kept going even when things got hard because of her. “All of this is for you, Mom.”
Jake gave me a smile from the stage, and then, to my shock, he held up the car keys. “I wanted to give you something that would help you out.” You deserve it. “Thank you, Mom.”
There was cheering in the room, but I could only cry. We were finally going to be okay after years of trouble.
Another story:
For her 18th birthday, our daughter Sarah asked for a down payment on a house. We were shocked. In order to teach her a lesson, we gave her a house that needed work. As Sarah started to fix up the house, she ran into problems she didn’t expect, which changed both the house and her.
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This work is based on real people and events, but it has been made up for artistic reasons. To protect privacy and make the story better, names, characters, and circumstances have been changed. Any similarity to real people, living or dead, or real events is completely accidental and not on purpose by the author.
The author and publisher don’t promise that the events or people are true to life, and they’re not responsible for any wrong ideas that come up. This story is given “as is,” and any ideas shown are the characters’ alone and do not represent those of the author or publisher.