Karen is shocked to see her son driving a new sports car a week after her savings were stolen. He says it\u2019s from a new job, but Karen doesn\u2019t believe him. Karen is desperate to find out the truth about her son\u2019s sudden wealth, so she gets into a heated argument with the other person.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
At age 25, Jake still hadn\u2019t found his balance.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t have a job or any money. He loved his art very much, but it wasn\u2019t enough to support him. And believe me, there were<\/p>\n
so<\/p>\n
A lot of bills. Someone broke into my lockbox and took all of my cash. This made my money problems even worse.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom, trust me.\u201d I\u2019ll find the person who took your money. Jake told me last week, \u201cEverything will work out,\u201d after my house was broken into.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Then one day, everything changed. Jake had left, most likely to work on a new project that wouldn\u2019t pay him anything.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
His steps led him to the racing car, where he took the wheel. My jaw dropped.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did you get that car?\u201d I begged, struggling to keep my voice steady.<\/p>\n
He looked up and shrugged. \u201cOh, that?\u201d Mom, it\u2019s not important. \u201cI got a new job.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWork?\u201d I laughed and crossed my arms. \u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d Jake, you\u2019ve never had a job in your life.<\/p>\n
Jake looked at me funny and pushed me aside to get a soda from the fridge. \u201cIf that\u2019s what you want, I\u2019m not working for minimum wage.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s real.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLegit?\u201d I laughed so hard I couldn\u2019t hold it in.<\/p>\n
His jaw got tight. \u201cIf that\u2019s what you think, I\u2019m not stealing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cReally?\u201d Then where did you get the money for the car? Or do you think I\u2019ll believe you \u201ccame across it by accident?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have to explain myself to you,\u201d he snapped. \u201cYou\u2019re not going to get it anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t give you my money, did you?\u201d<\/p>\n
He quickly turned against me. \u201cYou have no right to ask me that!\u201d I can\u2019t believe you think that about me. I only tried to make things better, and this is what I got?\u201d<\/p>\n
And then he stormed out the door and slammed it behind him.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
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,<\/p>\n
she<\/p>\n
showed up.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t just a quick peck. This was\u2026 close.<\/p>\n
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?<\/p>\n
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\u2019s car pulled into the driveway of a huge estate, my stomach turned.<\/p>\n
My heart beat fast. It wasn\u2019t just weird; it was wrong. I felt like I had to stop this in every way.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t give it another thought. I got out of the car and slammed the front door so hard I thought it would break.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cMom?\u201d<\/p>\n
I yelled, \u201cOh, yeah, it\u2019s your mom!\u201d \u201cJake, what the hell is going on?\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman\u2019s smile was always there. \u201cYour name must be Karen.\u201d \u201cJake has told me a lot about you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you are?\u201d I lost it and didn\u2019t try to hide the anger in my voice when I snapped.<\/p>\n
It looked like nothing was wrong when she put out her hand. \u201cDoris. The girl Jake likes.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoyfriend?\u201d I almost choked on the word. \u201cJake, what\u2019s going on here?\u201d How long has this been going on?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jake said, \u201cThree months,\u201d but he didn\u2019t look at me. \u201cCalm down, mom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Relax? Did he really say that?<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you calm down?\u201d I said again. It was broken into my house, and you showed up in a sports car. Now I find out you\u2019ve been living with a rich woman for months.<\/p>\n
Lydia\u2019s smile got a little weaker. She said, \u201cKaren, I think you\u2019re not understanding\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I understand perfectly,\u201d I told Jake, my eyes getting narrow. \u201cYou are using her.\u201d For her money and this way of life. Was that car also part of the deal? \u201cHave you been doing this, Jake?\u201d<\/p>\n
Jake\u2019s face turned darker.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not how it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow is it then?\u201d I fired back. \u201cBecause I see nothing else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jake\u2019s eyes were red with anger, but I saw hurt behind it.<\/p>\n
To his mom, he said, \u201cI love Lydia.\u201d \u201cEven if that\u2019s hard for you to believe.\u201d Don\u2019t get into a fight with me about my relationship. We\u2019ll talk again later.<\/p>\n
He then shut the door in my face.<\/p>\n
I was waiting in the dark when Jake got home later. When he came in, I didn\u2019t turn on the light.<\/p>\n
He said in a low voice, \u201cMom, we need to talk.\u201d He was no longer mad. He just seemed tired instead.<\/p>\n
I took a big breath. \u201cYou\u2019re right.\u201d Yes, we do.<\/p>\n
The man across from me rubbed his hands together like he was having trouble putting them together. I made things harder for him.<\/p>\n
He said in a soft voice, \u201cLydia isn\u2019t just some rich woman I\u2019m using.\u201d \u201cShe\u2019s been there for me.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
I blinked at him as the weight of what he said slowly hit me. \u201cJake\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
He told her, \u201cI know I should have told you about her sooner, but I was scared.\u201d His voice cracked a little.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want you to think I was up to no good because you\u2019ve been through a lot.\u201d I got my first real show thanks to Lydia\u2019s. Mom, I\u2019ve already sold enough to pay off your bills. Everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
I just looked at him and couldn\u2019t say anything for a moment. \u201cYou\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
What?<\/p>\n
\u201c<\/p>\n
\u201cThe money and car didn\u2019t come from doing something wrong.\u201d It came from my art. Lydia helped me get everything ready for the show, which starts in two days. That was my plan\u2014I worked really hard for it\u2014to surprise you.<\/p>\n
I whispered, \u201cI\u2019m sorry I didn\u2019t believe you.\u201d<\/p>\n
It had been a long time since I had seen my little boy Jake. He always had big plans, even when they seemed impossible.<\/p>\n
The next day, I went to a show and saw lots of people looking at Jake\u2019s work. After years of getting lost in his art, my son was finally being seen for the talented person he was.<\/p>\n
Jake got up to speak at the event.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you all for coming.\u201d 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. \u201cAll of this is for you, Mom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jake gave me a smile from the stage, and then, to my shock, he held up the car keys. \u201cI wanted to give you something that would help you out.\u201d You deserve it. \u201cThank you, Mom.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was cheering in the room, but I could only cry. We were finally going to be okay after years of trouble.<\/p>\n
Another story:<\/p>\n
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\u2019t expect, which changed both the house and her.<\/p>\n
Click this.<\/p>\n
to read on.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The author and publisher don\u2019t promise that the events or people are true to life, and they\u2019re not responsible for any wrong ideas that come up. This story is given \u201cas is,\u201d and any ideas shown are the characters\u2019 alone and do not represent those of the author or publisher.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Karen is shocked to see her son driving a new sports car a week after her savings were stolen. He says it\u2019s from a new job, but Karen doesn\u2019t believe him. Karen is desperate to find out the truth about her son\u2019s sudden wealth, so she gets into a heated argument with the other person. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28507"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28508,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28507\/revisions\/28508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}